A Shorter History of Australia

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Random House Australia, 2009 - History - 324 pages
After a lifetime of research and debate on Australian and international history, Geoffrey Blainey is well-placed to introduce us to the people who have played a part and to guide us through the events which have created the Australian identity--the mania for spectator sport, the suspicion of the tall poppy, the rivalries of Catholic and Protestant, Sydney and Melbourne, new and old homelands, the conflicts of war abroad and race at home, the importance of technology, the recognition of the Australian Aboriginal past and Native Title, the successes and failures of the nation. He has described significant events and trends of the early-20th century. A final chapter boldly asked: what made Australia's history so distinctive? He shows two decisive factors--distance and climate--weaving in and out, again and again, over 50,000 years.
 

Contents

When sea was land
3
The coming clash
17
A poor paradise
25
Arabs of the grasslands
39
The fading of the yellow flannel
53
Part Two The Land I Love
69
The first gold rushes
71
The age of the marvellous
88
The war to end war
169
What an unlimited future
183
A tidal wave from Japan
203
A car and a mountain
217
Black and green resurrection
243
A nation on walkabout
258
the Queen and Mr Mabo
271
The vast open spaces
284

Eyes
111
The rise of the sporting hero
122
Riding the disaster
133
The flush of violet
143
Part Three From Gallipoli to Uluru
167
Sails and anchors
295
A short chronicle of Australian history
305
Further reading
310
Index
314
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About the author (2009)

Geoffrey Blainey is an Australian historian, born 1930 in Melbourne, Victoria. He is a graduate of the University of Melbourne. He taught at the University of Melbourne and held chairs in economic history and history. He taught at Harvard University as a visiting professor of Australian Studies. He has written over 36 and is the author of The Story of Australia's People: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia for which he was a joint winner of the 2016 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Australian history.

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