In 1928, after a white man was killed, a punitive party mounted a series of attacks on Aborigines northwest of Alice Springs. The party's leader admitted that 31 Aborigines were killed. One missionary in the area put the toll at 70; another at as many as 100.Since 1911, the administration of the Northern Territory had been the direct responsibility of the Commonwealth. In placing this event and others within the context of policies pursued by the national government, Governing ...

Shortlisted for the Victorian Community History Awards 2019They came from an old worldto a new land. The Yiddish speakers from Eastern Europe brought few materialpossessions but clung to a language and a culture that defined who they were, away of life that had endured pogroms, persecution and a genocide that pushedthem to the brink of extinction. Melbourne gave them a second chance at life,an opportunity to rebuild a secular Yiddish world that sat at the core of t...

Australian Race Relations has been a subject of continuing controversy, whether focused on Aboriginal issues such as the High Court's Mabo decision, or the latest wave of immigrants. This book provides the historical context necessary for an understanding of contemporary issues in a society coming to terms with native title and multiculturalism.Based on over twenty years of research, Australian Race Relations is the first history of the subject that gives detailed...

On 27 May 1967 an overwhelming majority of electors voted in a national referendum to amend clauses of the Australian Constitution concerning Aboriginal people. 27 May 2007 is the 40th anniversary of this landmark event. The referendum is commonly considered the turning point in Australian historical and cultural life. The historic moment when citizenship rights were granted - including the vote - and the Commonwealth finally assumed responsibility for Aboriginal affairs. This book explore...

In 2006 Australia's population was 20.7 million. It is projected to reach 23 million in 2014. What is driving this rapid population growth, and how is the Rudd government dealing with immigration at a time of recession?The diversification of the immigration intake over the last 50 years, from the British Isles to Europe and Asia, is widely recognised. But there is less understanding of the development of Australia's temporary program, which since 2000 is the major component of the ...

The fascinating story of the exceptional maritime explorer, Matthew Flinders - the man who put Australia on the map.Shipwrecks, storms, death and danger - Matthew Flinders encountered it all on his courageous quest to circumnavigate and chart the treacherous Terra Australis coastline.From the drama of epic voyages and devastating shipwrecks; his part in the naming of Australia; his cruel imprisonment by the French on Mauritius for six long and harrowing yea...

On August 7th 1915, men of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade staged one of the most tragic, brave and futile charges of the First World War. Seeking to break out of the Anzac position at Gallipoli they attempted to storm an extraordinarily strong Turkish position, defended by artillery, machineguns and thousands of men, using nothing but fixed bayonets and raw courage. The first wave of Light Horsemen were killed within seconds of leaving their trench, yet over the course of the next few minutes...

Just a little way down Collins Street, beside Henry Buck's, is a perpetually dark but sheltered laneway called Equitable Place. Here you'll find a number of places to eat and drink. Settle yourself in the window of one, shut your eyes, and picture this scene of yore ...In this much-loved book, Robyn Annear resurrects the village that was early Melbourne – from the arrival of white settlers in 1835 until the first gold rushes shook the town – and brings it to life in vivid ...

Louis Nowra burrows beneath the sensationalist Underbelly 'sex and sin' narrative, revealing stories and a cast of characters some household names others little-known - that not even a writer could conjure up.Kings Cross is a no-holds barred place, where backpackers, prostitutes, strippers, chefs, mad men, poets, beggars, booksellers, doctors, gangsters, sailors, musicians, drug traffickers, eccentrics, judges and artists live side by side. Part flaneur, part hist...

Paul Keating and John Howard altered the nation’s body-clock. Between them, they dominated 30 years of power, as both treasurers and prime ministers. Typically, they have been seen only as antagonists with competing visions of Australia and its place in the world. In The Longest Decade, however, George Megalogenis argues that they also deserve to be seen as the twin architects of the political, economic, and social revolution that took Australia through a period of trauma and reco...

Paul Toohey searches for the solution our politicians have been unwilling or unable to find, and asks whether, amid the diplomatic turmoil, we’ve now missed our chance.Tony Abbott promised to stop the boats. With the help of Kevin Rudd's 'PNG solution,' he has. But at what cost?In Quarterly Essay 53, Paul Toohey tells the dramatic stories of asylum seekers heading from Java to Australia, investigates people-smuggling and witnesses the aftermath of a sinki...

This is not a book of documents, snippets or worthy speeches. Instead it presents the original essays and the moments of insight that told us what Australia is and could be.These are the essential statements – from historians, reporters, novelists, mavericks and visionaries – that take us from Federation to the present-day, and tell a story of national self-discovery.There is the Frenchman who saw that Australia was a 'workingman's paradise', and the histor...