“Many of us, as teenagers and young adults, have broken free from squalid routine – us mad on exploring LIFE and our planet to the full: this book is a celebration of that desire. What starts out as a justified but crazy caper- jumping a rotten ship in Western Australia – soon demands of Alf and his travelling companions much survival instinct and determination. This book moves from through cattle-ranching, rail-way building, beer halls and sleeping in ditches in Alf’s hike across “down-under”. I’m sure the young Alf never gave a second thought to all this survival stuff; he just is a resourceful and enthusiastic optimist. This book, well-humoured and NOT set in Salford, Ancoats or steel mills, is not immediately typical of the major ilk of the working class writing we have come to know; it is not a psalm to “struggle”. However, through its verve and style of writing, it represents much of the upfront and forth-right aspects of our work. And that is why we at Commonword bugged Alf over this project, and got right down to publishing it.”
– John Gowling, Commonword worker writing at the time of publication
