Change creates the possibility of nostalgia, which is the driving force behind Warren Fahey’s Tucker Track. Fahey describes himself as a folklorist, and the book is aimed at those who enjoy verses, proverbs and household sayings. It is a collection of food-themed snippets. For my palate, Tucker Track is a rather bland snack. Many of the snippets are simply definitional, some give a little historical information or retrieve a passage from an archive, and a few are included for their dry entertainment value. A ‘Bushman’s breakfast’ is apparently ‘A fart, a yawn and a good look ’round’.

Our imported and changing food habits mean that the boundaries of ‘Australian-ness’ in discussions of eating are perhaps even more hazy than in other cultural conversations. But Fahey handles uncertainties of national distinction with untroubled lightness, eclectically listing spring rolls, pizza, stroganov, Devonshire tea, baba ghanoush, tomato sauce and damper. This miscellany is flavoured throughout, though, by a wearing fondness for swagman/station/bush ephemera.