Major Leslie James Hiddins AM (born 13 August 1946 in

Brisbane, Queensland Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

), known as "The

Bush Tucker Bush tucker, also called bush food, is any food native to Australia and used as sustenance by Indigenous Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but it can also describe any native flora or fauna used for culinary or ...

Man" is a retired

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), who ...

soldier and war veteran who is best known for his love and knowledge of the Australian bush. Hiddins is recognized by his distinctively modified

Akubra Akubra is an Australian hat manufacturer. The company is associated with bush hats made of rabbit fur felt with wide brims that are worn in rural Australia. The term "Akubra" is sometimes used to refer to any hat of this kind, however the compa ...

hat and big cheesy grin.

Military service

As a soldier with the Australian Army, Hiddins did two deployments in South

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

between 1966 and 1968, the first as a forward scout in the infantry. In 1980, he was awarded a Defence Fellowship to research survival in northern Australia. He was the principal author of the Australian Army's military survival manual (1987). As part of this research, Hiddins was introduced to the Kakadu plum (''Terminalia ferdinandiana'') by the Aboriginal people, who had used the plant for thousands of years. He claims that the analysis finding it to have the highest concentration of Vitamin C of any known natural substance in the world was made on fruit he provided. Hiddins retired from the Australian Regular Army (ARA) in 1989 with the rank of Major but continued to serve with the Army Reserve (ARES) until 2001, working with

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

communities in northern Australia.

Bush Tucker Man

This research turned into the TV series ''The Bush Tucker Man''. The series involves Hiddins driving around in a Land Rover Perentie, in later episodes a white non-Army custom Land Rover Perentie (commonly confused with a Land Rover County) with his trademark hat, finding and describing native Australian bush food or "

bush tucker Bush tucker, also called bush food, is any food native to Australia and used as sustenance by Indigenous Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but it can also describe any native flora or fauna used for culinary or ...

". Hiddins appeared in two ABC TV series of ''Bush Tucker Man'', and the series ''Bush Tucker Man – Stories of Survival''. He also appeared in the TV documentaries ''Pandora – in the Wake of the Bounty'' and ''The Batavia''. His other publications are ''Bush Tucker Man – Stories of Exploration and Survival'' (1996), ''Bush Tucker Man – Tarnished Heroes'' (1997), ''Explore Wild Australia with the Bush Tucker Man'' (1999), ''Bush Tucker Fieldguide'' (2002). In 2000 Hiddins published four books specifically for children: ''The Coral Coast'', ''The Top End'', ''The Tropical Rainforest'', and ''The Living Desert''. He has released two CD-ROMs, ''From the Rainforest to

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...

'' and ''From

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, with the term still in use. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compa ...

to the Kimberley Ranges''. The

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''National Muse ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

has a Bush Tucker Man display with some of his original bush gear. In 2001, Hiddins led an effort to establish a wilderness retreat, exclusively for war veterans, on a 9 km² parcel of government land along the banks of the

Normanby River The Normanby River, comprising the East Normanby River, the West Normanby River, the East Normanby River North Branch, the East Normanby River South Branch and the Granite Normanby River, is a river system located in Far North Queensland, Aust ...

at "Kalpowar Station", adjoining Rinyirru National Park in

. The remote and relatively inaccessible area, devoid of amenities of any kind, was named "Pandanus Park". After years of conflict with government over their illegal occupation, the group secured a 15-year lease when the entire Kalpowar Station was returned to Aboriginal title in 2005.

Ray Mears Raymond Paul Mears (born 7 February 1964) is a British woodsman, instructor, businessman, author and TV presenter. His TV appearances cover bushcraft and survival techniques. He is best known for the TV series ''Ray Mears' Bushcraft'', ''Ray ...

made a BBC programme about and with him, shown on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

in June 2009 as part of his ''Ray Mears Goes Walkabout'' series.

Awards and honours

In 1987, Hiddins was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

. On 28 March 2008, Hiddins was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science by James Cook University's Faculty of Science, Engineering and Information Technology:

TV programmes

Series: *''Bush Tucker Man, Series One'' (1988 – 8 episodes, released on DVD in 2004) – ABC Episode 1: Arnhem Land (Aborigines of Ngukurr, NT)
Episode 2: The Wet in Port Keats (Northwest Northern Territory in the Wet Season)
Episode 3: Desert (Desert Country)
Episode 4: Prince Regent Gorge (Heart of the Kimberley)
Episode 5: Rain Forest (Rainforest at Iron Range)
Episode 6: Coastal (Northern Queensland Coastline)
Episode 7: Doomadgee (Gulf Country)
Episode 8: Aurukun (West Coast of Cape York) *''Bush Tucker Man, Series Two'' (1990 – 7 episodes, released on DVD 1 October 2009) – ABC Episode 1: Wet Season
Episode 2: East To West
Episode 3: Kimberley
Episode 4: Top End
Episode 5: Wildman
Episode 6: Coastal Story
Episode 7: Desert Story *''Bush Tucker Man – Stories of Survival'' (1996 – 8 episodes, released on DVD in 2004) – ABC Episode 1: The Coffee Royal Affair
Episode 2: The Cannibal Convict
Episode 3: The Great Misadventure
Episode 4: The Best of Them All
Episode 5: The Dutch Settlement
Episode 6: Gold Fever
Episode 7: The Passionate Prussian
Episode 8: Into The Vilest Country

Books

*Bush Tucker Man Series **''Bush Tucker Man – Stories of Exploration and Survival'' (1996) **''Bush Tucker Man – Tarnished Heroes'' (1997) **''Explore Wild Australia with the Bush Tucker Man'' (1999) **''Bush Tucker Field Guide'' (2002) *Children's Books **''The Coral Coast'' **''The Top End'' **''The Tropical Rainforest'' **''The Living Desert''

External links

Bush tucker bibliography – linksBush Tucker Man-8 Classic Stories Of Survival With Les Hiddins (1996)Gone Bush: Bush Tucker Man Les HiddinsExplore Australia Bush Tucker Books

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hiddins, Les Australian television presenters Australian male television actors Australian Army soldiers Australian military personnel of the Vietnam War Living people Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia 1946 births Survivalists