G'day Bud'
The advice re nokkies is given so often for the simple reason that it's good advice. I don't think anyone has ever regretted spending money on a decent set of nokkies for the simple reason that they have so many uses.
The advice I received was to spend 12 months with a decent set of (everyone on the forum calls 'em binos but when I was growing up they were called nokkies. Still, you know what I mean) and then, if the interest was still there, lash out on a scope. I was good. I followed that advice with a set of 20x80's on a quality tripod and the 12 months was up 3 weeks ago and I've got a 12" GSO dob arriving in the next day or two, hopefully.
Mind you, much as I'm looking forward to the scope, the (doovers) won't be getting retired. There's nothing like a good field of view for certain views (Pleiades, LMC etc) and there's no setting up!
As for books - for my money you can't go past Astronomy 2008 from Quasar Publishing
www.quasarastronomy.com.au which you should be able to find in most good book stores for about $28 from memory. Formulated specificly for the Southern Hemisphere, it gives a wealth of practical information for the enthusiast.
Don't forget the Moon. If it's gonna stuff up the rest of the viewing, you might as well view it. Try Exploring the Moon by Steve Massey from New Holland Publishers.
Throw in a few issues of Aus. Sky and Telescope Magazine, membership of IIS and Bob's your uncle. (If you've got an uncle called Bob, that is)
Cheers!