John Charles Orr is an Australian author who has made a lifelong study of the Pacific region. He has published several works on the history, culture and social aspects of this often misunderstood part of the world. His books are based on intense and painstaking research, and illuminate events and characters in far more detail than found in most other works. John's work is always the result of diligent research and in most cases a complete understanding of his subject, by both travel and close personal contact.
Trooper Ainslie
- the settling of the Limestone Plains (Canberra) and its hero.
Trooper Ainslie is the first book to tell of the beginnings of Canberra; the unique and beautiful city which, as the world knows, is the capital of Australia.
The district's early history, even in 1913, was quite remote to the people living there. The recent past was uneventful, and wits at the time were prompted to remark that it was typical of the new nation as a whole. And they were right perhaps; but not in the way they meant.
Australia's colonial period was turbulent. There was no lack of drama, if there was of a lot else. Trooper Ainslie brings all of this in while focusing on a singular location, known then as the Limestone Plains. The central figure is James Ainslie, an ex-trooper of the Scots Greys, who managed what was to be the Duntroon property for the Campbell family. Canberra might not have been without him.
Here is 'the past' as it should be written, with no smell of must, and with a warmth of life: bringing a distance close, for the reader to see, and feel.
John published this book in 1978, and we have secured a few copies of the original print run for sale at A$13.00 each, posted to an Australian address. Buy two or all books for 10% discount. International prices are assessed individually according to postage costs.
Savage of Bau
Being a dramatized history of the first European contacts in the Fiji Islands, the sandalwood trade and its conduct, the rise of the island of Bau under Na Ulivou the war chief and the career of one Charles Savage.
The Fiji Islands have become known to thousands of visitors as a favourite holiday land. Warm memories are taken away of the peace and relaxation of Fiji, the friendliness and dignity of the people and the vivid natural loveliness of this 'hub of the Pacific'. The bare facts of SAVAGE OF BAU are noted in most of the guide and travel books, but until now there has not been a full scale account.
In the dangerous days of the sandalwood trade and cannibal wars of the early 1800s, quick wits and ruthlessness was often the price of survival. Charles Savage was a man who knew how to survive. His friend Na Ulivou, the war chief of Bau, wanted his island and people to be first in the land. With the possession of muskets, Charles Savage made Na Ulivou's dream start to be realized. The sailor who had shipwrecked in the Fijis was given a great house to live in, prestige and rank, and all the women he desired.
SAVAGE OF BAU has action and color in plenty, wild adventure in a splendid setting. It is fascinating history, and a story of men's behavior and character. The reader has here a different book, but one which is firmly in the great tradition in the South Seas literature, from Melville to Michener. Once read, it is not likely to be forgotten.
John published this book in 1977, and we have secured a few copies of the original print run for sale at A$13.00 each, posted to an Australian address. Buy two or all books for 10% discount. International prices are assessed individually according to postage costs.
A Far and Stranger Shore
A tale of the Pacific, guano, fertiliser and Malden Island.
It may rightly be claimed that there has not been a book like this one. Because its true story, until now, has not been told.
Cheap fertilizer, as a subject, would seem to be worth only a yawn. But in the mid and late 19th century, it meant considerable adventure. Guano, the accumulated waste-matter of countless generations of sea-birds, was in strong demand; and to dig it for ships from Australia, New Zealand, America and Europe, men went to live on the grimmest and most lonely islands of the Pacific.
Malden proved to be the best of these. It was also an unusual and disturbing place, with its scatter of mysterious Polynesian ruins, and its lagoon of incredible depth.
A Far and Stranger Shore is, without question, a must for students of the Pacific. There has been a gap for all of this time. For the general reader, here is a vividly presented drama, beginning in Ireland, and moving to Colonial Australia. In particular, as a counterpoint to Malden Island, is the city of Melbourne in its fantastic rise.
Characters who really lived and played their parts; most of all Abraham McCullough, the 'governor' og Malden Island, and Mary, his steadfast wife.
John published this book in 1997, and we have secured a few copies of the original print run for sale at A$20.00 each, posted to an Australian address. Buy two or all books for 10% discount. International prices are assessed individually according to postage costs.
Please Email enquiries and requests for purchase to
Jan Squire
This page last updated on 5 May 2007.
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