Early years Idriess was born in
Waverley, a suburb of Sydney, to Juliette Windeyer (who had been born as Juliette Edmunds in 1865 at
Binalong) and Walter Owen Idriess (a
sheriff's officer born in 1862, who had emigrated from
Dolgellau, in
Wales). At birth Ion Idriess's name was registered as "Ion Windeyer", He saw action in
Palestine,
Sinai and
Turkey, being wounded at
Beersheba and
Gallipoli – where he acted as spotter for noted sniper
Billy Sing. After returning to Australia and recuperating from his wounds, he travelled to remote Cape York, and worked with
pearlers and
missionaries in the
Torres Strait islands and
Papua New Guinea where he worked as a gold miner. Other ventures included buffalo shooting in the
Northern Territory, and journeys to Central and Western Australia.
Career as a writer In 1928 Idriess settled in Sydney where he wrote as a freelance writer. His writing style drew on his experiences as a soldier, prospector, and bushman. He wrote on a multitude of topics, including travel, recollection, biography, history, anthropology and his own ideas on possible future events. His books were generally non-fiction, but written in a narrative, story style. Most of his books were published by
Angus & Robertson. Idriess wrote from real life experiences using knowledge he had personally gained by travelling extensively and working at a variety of occupations. "Idriess was no stylist, but his writing was immediate, colourful, well paced and, despite the speed at which it was written, always well structured." ==Death and legacy==