Major Leslie James Hiddins AM, known as "The Bush Tucker Man," is a retired Australian Army soldier and war veteran. He is best known for his love and knowledge of the Australian bush, especially "bush tucker," which was shown in the TV series Bush Tucker Man from 1988 to 1996. He is recognized by his uniquely modified Army Slouch hat. He has also written several books for children and adults, and in 2019, he started a website with a searchable digital database of bush tucker.

Career

As a soldier in the Australian Army, Hiddins served in the Vietnam War twice between 1966 and 1968. His first assignment was as an explorer in the infantry unit.

After returning from the war in the late 1960s, Hiddins decided to change his role. He moved from the infantry to army aviation, where he flew helicopters over northern Australia and Arnhem Land. In 1987, he received a Defence Fellowship to study survival techniques in northern Australia. He was the main writer of the Australian Army’s survival manual that year. During this research, Aboriginal people introduced him to the Kakadu plum (Terminalia ferdinandiana), a plant they had used for thousands of years. Hiddins says that tests on fruit he provided showed it had the highest level of Vitamin C found in any natural substance.

Hiddins retired from the Australian Regular Army in 1989 with the rank of Major. He continued working with the Army Reserve until 2001, helping Indigenous Australian communities in northern Australia. His research inspired the TV series The Bush Tucker Man, which began in 1993.

In 2001, Hiddins helped create a wilderness retreat for war veterans on a 9 km piece of government land near the Normanby River at "Kalpowar Station," next to Rinyirru National Park in Cape York Peninsula. The area, named "Pandanus Park," had no modern facilities and was difficult to reach. After years of disagreements with the government over illegal use of the land, the group received a 15-year lease in 2005 when Kalpowar Station was returned to Aboriginal ownership.

Recognition, awards and honours

In 1987, Hiddins received a Defence Fellowship to study survival in northern Australia.

In September 1985, he was given a National Medal.

In June 1987, during the Queen's Birthday Honours, he was named a Member of the Order of Australia for his work with the Australian army in the field of combat survival.

On 28 March 2008, Hiddins was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science by James Cook University's Faculty of Science, Engineering and Information Technology. This was because of his outstanding and distinguished contribution to Australia and the northern Queensland community through his work on the ABC TV series Bush Tucker Man, his time in the defence force (including two tours of duty), where he worked with indigenous communities, and creating a bush retreat in Cape York for Vietnam veterans to enjoy.

The National Museum of Australia in Canberra has a Bush Tucker Man display that includes some of his original equipment, such as his hat, camera, and backpack.

TV programmes

Hiddins' research helped create the TV series The Bush Tucker Man, produced by ABC Television in 1993. The series was worked on together by Stephen Burstow, David Telfer, and Richard Walker, who also wrote, directed, and produced it.

In the series, Hiddins travels in a Land Rover Perentie while wearing his famous hat. He finds and explains native Australian bush food, called "bush tucker." Hiddins appeared in two ABC TV series titled Bush Tucker Man, as well as a series called Bush Tucker Man – Stories of Survival.

Episodes of Bush Tucker Man:
Episode 1: Arnhem Land (Ngukurr, Northern Territory)
Episode 2: The Wet in Port Keats (Northwest Northern Territory during the Wet Season)
Episode 3: Desert (Desert Country)
Episode 4: Prince Regent Gorge (Heart of the Kimberley)
Episode 5: Rain Forest (Rainforest at Iron Range)
Episode 6: Coastal (Northern Queensland Coastline)
Episode 7: Doomadgee (Gulf Country)
Episode 8: Aurukun (West Coast of Cape York)

Episodes of Bush Tucker Man – Stories of Survival:
Episode 1: Wet Season
Episode 2: East To West
Episode 3: Kimberley
Episode 4: Top End
Episode 5: Wildman
Episode 6: Desert Story
Episode 7: Coastal Story

Episodes of Bush Tucker Man – The Collection (2010):
Episode 1: The Coffee Royal Affair
Episode 2: The Cannibal Convict
Episode 3: The Great Misadventure (The Burke and Wills expedition)
Episode 4: The Best of Them All (John McDouall Stuart)
Episode 5: The Dutch Settlement
Episode 6: Gold Fever (Lasseter's Reef)
Episode 7: The Passionate Prussian (Ludwig Leichhardt)
Episode 8: Into The Vilest Country (Edmund Kennedy and Jackey Jackey in the Cape York Peninsula)

A DVD with all the episodes of Bush Tucker Man was released in 2010, called Bush Tucker Man: The Collection, and re-released in 2019.

Hiddins narrated and presented two ABC documentaries: Pandora – in the Wake of the Bounty (1993) and The Resurrection of the Batavia (1995), both created by Paul Hawker.

Ray Mears made a BBC program about and with Hiddins, shown on BBC Two in June 2009 as part of his Ray Mears Goes Walkabout series.

Hiddins appeared in an episode of ABC TV's Landline program in 2019.

Other media

Hiddins and his wife, Sandy, created an Instagram account where they share old and new photos. This has attracted a new and younger group of fans, including primary school teachers in remote Indigenous communities in Arnhem Land.

In 2019, Hiddins created a website that requires payment. The website features a searchable digital database of bush tucker. Users can search by location and season, and the website shows a list of plants and animals that are likely to be found in that area during that time.

Publications

Hiddins has written several books, including Bush Tucker Man: Stories of Exploration and Survival (1996), Bush Tucker Man: Tarnished Heroes (1997), Explore Wild Australia with the Bush Tucker Man (1999), and Bush Tucker Field Guide (2002). In 2000, Hiddins published four books written for children: The Coral Coast, The Top End, The Tropical Rainforest, and The Living Desert.

He also created two CD-ROMs: From the Rainforest to Cape York Peninsula and From Arnhem Land to the Kimberley Ranges.