Jim's Books

This meticulously researched 500-page book recounts 60 amazing true-life stories from 80 years of Transportation.

It will help you understand our convict heritage and history. Launching Friday 6 November at Lindesay House, Darling Point, in support of the National Trust.

Jim's extended collection of fascinating stories and humour – from the poignant to the hilarious, the ridiculously Australian to the unexplained and spooky.

Heroic and inspiring characters, larrikins and crooks, railway stories, sporting legends and everyday humour told with a refreshing understatement that vividly evokes a vanishing Australia.

Jim upturns some of the long-held myths of Australian history with surprising results.

Did Portuguese explorers find the east coast before Cook? Was the Rum Rebellion really about rum? Did Banjo write Waltzing Matilda? The Ashes have nothing to do with cricket, and the Ghan isn't named after Afghan cameleers. Surprising, confounding and fun.

From Federation to the Vietnam War, from our first VC winner to our hundredth – stories as harrowing as they are uplifting, as heart-breaking as they are humorous.

A comprehensive overview of the courage, resilience, stoic humour and sacrifice that created the mythology of the Aussie 'digger' – the soldiers, sailors, nurses and flyers.

Trucks, trains, boats and planes – a treasury of unsung heroes and extraordinary journeys that have shaped Australia's history. From the bravery of our sailors to the great age of rail, the truckers crossing the Nullarbor to the daring aviation pioneers.

With humour, heartbreak and a deep respect for history, Jim brings to life the pioneers, larrikins and legends who dared to dream big and journey across our vast continent.

A compilation of all things Jim Haynes – verses, ditties and doggerel, history and humour, opinions and observations. Over 60 verses Jim wrote or recited for 2GB, 2UE and 6PR over a quarter of a century.

Memories of steam trains, outdoor dunnies, choko vines and schooldays, plus Jim's years at Port Fairy, Stone the Crows and 33 years of Morning Variety Shows at Tamworth.