Richard Holdsworth’s book In the Hot Seat covers eight years in Australia from1958 til 1966. During this time Holdsworth worked for his passage on a cargo ship to Australia in charge of a consignment of stud cattle, worked in the Outback. He then went on to work as a journalist both in Adelaide and then for the Herald and Weekly Times in Melbourne. His book is a celebration of both the Australian spirit and the incidents in our lives that become significant life changing moments.
Richard Holdsworth was just 19 when he worked his passage on a cargo ship bringing stud cattle to Australia. He was “jumped” by a stowaway; that was just the start of his adventures. In Oz he started out as a Jackeroo, then herdsman responsible for championship winning bulls before becoming a top agricultural journalist first in Adelaide then Melbourne. He travelled far and wide, interviewed people that make the country tick whether in high office or on horse back. His book – In the Hot Seat – is a celebration of both the Australian spirit and incidents that become significant life changing moments.
Richard will be at the Carlton store on February 5 from 2pm to 4pm to sign his book and tell his tale.
Free, no need to book.
In The Hot Seat
They say that behind every successful man is a surprised woman. Rather be surprised than disappointed, I say! But when I said “Yes” to my English Clarke Kent (alias Superman) all those years ago in my home town of Melbourne, little did I expect to find such past adventures. And I may never have known if he hadn’t decided to write his book - capture the past - the time he called the best years of his life. Down Under.
I knew of some of his exploits, of course. A charmer with a convertible Porsche doesn’t sit at home watching TV. My man was a journalist, had travelled, had seen more of my own country than anyone I had come across. He’d met people in high places, Premiers, Prime Ministers, powerful people. And the down-to-earth people of the Outback; the people who can claim, just as equally, to make this country great.
But little did I realise until reading these memoirs that he nearly didn’t even make it to Australia. Working his passage on a cargo ship with a dozen or so stud cattle and horses in his charge, he’d disturbed a stowaway who promptly stuck a knife at his throat and declared, “Split on me mate and I’ll have you…” The deck hands came to his rescue and a bond developed. That’s probably why they did the Red Light District when the ship got to Sydney. “You didn’t tell me about being arrested in Kings Cross, dear!”
Nor did my Clarke Kent tell me how he nearly lost his life on the Birdsville Track. My man’s explanation was that he wanted to see more of the real Australia and the Track was as good as it gets. And the other reason to shun the beach for the Bush for his annual holiday was to get a feel for what Burke and Wills went through; the burning heat, the endless miles of sameness; death just around the next bend. It’s gripping stuff, and I learnt more about our ill-fated explorers than I ever did at school. And my Clarke Kent has this easy-reading style; I actually enjoyed being lost in some of the most inhospitable parts of the world!
In the Hot Seat – the title for my Richard’s book – taught me a lot of other things about my country. The Englishman called Goyder, for example, who as Surveyor-General in the early days of South Australia calculated where the rainfall supported arable cropping as opposed to meagre grazing. The first settlers ignored his charts and calculations due to successive years of abnormal rainfall and flooding – that ring a bell today? But he was proven right when drought returned and the abandoned dwellings and broken lives lay testament today.
And what about the Aboriginal Min Min lights? Sceptics smile politely and change the subject. You’ll change your mind when you read the chapter entitled Don’t Disturb the Spirits. There’s an affinity to our indigenous people… not just through these strange, unexplained dancing lights nor the ghostly shape that rises up from the embers of a dieing fire. Richard was in the Outback in South Australia when the nuclear tests were being conducted at Maralinga – fortunately not close enough to be affected. Not so some of the Aborigines; Hot Seat is not sparing in its condemnation of the respective governments in the whole shameful affair.
Richard’s first book - Six Spoons of Sugar - is of a boy being evacuated from London at the start of WWll. Richard was that boy and he lived through it all, seeing death and destruction at first hand. That’s maybe why he has an appreciation of what our Diggers did in two world wars for his country. He and I stood on the battlefields of Picardie on ANZAC Day in 2009 as the sun rose and the Last Post was sounded. In the Hot Seat opens with Paul Keating’s eulogy for the Unknown Australian Soldier and the theme re-appears throughout the book. The men Richard worked with, the Australian family whose life he shared and the veterans of two World Wars he enjoyed a special liaison with… Richard was moved by it all. And I would suggest you will be too.
This is not just a Boy’s Own Adventure in our great country. It’s a wonderful read even allowing for the fact that I am a teeny bit biased! Even if you skip through how he brought out the Supreme Champion at the Royal Adelaide Show, rode out into a paddock the size of England to find the grazing herd, and raced a Porsche, you’ll need to dwell on the last chapter – Aussie Update – and catch up with sights, sounds and places in Australia that my Pommie husband got to know and love. Throw away the travel brochures – he’s got it all down in plain English. Aussie style!
