A Commonwealth of ThievesIn this spirited history of the remarkable first four years of the convict settlement of Australia, Thomas Keneally offers us a human view of a fascinating piece of history. Combining the authority of a renowned historian with a brilliant narrative flair, Keneally gives us an inside view of this unprecedented experiment from the perspective of the new colony’s governor, Arthur Phillips. Using personal journals and documents, Keneally re-creates the hellish overseas voyage and the challenges Phillips faced upon arrival: unruly convicts, disgruntled officers, bewildered and hostile natives, food shortages, and disease. He also offers captivating portrayals of Aborigines and of convict settlers who were determined to begin their lives anew. A Commonwealth of Thieves immerses us in the fledgling penal colony and conjures up the thrills and hardships of those first four improbable years. |
From inside the book
Page
... ( later named Parramatta ) BURRAMATTAGAL Hawkesbury River Broken Bay North Head CAMERAIGAL Port Jackson South Head WANGAL Sydney Cove Cooks River BEDIAGAL Botany Bay Hacking River PACIFIC OCEAN N Port Hacking ཟླ་ ས་ UP 10 kilometres.
... ( later named Parramatta ) BURRAMATTAGAL Hawkesbury River Broken Bay North Head CAMERAIGAL Port Jackson South Head WANGAL Sydney Cove Cooks River BEDIAGAL Botany Bay Hacking River PACIFIC OCEAN N Port Hacking ཟླ་ ས་ UP 10 kilometres.
Page 4
... Cook . The Resolution travelled well to the south near the Antarctic ice mass , and rendezvoused with Adventure at the islands Tasman had named New Zealand . Then in 1776 , the Resolution and the HMS Discovery , again under Cook , could ...
... Cook . The Resolution travelled well to the south near the Antarctic ice mass , and rendezvoused with Adventure at the islands Tasman had named New Zealand . Then in 1776 , the Resolution and the HMS Discovery , again under Cook , could ...
Page 11
... cook's weekly meat supply . Their bedding was at the discretion of the keeper . One of the motivations for joining gangs , or criminal " canting crews , " was that if imprisoned , the individual criminal was not left to the bare mercies ...
... cook's weekly meat supply . Their bedding was at the discretion of the keeper . One of the motivations for joining gangs , or criminal " canting crews , " was that if imprisoned , the individual criminal was not left to the bare mercies ...
Page 14
... Cook had visited in 1770 , had an eloquent proponent , though for a different reason than the penal one . Mario Matra , an Italian - American from New York and loyal to the Crown , had sailed as a gentleman in Cook's company and claimed ...
... Cook had visited in 1770 , had an eloquent proponent , though for a different reason than the penal one . Mario Matra , an Italian - American from New York and loyal to the Crown , had sailed as a gentleman in Cook's company and claimed ...
Page 16
... Cook's Endeavour , as leader of a number of distinguished artists and scientists , the young Banks became so famous from his Botany Bay discoveries of new species that Linnaeus , the famous Swedish scientist , suggested that if New ...
... Cook's Endeavour , as leader of a number of distinguished artists and scientists , the young Banks became so famous from his Botany Bay discoveries of new species that Linnaeus , the famous Swedish scientist , suggested that if New ...
Contents
Section 16 | 218 |
Section 17 | 230 |
Section 18 | 245 |
Section 19 | 257 |
Section 20 | 270 |
Section 21 | 279 |
Section 22 | 289 |
Section 23 | 295 |
Section 9 | 135 |
Section 10 | 161 |
Section 11 | 171 |
Section 12 | 186 |
Section 13 | 190 |
Section 14 | 197 |
Section 15 | 204 |
Section 24 | 305 |
Section 25 | 320 |
Section 26 | 339 |
Section 27 | 363 |
Section 28 | 369 |
Other editions - View all
A Commonwealth of Thieves: The Improbable Birth of Australia Thomas Keneally No preview available - 2007 |
Common terms and phrases
aboard Aboriginal alphabetical listing amongst Arabanoo arrived Arthur Phillip ashore Australia Barangaroo Bateson Bennelong boat Botany Bay Bowes Smyth British brought Bryant Cape Town Captain clothing coast Colby colony convict women Cook crew David Collins death England Eora European Evan Nepean fish Flynn Gorgon Government House governor harbour head honour hulks Irish John Johnson journey Kable King Lady Juliana Lady Penrhyn land Lieutenant London Lord Sydney Macarthur Major Ross male convicts marines Mary McEntire Nagle named natives Nepean Neptune Newgate Nicol Norfolk Island officers Parramatta Parramatta River party Pemulwuy penal Pérouse Philip Gidley King Phillip in Hunter Port Jackson Portsmouth pounds prison deck punishment Ralph Clark rations River sail sailors Second Fleet sent sentenced settlement ships Sirius soldiers South Wales Corps spear Supply Surgeon White Sydney Cove told transportation victs voyage Watkin Tench Wentworth wife woman wound wrote young