About Phil Bianchi

I am a retired career state public servant having spent 38 years in the WA TAFE most of which was as a manager at campus level.

Nowadays I am Bush Historian, 4WDriver and Travel author. I have had a long interest in Western Australian history with a particular focus on exploration history and journals written by explorers, prospectors and bushmen.

With my wife, who assisted me in research and my writing endeavours, I have travelled extensively in the Western Deserts of WA and have completed many trips following the routes of explorers and bush men such as Frank Hann, Charles C. Hunt, Ernest Giles, John and Alexander Forrest, Alfred W. Canning, David Carnegie, Peter Muir and Len Beadell, to name a few.

There is something magical about following in the footsteps of an early explorer; to locate one of his named features, camps, tree blazes or rock inscriptions. Our 4Wdrive allows us to relive a explorer’s journey, take photographs of sites and features discovered and named by them. The early explorers ate a staple diet of dried beef and damper and slept on the ground. If they were lucky they rode a horse, otherwise they walked. We however, travel in air-conditioned comfort, with refrigerated food and comfortable beds and tents. They were certainly a hardy breed and did much for the progress and development of our great state.

My main areas of interest in WA history are the Woodlines of WA that fuelled the gold mining industry, the Canning Stock Route and exploration journals. You can see my published books here.

I have written numerous 4WD magazine destination related articles for Western 4Wheel Driver, 4WDrive Action, 4WDrive Action Camping and Camper Trailer, Go Camping Australia, Fishing WA and What Tradies Want magazines.

Nowadays I only write 4WD destination related articles and two columns ‘What’s In A Name?’ and ‘The Things You See’ by Truthful Phil in Western 4Wheel Driver magazine.

My passion is to preserve and promote WA bush history through research and publishing books, regularly speaking to clubs and groups and organising 4WDrive trips for interested parties to follow in the footsteps of our early explorers and bushmen.