Major Leslie James (Les) Hiddins AM (born August 13, 1946 in Brisbane, Queensland), aka "The Bush Tucker Man" is a retired Australian Army soldier and war veteran, who is best known for his love and knowledge of the Australian bush. Hiddins is recognised by his distinctively modified Akubra hat and big grin.
As a soldier with the Australian Army, Hiddins did two tours of duty in Vietnam between 1966 and 1968, the first as a forward scout in the infantry. In 1987 he was awarded a Defence Fellowship to research survival in northern Australia. He was the principal author of the Australian Army's Combat Survival manual (1987) and was awarded Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1987
This research turned into a hit TV series The Bush Tucker Man. The series involves Hiddins driving around in a Land Rover Perentie, then in later episodes a Defender 110 with his trademark hat, finding and describing native Australian bush food or "Bush Tucker". Les appeared in two ABC TV series of Bush Tucker Man, and the series Bush Tucker Man - Stories of Survival. He also appeared in the TV documentaries Pandora - in the Wake of the Bounty and The Batavia. His other publications are Bush Tucker Man - Stories of Exploration and Survival (1996), Bush Tucker Man - Tarnished Heroes (1997), Explore Wild Australia with the Bush Tucker Man (1999), Bush Tucker Fieldguide (2002).
