Robert G. Barrett

Who was Robert G. Barrett?

Robert G. Barrett was a popular Australian author of numerous books, most of them featuring the fictional Australian character Les Norton.

The character "Les Norton" was based on two likeable Sydney larrikin identities, "Ken Wills," retired Sydney TRG/ water police officer, first grade rugby league player for South Sydney in the mid 70s, and professional boxer and "Dugsa" Davis" an underworld hard man. Robert Barrett worked as a DJ and his two friends worked as doormen at "Randy Wicks" night club in Randwick, thinly veiled as the nightclub where Les works in the tales. After work they would "grab drinks at the early opener at Kings Cross and swap stories," whilst Barrett jotted down the occasional note. A montage of these stories and the continuing life experiences of these two uniquely Australian individuals are what appears in the Les Norton series. Therefore, the Les Norton tales are truer than may be imagined.

Robert G. Barrett also wrote other single book stories. 'So What Do You Reckon?' is a collection of Robert's columns from when he was a columnist for the Australian People magazine. He sold over 1,000,000 books in Australia. He died 20 September 2012 of cancer.