This is the fascinating story of a Quaker family from England who camped on the beach in 1837 before the city of Adelaide was created, but rose to owning a 3000-acre estate in the Adelaide Hills. Barton Hack built his first house where the Adelaide Railway station now stands, became a merchant who owned ships, a whaling station and the first vineyard in the Province, and was chairman of the first Chamber of Commerce in Australia. His younger brother Stephen became a grazier and explorer. Afte...

What was it like to be involved in the heady days of 'second wave' feminism in Australia, when the role of women at home and at work changed decisively? Iola Mathews was one of the founders of the Women's Electoral Lobby, a journalist at The Age, and later a leading ACTU advocate for women workers during the 'Accord' with the Hawke-Keating Government. She was one of the first generation of women trying to 'have it all' with a career and children. In this honest and revealing memoir, she ta...

A fascinating and in-depth insight into the remarkable life and career of one of the most influential and adroit politicians of his generation'Extremely readable and often funny, much like a Robertson general debate speech. I ate it up in about 48 hours.' Henry Cooke, The SpinoffIn this illuminating and beautifully written book, Grant Robertson reflects on the major events in his life, from growing up in a loving but complex family, through to his highly su...

Eureka Stockade - the unfinished revolution . . . In 1854, Victorian miners fought a deadly battle under the flag of the Southern Cross at the Eureka Stockade. Though brief and doomed to fail, the battle is legend in both our history and in the Australian mind. Henry Lawson wrote poems about it, its symbolic flag is still raised, and even the nineteenth-century visitor Mark Twain called it: � a strike for liberty�. Was this rebellion a fledgling nation�s first attempt to assert its indepen...

In this side-splitting sequel to his best-selling history, David Hunt takes us to the Australian frontier. This was the Wild South, home to hardy pioneers, gun-slinging bushrangers, directionally challenged explorers, nervous indigenous people, Caroline Chisholm and sheep. Lots of sheep.First there was Girt. Now comes . . . True GirtTrue Girt introduces Thomas Davey, the hard-drinking Tasmanian governor who invented the Blow My Skull cocktail, a...

The controversial legacy of the Rudd-Gillard governments, along with Labor's 2013 election defeat, looms large over the party. Labor risks years in the political wilderness unless it can reinvent itself. What did it get right, where did it go wrong, and how can it regain the trust of voters?Troy Bramston uses new in-depth interviews with Kevin Rudd and Bill Shorten, the advice of Gough Whitlam, Bob Hawke and Paul Keating, and insights from Julia Gillard's inner circle to look at La...

Thousands of convicts were transported to Australia. Of these, some managed to escape incarceration and went on to achieve notoriety in their new land. A few tried to invent a Robin Hood reputation, taking the side of the poor settler against those in authority. Some committed crimes so heinous they were both feared and despised by the general population. Their lives were desperate, their fate often tragic. AUSTRALIAS MOST NOTORIOUS CONVICTS reveals not only their stories but also the horr...

Tales of the iconic flag that came represent the rebellious Australian spirit, from Eureka to Ned Kelly to Gallipoli and beyondEver since it was launched in the minefields of Victoria the Southern Cross flag has been a symbol for a rebellious Australian spirit - from the battles of Eureka to those of Ned Kelly, from the birth of the Labor Party to the Anzacs at Galliopoli. the men and women involved took the flag as their symbol. But as much as it became a metaphor...

Educator, activist, agent of change - the life and career of one of Australia's most influential women.'extraordinary'Georgie Dent'a trailblazing headline act'Sandra Sully'one of the great feminist superheroines'Jacqueline Maley'a pleasure and an education'Dr Anne Summers, AO'a national treasure'Dr Kerryn Phelps, AMWendy McCarthy has made her mark on Australia in many extraordinary ways. For...

'A political bombshell book' - Sunday Star TimesBeginning with the shock resignation of John Key, Blue Blood reveals the reasons behind one of the most dramatic falls in popularity in New Zealand's political history and tells the full story of how the National Party went to war with itself.Informed by campaign emails and internal party communications, and with commentary from key advisors, staffers, and past and current MPs, Andrea Vance s...

A candid and comprehensive account from one of National's main powerbrokers during the John Key years.'Few ministers have such influence and make the impact and contribution Steven Joyce did. We knew him as Mr Fixit; the press gallery called him The Minister for Everything; but the public saw it more simply. He was the guy who got the stuff they wanted done and he did it in spades and with style.' - Sir John Key'Steven Joyce was at the heart of...

In this volume of a unique history of Australia where people are always centre stage, bestselling author Thomas Keneally brings to life the vast range of characters who have formed our national story.Convicts and Aborigines, settlers and soldiers, patriots and reformers, bushrangers and gold seekers, it is from their lives and their stories that he has woven a vibrant history to do full justice to the rich and colourful nature of our unique national character.The story begi...