True Blue Tucker

Two men go in search of the real Australia, and find it in a bar in Munich. But what will they do with it now they've found it?

Australia. What comes to mind when you see or hear this word? Guys in khaki shorts jumping into crocodile infested waters. Long, white sand beaches. Shrimps on barbecues. Athletes and actors. "Really? Mel Gibson is Australian?" Surfer boys and pin-up girls. Cuddly koalas that aren't really bears. Come on. There has to be more to Australia than that.

There is. Much more. True Blue Tucker is the story of Darius and Humphrey, two friends who go looking for the real Australia, a journey that takes them to Australia's north-west, Canada's ski hills, London's damp streets and Munich's bars. Along the way, they learn about themselves, about their country and about what the world thinks of Australians. Ambitiously and misguidedly, they set about changing the stereotype, by opening an Aussie bar in Munich that tells the real history of Australia. It's out with the inflatable crocodiles and in with information about stolen Aboriginal children; out with Paul Hogan and in with Pauline Hanson. And there's convict stew on the menu, and not kangaroo burgers.

No other work of fiction tackles the topic of Australian identity, history and society quite like True Blue Tucker. What does it mean to be Australian? Read this book to find out.

'True Blue Tucker' won the bronze in the Australia/New Zealand fiction category of the IPPYs, the 2012 Independent Publisher Book Awards.