Beneath Whose Hand: The Autobiography of R M Williams

by Olaf Ruhen

R.M Williams, bushman, grazier, folk hero, raconteur–in fact one of the great legends of our time. This is his story.He left home in his teens and went bush. For months he trekked through the deserts and ranges of Central Australia as the camel-man of a two-man expedition. He then worked as a drover.The sale of a handmade pack-saddle to Sir Sidney Kidman for five pounds was the beginning of a business which grew rapidly. Soon bushmen from all over Australia were sending 'cash with order' for R.M's classic elastic-sided boots and other products. The mail-order business made him wealthy and positioned him as a household name throughout the bush.Always restless and enterprising, R.M has never been content to just be a businessman. The bush is his greatest love, and throughout his life he has remained as close to it as possible, droving, running cattle stations, and breeding and training horses. From gold mining in the Northern Territory to tea planting in the New Guinea Highlands, publishing poetry and establishing the Stockman's Hall of Fame, R.M Williams has earned his place as a hero of the Australian bush.'... a great Australian in a manner all his own... I cannot begin to describe the fascination of this book. It is different. Biographies of Australians who have made their marks... proliferate. Not one of them I have read paints a picture of a man so vital, of so many parts, as R.M Williams.' – COURIER MAIL'... the stuff of which bush heroes are made.' – BRISBANE SUN

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History

Paperback

First published March 1, 1997

About the author

Olaf Ruhen was the son of Carl Ruhen, a German from Schleswig-Holstein and a Frisian Islander, who became a timber merchant in New Zealand. His wife, Margaret nee Johnson, born in New Zealand, came from a Shetland Island family. Olaf Ruhen was educated at Otago Boys' High School. As a young man, he worked with horse teams, as a shepherd, and as a deep-sea fisherman for six years. This career ended when he wrecked his own boat, the 'Alice'. He had published some articles with the Dunedin Evening Star and from 1938 to 1941 was employed as a journalist with the newspaper. During this period he wrote a number of short stories published by the Sydney Bulletin.

During the Second World War Ruhen joined the RNZAF 1941-1945, serving with the RAF flying Lancasters for the Bomber Command. From 1945 to 1947 he was again employed by the Evening Star. In 1947 he moved to Sydney, where he worked for the Telegraph, the Sun and the Sydney Morning Herald. Ruhen was also writing short stories again for the Bulletin and, more lucratively, the Saturday Evening Post where his highest payment was $2,250 for a story. He resigned in 1956 to become a freelance writer after quarrelling with the Sydney Morning Herald.

Ruhen concentrated on overseas markets, primarily the United States, then Britain and Europe. Despite his reputation for treating writing as a business, Ruhen was a writer of integrity who rejected a Saturday Evening Post offer to serialise his first novel, Naked under Capricorn, because they wished to make changes that he felt would rob the novel of its truth. American serial rights to the novel would have been worth between $9,000 and $13,000. In 1963 he was the first director of the School of Creative Writing, University of Adelaide, and in 1973 of the summer school of creative writing in Papua New Guinea.

Ruhen published several hundred short stories in anthologies and magazines. He contributed to most of the Australian journals with a national circulation and to the Saturday Evening Post, Argosy and other overseas journals. He also wrote film scripts and contributed to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Ruhen wrote a variety of non-fiction works, based largely on his extensive travels in Australia, New Guinea and the South Pacific. They included two historical works, Minerva Reef (1963) and Bullock Teams : the building of a nation (1980). Ruhen also wrote The Day of the Diprotodon (1976), an information book for children.

Ruhen was a founding committee member of the Australian Society of Authors, and vice-president of Sydney PEN. In 1976 he won the Qantas Short Story Award.

Reviews

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting story about the life of an aussie legend... RM Williams. Reading this book you would never guess that RM was illiterate and taught himself how to read and write, he expresses himself beautifully and honestly. A great example of just how much you can achieve with nothing more than the right attitude and a bit of hard work. Also proves the old addage 'it's not what you know but who you know'

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

09/08/07 Fascinating look into life on the land over the twentieth century and a rare glimpse into how things were done and how people survived the hardships they encountered in remote areas. Enjoyed hearing about R.M. Williams` life and business philosophies also. I was inspired to read this after our trip to Ayers Rock and the fact that Saburo bought his first pair of elastic-sided work books this July trip back.

[Alexandra Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

At best this is the non-cohesive collection of quasi-philosophical ramblings by an arrogant, hypocritical man who made his fortune destroying the land and failing to understand those around him, including his wives and children. Credit where credit is due to teaching himself to read and clawing his way out of poverty—though with enormous opportunities and luck that likely have never fallen into the lap of others—but given his Calvinist/pseudo humility, does he truly deserve any credit at all? His treatment and language regarding First Nations people goes beyond “product of his time” and “before pc language; he touches upon and makes not of displeasure at the truly horrific abuses suffered, but also waxes poetic about their need to assimilate while infantilising them. A gross insight into the warped mindset of the Australian ruling class (bushman or no).

[Hayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great guy with a lot of good insights into life. Surprisingly spiritual and grounded. Very much like the Mexican fisherman story. The only downside I found - and maybe this is my own fault - but there were way too many names mentioned to keep track. I felt like I needed a dictionary of names to keep up. Perhaps due to our current lack of attention span.

Either way, inspiring story and has a lot of history about Australia

[Glenys Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow a very compact easy read, new words to discover in every chapter, a man of the land with a self taught education and obvious love of reading. A man of the people with a humility so obvious . A powerful heritage left behind . Enriching so many of his friends lives and our personal life.

[Oliver Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very thoughtful and insightful man who has lived life.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting perspective on progress and success.

[Zach Sudiro · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.82

[Jacki · Rating 4 out of 5]

R.M Williams, bushman, grazier, folk hero, raconteur–in fact one of the great legends of our time. This is his story.He left home in his teens and went bush. For months he trekked through the deserts and ranges of Central Australia as the camel-man of a two-man expedition. He then worked as a drover.

The sale of a handmade pack-saddle to Sir Sidney Kidman for five pounds was the beginning of a business which grew rapidly. Soon bushmen from all over Australia were sending 'cash with order' for R.M's classic elastic-sided boots and other products. The mail-order business made him wealthy and positioned him as a household name throughout the bush.

Always restless and enterprising, R.M has never been content to just be a businessman. The bush is his greatest love, and throughout his life he has remained as close to it as possible, droving, running cattle stations, and breeding and training horses. From gold mining in the Northern Territory to tea planting in the New Guinea Highlands, publishing poetry and establishing the Stockman's Hall of Fame, R.M Williams has earned his place as a hero of the Australian bush.