Rum Jungle
Australian History Indigenous Studies Collectible Australiana Post-war Mining History Cold War Industry Mid-century Travel Writing Uranium Boom Reportage
First-edition paperback of Alan Moorehead’s 1954 classic “Rum Jungle” is a scarce piece of Australiana that has never been reprinted in this compact 159-page textbook format. Chronicling the author’s on-the-ground reportage of the Northern Territory’s uranium boom and its collision with Aboriginal land and culture, the book is cited in most academic bibliographies of Australian post-war history yet is almost impossible to find in the original 1954 printing—especially with the tight, unread binding offered here.
What makes this copy collectible is the immediacy of Moorehead’s eyewitness narrative: he interviews miners, traditional owners and bureaucrats while the radioactive dust is still settling, producing a snapshot of 1950s Australia at the crossroads of Cold War industry and Indigenous survival. The yellowed pages and period adverts preserve the flavour of the era, and the previous owner’s neat inscription on the fly-leaf (no author signature) only adds to the provenance without detracting from readability.
For collectors of Aboriginal history, mining memorabilia or mid-century travel writing, this vintage first edition delivers content that was later expunged or glossed over in official accounts. A tight copy with honest edge wear, it is ready for reading, research display or as a cornerstone in an Alan Moorehead collection.
Refer to our eBay listing for a full condition report and many more high-quality pictures of this item.
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