The Colt with No Regrets

Hard copy, hot metal and the power of the written word.

A highly amusing memoir about Elliot Hannay’s career in the Golden Age of Australian journalism, the stories he covered, people he met, and lessons he learned that include something for everyone but especially for journalists interested in their craft and the big social and political issues that drive it.

The Colt with No Regrets is a memoir about the Golden Age of Australian journalism and is a timeless story about growing up. It’s the personal journey of Elliot Hannay, who started as a 16-year-old boy working in a country town, when reporters worked with hard copy and hot metal and tough old editors taught cadets their craft with a mixture of instruction and reprimand.

The book follows Elliot’s career in newspapers, spanning decades and covering politics, racism, murder and more. It’s also about finding love and sharing life with an amazing partner; and a growing friendship with an eccentric gay Englishman who found sanctuary among hard-nosed, cynical journalists and tough war-veteran printers, in an era when intolerance was far more common than inclusion.

The people are real, the events did happen, and the dialogue and detail are as honest as unreliable memories can recreate.