The Lucky Country: Amazing Australian Tales of Pure Dumb Luck

by Eamon Evans

The happy accident that created wi-fi. The well-placed piece of coral that saved the Endeavour from sinking. The karaoke night that launched Kylie's singing career.

Australia may be known as 'the lucky country', but just how accurate is that description? Turns out, very. From the Gold Rush to Stephen Bradbury, our history is full of times when lady luck made a spectacular appearance.

Now, Eamon Evans dives deep to deliver the most hilarious, fascinating tales of the Australians who were almost too lucky to be believed.

Genres: Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published November 28, 2023

About the author

Eamon Evans is a Melbourne-based author who has spent all his working life writing for the online and print media. He has written four books: Small Talk, The Godfather Was A Girl, Lord Sandwich And The Pants Man and Grand Slams Of Tennis.

His work has appeared in the SUNDAY HERALD SUN, the ADELAIDE ADVERTISER, the AUSTRALIAN BOOK REVIEW, the SUNDAY TIMES and the COURIER-MAIL.

Online, he has been an in-house writer for Big Pond Sport, SBS, ArtsHub, the Weekly Book Newsletter and the electronic bulletin of the International Federation of Arts Council and Culture Agencies.

Reviews

[Rowan MacDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Horne first called Australia “The Lucky Country” in 1964 - not in a good way. Since then, we have adopted this nickname, embraced it in a positive sense. Author, Eamon Evans, tends to agree, and here explores the lucky moments through history, that helped shape our identity.

The Lucky Country starts with how lucky we are to be alive. Yes, bring on the existential crisis, folks. It’s immensely readable; the variety of stories keep things interesting. You’re sometimes left wanting more before it segues to the next, but that’s okay. This is history with character and humour. Never boring. I laughed out loud numerous times, and found myself sharing random facts and anecdotes with friends - always a good sign.

Eamon covers a huge breadth of ‘lucky’ events and people - and not just those featuring Australia. From sapphire doorstops to incredible tales of survival - Mawson, Lincoln Hall, and Stuart Diver. I enjoyed learning the origins of the phrase “Buckley’s Chance" and how Australia was almost French. The 'lucky' war stories were also great - particularly that of "Lucky Les" Holden, a WWI pilot.

“A ‘modest man with a sunny temperament and whimsical humour,’ his ability to be shot and not suffer a scratch quickly turned into a thing of legend.”

Eamon sometimes got more sidetracked than my Year 9 History teacher. Occasional tangents felt out of place, as if trying to hit a word count. But such moments were soon forgiven due to the likes of truck driver, Bill Morgan, the heart of this book (no pun intended). Clinically dead. 12-day coma. Toyota Corolla. $250,000.

You know you have reached peak Aussie once Jimmy Barnes starts talking about his narrow misses, and Bradbury skates to gold in the Olympics. Of course, it wouldn’t be an Australian book without people surviving animal attacks too - and perhaps we’re lucky in ways we don't realise.

“No Australian has actually died from a spider bite since the late 1920s. And while snakebites kill about 100,000 people a year throughout the world, in the land down under, the figure is closer to two.”

While the conclusion petered out, it was a fun ride. If you enjoy your history lighthearted and entertaining, then this is for you. Highly recommend for fans of Ben Pobjie. Makes me want to read Eamon’s other books!

“Living in Australia is like winning the lottery. Or, if not a lottery, then at least a chook raffle or some office sweep.”

Many thanks to Affirm Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Ashley Croston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was a good novel, however if Evans aim was to represent the whole of Australia he didn’t hit the mark due to him clearly favouring white Australian stories rather than indigenous ones. Of course it can be a tricky task to write, as Evans may not have wanted to risk accidentally misrepresenting the First Nations peoples culture. But, by including tales from the past 10-20 years he’s made it clear his novel includes more present stories rather than ones set hundreds of years ago, so it would’ve been a nice touch if he included at least one or two Indigenous stories as in the age of technology where so many things are documented, he surely could of found some tale that intrigued him to write about.

[Emmy Haster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read! Such a great way to learn about random facts and stories that make up what we know as the Lucky Country.

[Andrew Lynch · Rating 3 out of 5]

If it wasn't for the occassional hack or insensitive joke, this would be a fun, interesting read. All the quick historical stories were interesting and had an easy reading quality to them. But when the horrifying death toll of the bombing of Japan during World War 2 is accompanied by a comparison of the experience to reality TV show, The Farmer Wants A Wife, you wonder if Evans is the lucky one for getting a publishing contract.

[Ellen Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and entertaining - not a lot of depth, but that’s not the point. The tales are fascinating, and really make you think about the role of plain old good luck in things like world events, accidental inventions, etc.

Hilarious jabs at right-wingers and millionaires too, love it.

(But the spelling/editing mistakes did drive me a little crazy though)

[Winston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining and informative.
Cheered me up!

[Coco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable, entertaining and informative.
Highly recommend.

[Nick K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining, but flows a bit like if you asked Chatgpt to compile a list of stories about Australian's being "lucky" and make it witty

[Rebecca O'Halloran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an easy read! Starts off a bit slow but some really interesting stories in there!

[Mark Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining

[emreadsstuff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was pretty funny and lighthearted, although a bit tone deaf at times