Major Leslie James Hiddins AM (born 13 August 1946 in Brisbane, Queensland), known as "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 recognized by his distinctively modified Akubra hat and big cheesy grin. Military service As a soldier with the Australian Army, Hiddins did two deployments in South Vietnam between 1966 and 1968, the first as a forward scout in the infantry. In 1980, he was awarded a Defence Fellowship to research survival in northern Australia. He was the principal author of the Australian Army's military survival manual (1987). As part of this research, Hiddins was introduced to the Kakadu plum (Terminalia ferdinandiana) by the Aboriginal people, who had used the plant for thousands of years. He claims that the analysis finding it to have the highest concentration of Vitamin C of any known natural substance in the world was made on fruit he provided. Hiddins retired from the Australian Regular Army (ARA) in 1989 with the rank of Major but continued to serve with the Army Reserve (ARES) until 2001, working with Indigenous Australian communities in northern Australia. Bush Tucker Man This research turned into the TV series The Bush Tucker Man. The series involves Hiddins driving around in a Land Rover Perentie, in later episodes a white non-Army custom Land Rover Perentie (commonly confused with a Land Rover County) with his trademark hat, finding and describing native Australian bush food or "bush tucker". Hiddins 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). In 2000 Hiddins published four books specifically for children: The Coral Coast, The Top End, The Tropical Rainforest, and The Living Desert. He has released two CD-ROMs, From the Rainforest to Cape York Peninsula and From Arnhem Land to the Kimberley Ranges. The National Museum of Australia in Canberra has a Bush Tucker Man display with some of his original bush gear. In 2001, Hiddins led an effort to establish a wilderness