DIGGER: One man, one pan and a million square miles of outback

by Max Anderson

A naïve Englishman stops at a pub in a goldfields ghost town. He has a shovel, a suitcase of books and a dog with a stupid name. “I’d like to find some gold!” he announces brightly. The huge bloke behind the bar takes a pull on his cigarillo and squints through the “Yeah,” he drawls quietly, “there’s a few around here who’d like to do that…” As a boy, Max Anderson dug holes in his parents’ back garden hoping to find buried treasure. In 2002, aged 36, he dug another hole for he quit his job with a London newspaper to try his luck among the hard-bitten gold prospectors of the West Australian deserts. Funny, honest and uplifting, Digger is an outback classic combining a modern adventure story with one of the greatest chapters in Australian history – the opening of the Kalgoorlie goldfields. Whether you’re a ‘new chum’ with a metal detector, an old hand cursed with gold fever or an armchair traveller looking for literary riches, Digger will have you yelling ‘Eureka!’Reviews for “Old-time Kookynie prospectors know how to deal with this squeaky clean novice. But Anderson wins them over, as he wins over his readers, with his thoroughness, lack of pretension and an irrepressible enthusiasm for the hot, dusty, hand-ripping, heart-breaking job of prospecting.” Sunday Times, UK “A classic adventure travel story… Anderson is an excellent writer, and brings his auriferous odyssey, with its final, almost incredible twist, to an artful conclusion.” South China Morning Post“An outstanding first – a compelling, effortless read, where nothing grates. The text builds on total immersion in a culture, and comprehensive research into its evolution… As interestingly informative as it is entertaining.”Wanderlust, UK“Absorbing history of an obsession.” Publishing News, UK“Rich with historical detail.” Good Taste Magazine, Australia“[Anderson] has produced a warmly glowing little nugget in this good-humoured and finely observed book.” Literary Review, UK“A boy’s own adventure story played out on the dusty, pitted remnants of the West Australian goldfields… [Anderson] does a good line in self-deprecation, is cheerfully wry and has diligently researched Australian gold-rush history.” Times Literary Supplement, UK“Making real a childhood fantasy puts an almost whimsical seal on a book that is anchored in desert heat, red dust and notions of Outback.”Canberra Times“Chronicles his transformation from naïve treasure hunter to savvy gold prospector.” Brisbane Courier Mail“A remarkable story.” Summer Days, RTE Radio 1, Ireland“The real mother lode he found was in chronicling the colourful characters of Kookynie – all 13 of them… A rollicking diary.” Breakfast with Peter Thompson, ABC Radio National, Australia“As entertaining a book as I’ve read this year. Anderson is a good listener, a keen observer, an avid researcher and a fine writer... He writes best of the complex webs of rules and etiquettes between diggers and the compulsion that drives them… The resulting account is informative, amusing and sometimes moving. You can hardly ask for more than that.” Sydney Morning Herald, Australia“Entertaining, informative and useful.

268 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 13, 2020