Camping By A Billabong: Gay & Lesbian Stories From Australia
Australian History Local History Memoir Antiquarian & Collectible LGBTQ+ Biography Camping & Outdoor Queer Studies
Discover a rare slice of Australian queer heritage in Robert French’s 1993 illustrated paperback, Camping By A Billabong: Gay & Lesbian Stories From Australia. Part memoir, part local history, this collectible volume gathers intimate true stories set against the rugged beauty of the outback—where billabongs become secret meeting places and camping trips double as acts of self-liberation. Blackwattle Press’s vintage first edition (ISBN 9781875243143) is prized by scholars and collectors for its first-hand accounts of same-sex life on the continent before mainstream visibility.
What makes this copy especially appealing is its condition: a tight, clean book with only a discrete whited-out personal stamp on the cover page—no underlining, no splits, and the original matte photographic plates intact. The 160-page illustrated narrative speaks to young adults, armchair travellers, and LGBTQ+ readers who want both authentic Australian camping lore and a window into hidden queer communities. Because the title was printed in a modest Canberra run, copies seldom surface in better-than-good shape.
Owning Camping By A Billabong means adding an out-of-print cornerstone to your Australiana, gay-studies, or antiquarian shelf. Keywords such as “Australian local history,” “gay camping memoir,” and “collectible queer biography” consistently draw high search traffic, confirming its lasting relevance. Secure this vintage 1993 edition now and hold a tangible piece of Australia’s LGBTQ+ past, ready for reading, research, or display.
Refer to our eBay listing for a full condition report and many more high-quality pictures of this item.
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