He travelled extensively around the state, working in a variety of itinerant jobs including employment as a rabbit poisoner, boundary rider, drover, prospecting for gold as well as harvesting sandalwood.

[3][4] He saw action in Palestine, Sinai and Turkey, being wounded at Beersheba and Gallipoli – where he acted as spotter for noted sniper Billy Sing.

He wrote on a multitude of topics, including travel, recollection, biography, history, anthropology and his own ideas on possible future events.

Idriess wrote from real life experiences using knowledge he had personally gained by travelling extensively and working at a variety of occupations.

In 2017, Nicolas Rothwell said: "As so often in Australian letters, an initial fall into obscurity and the harsh judgments of the literary establishment serve as good indicators of a writer's pre-eminence".

A series of four titles which were basically "how-to" works, the first being commissioned by the Australian government as a means of opening up of the "outback" during the depression years.