Would you risk your life to save a stranger, follow the Pied Piper, or boast about a 4800km trip in the wilds you never made? How would you react if a recluse moved in next door, you got an exciting job that is taken from you the moment it begins, or you woke up in another world where the laws you know don’t apply?.

These are just some of the stories in the recently released CQU Press book 'Queensland Battlers'.

'Queensland Battlers' includes 16 extraordinary stories of Queensland men and women pioneers and their children who found themselves in trouble, one way or another, in Queensland’s past, whether by choice, accident or through the grand schemes of others. The stories are all true, and appear on a ‘story map’ of Queensland, which shows where each one happened.

Chosen from people’s real life experiences in Australia over 2 centuries of European settlement, together these stories show a world that is long gone, as well as the human motives and sometimes comical way of behaving that are far from long gone.

The people in them were either born in Queensland or came to Queensland from other parts of the world, such as Switzerland, Britain and Ireland.

Author John Wright is a freelance writer who has been published in 'The Australian' (one featuring Mark Twain’s 1895 visit to the Melbourne Cup: “I can always tell which is the front end of a horse, but beyond that my art is not above the ordinary”); 'The Age' (Banjo Paterson visiting Kipling in England and guessing “within 2 pounds” the weight of a lamb carcass hanging in a butcher’s window “to astonish Kipling very much”); and Sydney’s 'Daily Telegraph' (Darwin arriving seasick in Australia after 4 years in a hammock on HMS Beagle and being upset to find there was no mail for him).

He has also written for the 'Sydney Morning Herald', 'Sun-Herald', newspapers and magazines in Britain, Ireland and Canada, including the 'Daily Telegraph' in London, travel features for 'The Weekend Australian' and 'Sunday Telegraph' (Sydney), a weekly column for 'The Mercury' (Tasmania); and has written for Australian TV ('Wombat', 'Rubbery Figures') and radio (ABC), Hallmark Cards (US), 'Punch', as well as gags and sketches in the UK for BBC radio comedies, 'Week Ending' and 'The News Huddlines'.

Excerpts from this book have been published by 6 big newspapers in the UK to a very enthusiastic reception.

'Queensland Battlers' retails at $25.95. For more details visit www.outbackbooks.com .

Photo left: Author John Wright and (right) the cover of 'Queensland Battlers'.