At some point in 2012 an official Bush Tucker Man website appeared at this URL http://bushtuckerman.com.au/ . A wide variety of information can be found on that website.

BTM background:

"Les J. Hiddins was born in Queensland in 1946. After he joined the Australian Army he acted as a forward scout in the Royal Australian Regiment (RAR Infantry Battalions) in Vietnam between 1966 and 1969. He began private research into bush foods during the 1970's and was awarded a Defence Fellowship in 1980 to research survival in Northern Australia. Les became the principal author of the Australian Defence Force's Combat Survival Manual, and was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (AM) in 1987."

Les featured in a Defence Force "Bush Tucker" Survival instruction film made in the mid 1980's. His on-screen efforts made a big impression. In 1987 ABC-TV documentary units started work on what is now an Aussie icon: "The Bush Tucker Man" which first went to air in Australia's Bi-Centential Year, 1988.

This series was just beautiful and set new standards for TV... and it made Les famous.

Trying to list what Les has done...

• a cross-country expedition filmed by "A Big Country" TV series (ABC 1975) to locate the site of Edmund Kennedy's 'perish' on Cape York.

• Bush Tucker instructional role with SASR 3 Squadron on Exercise Night Falcon in FNQ (Oct 1984)

• The Australian Defence Force instructional film on bush craft and bush tucker (1985?).

• the first back-to-back series of "Bush Tucker Man" television 'episodes', each of half-hour length (1987/88/89/90). The "Bush Tucker Man" television 'episodes' are available on video (VHS & DVD -see below).

• a couple of one-hour documentaries of a similar nature called "Pandora: In The Wake Of The Bounty" and "The Batavia" (these specials were made in between the early and later BTM series).

• a complimentary series of BTM episodes called "Bush Tucker Man: Historical Stories of Survival" (1995/96) released on VHS video originally and now available on a DVD as well. (see notes below)

• three quarto size books "Stories of Exploration and Survival" (1996), "Tarnished Heroes - Epic Stories of Bush Survival" (1998) and "Explore Wild Australia with the Bush Tucker Man" (1999) - these are detailed further down.

• two CD-ROM's produced in collaboration with Natural Learning Multimedia digitising an encyclopedic range of habitat info and photos on bush tucker flora and fauna, as well as video from the series showing the bush survival knowledge Les has accumulated (with original series soundtrack also). The best thing on CD in my opinion. They are titled "From The Rainforest To Cape York" and "From Arnhem Land To The Kimberley Ranges" available at www.dataworks.com.au

• some "facsimile" journals of explorers like Leichhardt and Kennedy published by Corkwood Press.

Les left the 'regular' Army in 1989 with the rank of Major and some years later, in 1998, Les rejoined the Army, part-time. He served in the 5th Aviation Unit based at Townsville and as far as we know he continued his enthusiasm for troop survival training and bush tucker information collection.

This is an Overlander magazine article (dated September 1987) announcing the departure of the ABC film crew convoy on a round Australia expedition expected to last more than a year to make a TV series "narrated by" Les Hiddins:

"Over The Top"

If you happen to come across three green trailer-toting Land-Rovers and a white ABC Land Cr*ser wandering around the most remote parts of northern Australia closely shadowed by an Army helicopter, during the next 12 months, don't worry about it, it's just the ABC going 'Over The Top'.

Well, that's the name of the television documentary series the ABC crew will be filming. 'Over The Top' will be a series of 10 separate expeditions with the narrator of the series, the Australian Army's expert on bush survival, Major Les Hiddins.

Hiddins has spent the past 10 years in northern Australia, cataloguing and studying native flora and fauna for their food value and availability and studying the survival techniques of the Aborigines, some of which have been in practice for over 30,000 years. Each episode of the series will tell a different story, by following the footsteps of an early explorer, or recounting the events surrounding a more recent expedition or survival incident.

Survival techniques in different terrain and climatic conditions will form the crux of each episode, but the series will also take a close look at four-wheel-driving techniques, the history of the north and the lifestyles of various Aboriginal communities.

The ten episodes will take a total of thirteen months to film, during which time the crew and their vehicles will cover some 70,000 kms, as much of it off-road as on!

Jaguar-Rover Australia have made the filming of the series possible by donating two brand new Land-Rover 110 County diesel wagons, which have been specially equipped with a complex array of extras that the average owner dreams of. (Pic of two 'County' wagons NSW yellow plate OMK-484 and OMK-???)

Jaguar-Rover Australia have equipped both vehicles with Army issue batteries and heavy duty springs, and bolt-on holders for extra equipment. Off Road Equipment have supplied heavy duty bullbars and Thomas PTO winches, and fabricated a special roofrack designed to use all of the Land-Rover 110's sloping roof space. Add long range fuel tanks and jerry cans which give the vehicles a range of 2000km, a complete set of recovery gear from Opposite Lock, tents from Eagles Camping, window tinting, Cibie driving lights, a 100 litre Trailblazer fridge and 60 litre fridge/freezer, special internal fabrication of trays and storage racks courtesy of the ABC's engineering department, a Codan SSB 99-channel Royal Flying Doctor Service radio and an AM CB unit, and you've just about got it covered.

The two Land-Rover 110 'County' wagons being driven by Scott Feeney and David Tunnell, will carry all the crew's equipment and supplies and be accompanied by Les Hiddins' new Army 110 ragtop. Each vehicle will also be towing a half-ton Army trailer. The ABC's white HJ60 Land Cr*ser will carry the film crew and camera gear and tow a specially designed trailer provided by Specialist Trailers.

An Army Kiawa helicopter will also accompany the crew on each of the six trips, averaging about eight weeks, from which the ten episodes will eventually be made.

After making it's way north from Sydney, the expedition proper begins in Townsville, from which the vehicles will visit Cape York, Arnhem Land, Gove, Darwin, Port Keates, Tanami, the Simpson Desert, Alice Springs, Prince Regent's Gorge, Kalumburu, the Arafura coast and Nhulunbuy, before returning to Darwin and later to Sydney after more than a year.

Bush Tucker Man:   Television episodes

None of the early BTM episodes display a title. The retail video packaging does have a list of titles and it is a good starting point, but when you look at the credits carefully, it is mysterious... The titles of the videos (mostly 4 x ½ hour episodes each VHS video) are:

1. From Arnhem Land To The Kimberley Ranges
2. From The Rainforests To Cape York
3. From The Wet To The Top End
4. From Wildman To The Coast

The following are notes about the first and second BTM series of episodes. This page is not an official ABC product, or affiliated with the producers but simply an unofficial unrelated unauthorised unpaid help to enjoying the episodes which are available in ABC shops... and broadcast occasionally.

Places in red    Flora & fauna in blue    Lessons in green

Introductory episode in NE Northern Territory - 'Mission statement' and Les' background - Borroloola Inn & Fuel point, north to Roper River and into Arnhem Land - weather change from 'The Dry' season to 'The Wet' season - bushtucker gathering methodology - keeping a croc watch and revolver at ready - freshwater mussel - turtle - duck - bream - barramundi - gathers freshwater shrimp from traps set in creek - bush tucker knowledge of elder locals at Ngukurr - emu appletree for knockout waterhole fishing - effective use of time - melaleuca (tea tree) drink - explorer Leichhardt - Weygibber - causarina trees and water table access - basic camp - insect net, fire placement - 'chair millionaire' - ants roam in rainy weather - billygoat plum vitamin C - figs - cocky apples - hibiscus petals - river crossing - swimming at Emu Springs oasis - fruit of Leichhardt tree - escarpment lookout back to Arnhem Land.

Northern Territory: south west of Darwin - Daly River to Port Keats - monsoon growth after 4 weeks rains - the wet January to April - mud 'roads' under water for miles and miles - excellent Land-Rover scene running along flooded tracks - everything comes to life - high grass growth and lush bush, fruit growing everywhere - wet weather, well sourced base camp needed - rebuilds favorite base camp at Port Keating - sets up sappling racks, benches, roof supports, clothes hangers, clothes line, bush strainer - works on foot - best way to gather specimens despite rain and - leeches caution - fish handline and bait/fruit from Syzyieum tree - fruit is tangy - polynesian arrowroot bulb - native grapes - root is local snake bite cure untested - clear sunny mornings mostly leading to afternoon rainstorms - high daytime temps, mid 40°C, builds sauna conditions - perspire 4 litres daily - lightning show every evening during wet - locals compete with birds and animals to harvest fruit, bird eggs etc - basis of nomadic culture relates to food chain - local Johnnie Tchula and family from Wadeye - excellent Land-Rover scene, tackling mud on boggy track - show tucker gathering in mud 'n mangroves - mud crabs - eats Teredo or mangrove tree worm (mollusc) - Les not impressed - back to base camp - considers this time of year so stirring - "When the time comes to leave, I'll be flat-out dragging myself 'way from th' place..."

Northern Territory: central Australia west of Alice Springs - Papunya - desert types - dry times - no wet season for some years - need tribal knowledge to find water - fierce competition for food - Honey ants well adapted - also part of local women's culture, Kaparis fruit - blue tongue lizard, goanas - water signs - tribal engraving for waterhole - Yuendumu and local stories - Harts Range and small water catchment with bush bananas for midday meal with locals - melting spinifex resin to repair jerrycan - firestarting lesson using condey's crystal and sugar to ignite cotton wool - shows use of a signal mirror - using eucalypt tree wraps leafy branches in the sun and waits for condensation inside the plastic - catch life-saving water without expending much energy. Last scenes on fringes of Tanami Desert - Lajamanu - local men do the hunting but women do the food gathering... so Les does most of his research using knowledge learnt from the women - wichety grubs cookup.

Northern Western Australia: (end of wet season - start of dry) by chopper into the Kimberly sandstone plateaus - Prince Regent River gorge - boab tree and nuts - carved history on trunk by sailors from HMC "Mermaid" 1820 (Capt. King) - bush passionfruit introduced from Argentina scattered around all over northern Australia - ill-fated exploration in 'The Wet' by George Grey expedition from north to south WA - kept journal but didn't use bush tucker such as mangrove snails - Les climbs escarpment escaping the salt water crocodile - superb lookout over huge St George Basin - isolation and stillness - tucker amongst lush vegetation in the gullies - famous Vitamin C content in Terminalia fruit - eating lemon/lime ants - also the superb Kalumburu almonds Les' favorite bush tucker - food water and shelter needs - rocky overhangs littered with ancient tools and indications of life - bush tucker of the area baby pandanus - vine growth pointing to underground yam (tuba) - dogs nut berry called 'rubbish tucker' by local men - Grey's journal - mystery of the wandjina paintings - bush secrets lost forever - so much to explore - King's Cascades - uses lure in the waters of the gorge for barramundi whilst awaiting chopper ride out.

Far North Queensland: dry season in rainforest near Cooktown, similar to where Les grew up and started Bushtucker studies - Les used rainforest experience in Vietnam - Meg Waterfall, fast flowing river drops 1000m to coastline on horizon - abseiling - Tin mining ruins, edges of "Big Scrub", north of Townsville - lacked understanding - tried to grow bananas, chilli - local food, water, shelter - ginger pips - ginger roots as strong flavouring - but in general the looks of fruits etc can be deceptive - looking for something to add to stew - caution on rainforest stinging leaves - travels further north, out of rainforest near Cooktown, Black Mountains volcanic granite - caves and crevices - legends of convicts and lost tribe of locals - mud road to Cape York - excellent Land-Rover scene crossing Cape York creek - open savanah country, Iron Range a great undisturbed rainforest - makes natural shelter in cane frame and banana leaves - leaves a yabby trap in the creek a few hours - eels, turtle, fish, yabbies, water snakes, nocturnal animals - boils the billy and makes yabby stew with rice and ginger - candle nuts as high energy food and 'candles' - sets up candle nuts.

Northern Queensland: Restoration Island by outboard boat - Capt. Bligh HMS Bounty in long boat landed here - black lipped oysters, large, a meal in every one - oysters high in iodine for sores - Bligh's diary mentions plants on island - nonda plum - same area of Bligh's feast - explorer Kennedy in 1848 on Iron Range was starving and all contingent eventually died - around Kennedy Hill area - hundreds of miles from destination - stayed in ranges away from coast and locals who could have fed them - drives Land-Rover along beaches to Lockhart Mission ruins - returns to the Mission with locals who grew up there etc - nostalgic - mangoes, sand crab as fish bait - takes time to observe hunting skills in mangroves - matchbox beans opened with machete - and pulps some vines - makes sapinum - suds for cleaning or stuns fish in waterholes - bush string from bark - tropical almond - coconuts - crayfish - nice tropical beaches - Mission planted coconuts - opens coconut on beach - sterile contents - food of the sea - meaty tail of the crayfish - shark signal - "Learn to roll with the country...conquering attitude of the explorers was in vain." - cooks up oysters - they open up easier using hot coals.

Northern Queensland - Northern Territory border: Moonlight Creek WW2 air crash - bomber was on run to New Guinea from base in Iron Range - some crew survived 141 days - amazing - got lost - very hot plus monsoon - found some berries and food around billabongs, but never enough - didn't know about centres of pandanus - just like cabbage - avoid poisonous cycad nuts - mud mussels - water lilies - water chestnuts - drives Land-Rover down dusty tracks, heads south into dry, arid zone of Cape York - in all this he finds nice billabong for camp, at night cometh the cane toads which is poisonous and is eaten by goannas - no goannas for locals to eat - 11,000 sq km of tribal land called China Walls, Dry Creek settlement - local leader shows Les some bush medicine from trees etc - Doomadgee country, Nicholson River tucker map - swim at Crocodile Hole Billabong with locals - digs around rocks (unusual to be in rocks) with elders using Army pick for "best tucker" sugar bag - bees wax used too - back at swim hole catches baby saltwater crocodile which is "good tucker" in the tail - bush walk locates native wells with rock as cover - important thru generations - oasis effect - almost a rainforest because of springs in the rocks - cluster of fig trees - eats cabbage tree palm - high nutritional value - explains collection and photography of bush tucker samples for research & analysis.

Northern Queensland: famous thru-dry-dusty-windscreen talk-to-camera - dry season - western Cape York, Aurukun settlement - arranged training of a few Army diggers - they chopper in for 4 days of bush tucker etc learning from locals - Les explains survival exercise - "You're not gonna starve while you're here..." - paperbark tree as a water source and water 'bowl' - catch and bake turtle - filesnake - local culture - meanwhile Les leaves diggers and tells story of area - earliest contact was Dutch in 1606 with locals at Pennefather River - nonda plum - cockle cooking - millions of shells in 10m high heaps - toxic gidgeegidgee berry - mangrove mud crab - mud mussel - 'blind your eye' mangrove cures stingray sting - builds dugout canoe from bombax tree to fish for stingray in water off beach - grevillea pods used as bushman clothes peg - returns to Aurukun to see end of exercise with diggers - hot coals cooking file snake and turtle, hunting with spears etc - really impressed with local knowledge and culture.

Northern Territory - Northern Queensland: (wet season) travels Darwin NT to Weipa FNQ - edge of Kakadu - rivers in flood - heat - wary of crocodiles - camps in high ground - afternoon thunderstorms - growth cycles - mosquito plague - waterfall - white berry fruit - gulf area water crossing - scurvy weed - tennisball fruit - native grapes - eagle - Cape York - wetland in coastal strips - magpie geese - flooded roads - winching out of flooded tracks - bark canoe construction.

Northern Queensland - Northern Territory: Barron Falls in flood - breaking camp in rain - edge of Atherton tableland - heads west to NT - Lava tubes Undara - breadfruit - artesian bore water - laundry in drum - "whole bunch of poor planning" - explorer Leichhardt - old cycad palms (toxic nut) - shady Leichhardt Pine and fruit - yabbie trap - Lost City formations - Murranji track - government bores for cattle drives - Victoria River Downs - then to Jasper Gorge - hawk trapping huts.

North Western Australia: (after wet season) Kimberleys - 3 fingers to dusk - swag camp - base camp set up - scout about - goanna - fruit bat/flying fox - supplejack string - crocodile free swim zone - wandjina rock paintings - bradshaw paintings in caves (locals disown them) - paperbark - lily tubas - billabong - boab tree and nuts - african origin link to bradshaws - WW2 Jap patrol on York Sound - Truscott Airfield near Kalumburu - sugarbag - 2 pilots coastal survival for 7 weeks 1932 at Cape Bernier - tucker was closeby - merinda fruit - wild passionfruit - supplejack - hibiscus - at Cathedral cave - saved by locals first aid - water crossing -be careful the Kimberleys are a long way from anywhere.

Northern Territory: Outboard work - coastline seaslugs - Cobourg Penninsula - Victoria settlement - British garrison 1838 - produced lime mortar from cockle shells - buildings unsuited - eventual demise - water problems in dry season - scrub turkeys - Indonesian cattle "bantang" - causarina trees - dig for water - locals traded food to British - longbums - barramundi lure and fishing - serrated gills - bush gaff - Arnhem coastal mangroves - some coastal cliffs - inland bush road (recently graded) - diesels - north/south termite mounds - Oenpelli - Maningrida school appearance - file snakes with locals - bulldust roads - HF radio links - road checks.

Northern Territory: (dry season) Shoal Bay east of Darwin - fossils on beach - Les has a break and sets up camp for a week's stay on the Mary River after visit to roadhouse with stingless native bees in awning post - flood plain/wetlands - crocodiles - barramundi - bush shower - bamboo bench - bush string from banyan tree - fruit bats (good reason for wide hat #1) - outboard river exploration - lotus lily flower seeds - water buffalo - soapy sap tree makes bush soap "works in cold water too!" - sandpaper fig as scourer - wire from propshaft makes camp toaster and sack seat - burning dung/meadowcakes to repell mosquitoes.

Northern Queensland: choppers into coastline eastern Cape York - Shelburne Bay - and travels to the western coast of Cape York - Jardine River - thongs flotsam - waterhole oasis - low tide walk across bay - marooned in mudflat Land Cr*ser "ohh what a feeling" oyster rack - walk on dunes piled up at Shelburne Bay - coastal hibiscus - native lady apple - puzzle fruit bush toy - coconuts - yams - feral pigs - crocodiles - jabaru (sp?) - rainforest search to 1960's Army kilotonnage blowdown site - pitcher plant - chopper out from waterfall camp - north to Jardine - downstream by air mattress - connection with Land Rover - ripe native lady apples - to west coast beach - flotsam timber - PNG bark canoe - Shivery man legend - more puzzlefruit.

Northern Territory: wears long pants!! - winter morning in Simpson Desert - north/south dunes - cricket game destination - loads bat on bonnet - paddymelons - camel food - camel origins - Alice Springs traffic - Gosse Bluff - spinifex growth - resin - jerry can repair 2 years old still good - water usage - ext. mirror shave - itchy catapillars nest - finchs clue to water closeby - also roo and emu tracks to waterhole - emu poison in waterholes - Mongrel Downs rain guage for sale - direction by shadowstick - desert tomato - "there are no golden rules for tucker at all" - cricket game with locals and commentary and seagulls at Allambi station near Wave Hill.