Wakefield Press

26/11/2025

HOT OFF THE PRESS ––

Holden FX and FJ Handbook: Information for the enthusiast

By Don Loffler

Don Loffler knows his early model Holdens. In addition to researching them for decades, he has owned an FX and an FJ, and he now owns another FX. He is therefore well qualified to present this must-have handbook for early model Holden enthusiasts.

This full identification guide for FX and FJ Holdens includes tables for body and trim colours, serial and engine numbers, and the dating of window glass.

Hundreds of photographs provide examples of the data being described, including those showing fascinating crayon writing on the firewall. There are even photographs of rare ex-government vehicles in colours not available to the general public.

19/11/2025

I made a list, checked it twice, picked out some titles naughty and nice - then headed down to our friends at Wakefield Press for our pre-Christmas stock-up!

They're going like the absolute clappers right now - I'm not even disappointed that I couldn't get some of my shopping list because our own South Australian publisher has titles leaving their door by the pallet-load!

So come and check out some restocked treasures and some new titles (including the newest Don Loffler car book hitting the shelves just in time for this weekend's Adelaide Rally)

17/11/2025

So true! A terrific piece from Heather Robinson, author of Beyond the Books: Why libraries matter.

A new report shows that visits to Australian public libraries are up 10% – though funding is down. They provide everything from books and internet to help with CVs.

15/11/2025

What a marvellous, insightful review aticle by John Neylon on Jenny Aland’s monumental new book, South Australian School of Art. More info and online purchase here: https://www.wakefieldpress.com.au/product/south-australian-school-of-art/

A new and forensic history of the South Australian School of Art picks through the entrails of a fluid and very feisty local art scene.

14/11/2025

HOT OFF THE PRESS ––

Hans Heysen Was Here

By Barbara Cameron-Smith

Best known for his pastoral scenes featuring statuesque gum trees, Heysen won critical acclaim when he first exhibited his Flinders Ranges paintings in 1928, featuring the ‘bare bones of landscape’. From 1926 to 1949 Heysen spent many months in the Far North of South Australia, inspiring artworks that have rarely been seen. Hans Heysen Was Here brings together a vast selection of these artworks inspired by the stark landscape that helped reawaken his love of painting. The oil paintings, watercolours, charcoal drawings and field sketches in this book are illuminated by Heysen’s previously unpublished observations about his semi-arid surrounds and the challenges and joys of camping there. The letters and artwork serve as an irreplaceable time capsule of the Flinders Ranges before destocking and re-vegetation transformed the landscape, and an insight into the life and times of a giant of Australian art.

13/11/2025

HOT OFF THE PRESS ––

Goyder's Line in Kodachrome: Colin Avery and the origins of colour photography in Australia, 1941-1944

By Roger Irvine

This book displays images from the earliest known collection of Kodachrome colour photographs in Australia, and one of the earliest internationally.

Colin Avery was one of the first photographers to use this revolutionary new film type, which marked the beginning of modern colour photography.

He exposed thirteen rolls of Kodachrome during the Second World War, between 1941 and 1944, documenting in intimate detail life on his family's isolated farm and its surrounding district, located on the northern side of Goyder's Line in the Mid North of South Australia.

Available in store and online now!

12/11/2025

On this day in 1919, South Australia's Ross Smith took off from England in the Vickers Vimy, bound for Australia in the Great Air Race.

Here's the Vimy crew - Ross and Keith Smith and their air mechanics Wally Shiers and Jim Bennett - just before departure from the snow-covered Hounslow aerodrome. The small group of well-wishers includes aircraft designer Rex Pierson (he’s the tall man in the black coat and hat, fifth from the right). Prince Albert sent a message: “May good fortune attend you in your sporting attempt.”

The crew's incredible 28-day journey is the focus of my novel, Long Flight Home, published by the lovely team at Wakefield Press.

With my husband Max and great friend Susan Harrington, I also co-produced a documentary on the air race for SBS TV. Presented and narrated by former NASA astronaut Andy Thomas, the doco can now been seen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcddizA_lrw

(We've also got a few $20 DVDs of the documentary if you're after a gift idea for an aviation enthusiast! Please DM me if you're interested.)

And you can explore more about the flight, the plane, the men and other competitors in the Great Air Race at https://www.epicflightcentenary.com.au/

📷 SLSA PRG 1701/1/1].

09/11/2025

Click the pic for the latest Wakefield Weekly!

A roundup of the past week at Wakefield Press, including events, blog updates, news and reviews.

07/11/2025

We enjoyed a lovely evening launching Salt Upon the Water by at last night!

Thank you to writer and poet Gemma Parker for the launching duties!

Salt Upon the Water is available online, in store and at bookshops! 🌊🌷

31/10/2025

Number of people have asked ..
here’s the book I spoke about this week by author/historian Patricia Sumerling. Great Christmas gift.

Out via Wakefield Press.

https://www.wakefieldpress.com.au/product/hotels-of-adelaide/