Perth Then and Now by Richard Offen

$29.99 AUD

Category: Australian

Archival photographs of Perth have been carefully matched with specially commissioned colour photos to reveal the past and present of this fascinating city. Perth Then and Now accurately matches historic photographs of the city with specially commissioned contemporary views that show how each site looks today. With an Aboriginal history going back over 40,000 years, Perth ranks amongst the oldest places on earth with near continuous human habitation. The modern city came into being in 1829 with the formation of the Swan River Colony. For the first 60 years of its existence, Perth was no more than a small country town which lived on an economic knife-edge between riches and ruin. Then, in the 1890s, commercial quantities of gold were discovered in the North and East of Western Australia. This sparked the first of several mineral booms in the State and resulted in Perth being able to demonstrate its newfound wealth in the form grandiose buildings which transformed the modest town into a fine city. Since the late nineteenth century, a cycle of 'boom and bust' has added successive layers of development to the city's rich tapestry of building styles. As with many cities around the world, Perth witnessed the destruction of many older buildings during the last quarter of the 20th century, but has now learned to respect its heritage, resulting in some spectacular and imaginative adaptive reuses of older buildings. Past and present are laid side by side in this fascinating visual tour around the capital of Western Australia. Sites include: Crawley Baths, Narrows Bridge, King's Park, Cottesloe Beach, T&G Building, Government Gardens, Russell Square, City Beach, St Georges Terrace, Hay Street, HIs Majesty's Theatre, Hyde Park, Piccadilly Arcade, Hotel Metropole, Town Hall, St George's Hall, the WACA, GPO Building, Central Arcade, St Mary's Cathedral, Matilda Bay, Horseshoe Bridge, Swan Brewery. ...Show more

Victory on Gallipoli and Other What-ifs of Australian History by Peter Stanley

$29.99 AUD

Category: Australian

With a twist of fate - and of historical fact - Gallipoli was a military success, Australia had a female prime minister in the 1920s and Gough Whitlam chose his time to retire from the top job. In Victory on Gallipoli and Other What-ifs of Australian History, prominent historians contemplate how Austral ia today could have been a very different place but for a decision made or not made, an opportunity taken or not taken. These are the nation's sliding door moments, our alternative history. The Cold War had the world teetering on the edge of mutually assured destruction. What if it had heated up? What if the 1951 referendum to outlaw the Communist Party had been successful? Would Australia have had its own McCarthy era and where would we be today? With essays by Janette Bomford, Guy Hansen, Carolyn Holbrook, Walter Kudrycz, Michael McKernan, Ross McMullin, Hamish Maxwell-Stewart, John Maynard, Michael Molkentin, Roslyn Russell, Peter Stanley, Craig Wilcox and Clare Wright.   ...Show more

Truth of the Palace Letters, The: Deceit, Ambush and Dismissal in 1975 by Paul Kelly; Troy Bramston

$29.99 AUD

Category: Australian

In July 2020 the National Archives of Australia released the long-suppressed correspondence between Sir John Kerr and Queen Elizabeth II, written during Kerr's tumultuous tenure as Governor-General of Australia. The letters cover the constitutional crisis that culminated in Kerr's infamous dismissal of Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in 1975. In The Truth of the Palace Letters Paul Kelly and Troy Bramston reveal their meaning and significance for understanding the dismissal. The analysis of these documents and their authors throws a revealing light on the connection between the Queen in Buckingham Palace and the Governor-General in Canberra. Coupled with newly discovered archival documents and interviews, Kelly and Bramston explain the implications of the letters for our Constitution, our democracy and the republic debate. ...Show more

Breaker Morant by Peter FitzSimons

$49.99 AUD

Category: Australian

The epic story of the Boer War and Harry 'Breaker' Morant: drover, horseman, bush poet - murderer or hero? Most Australians have heard of the Boer War of 1899 to 1902 and of Harry 'Breaker' Morant, a figure who rivals Ned Kelly as an archetypal Australian folk hero. Born in England and emigrating to Qu eensland in 1883 in his early twenties, Morant was a charming but reckless man who established a reputation as a rider, polo player and writer. He submitted ballads to The Bulletin that were published under the name 'The Breaker' and counted Banjo Paterson as a friend. When appeals were made for horsemen to serve in the war in South Africa, Morant joined up, first with the South Australian Mounted Rifles and then with a South African irregular unit, the Bushveldt Carbineers. In September 1901 Morant and two other Australians, Lieutenants Peter Handcock and George Witton, were arrested for the murder of Boer prisoners. Morant and Handcock were court-martialled and executed in February 1902 as the Boer War was in its closing stages, but the debate over their convictions continues to this day. Does Breaker Morant deserve his iconic status? Who was Harry Morant? What events and passions led him to a conflict that was essentially an Imperial war, played out on a distant continent under a foreign flag? Was he a scapegoat for British war crimes or a criminal himself? With his trademark brilliant command of story, Peter FitzSimons unravels the many myths and fictions that surround the life of Harry Morant. The truths FitzSimons uncovers about 'The Breaker' and the part he played in the Boer War are astonishing - and, in the hands of this master storyteller, make compelling reading.           ...Show more

True Girt: The Unauthorised History of Australia Volume 2 by David Hunt

$32.99 AUD

Category: Australian

First there was Girt. Now comes . . . True GirtIn 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 Chi sholm and sheep. Lots of sheep.True Girtintroduces Thomas Davey, the hard-drinking Tasmanian governor who invented the Blow My Skull cocktail, and Captain Moonlite, Australia's most famous LGBTI bushranger. Meet William Nicholson, the Melbourne hipster who gave Australia the steam-powered coffee roaster and the world the secret ballot. And say hello to Harry, the first camel used in Australian exploration, who shot dead his owner, the explorer John Horrocks.Learn how Truganini's death inspired the Martian invasion of Earth. Discover the role of Hall and Oates in the Myall Creek Massacre. And be reminded why you should never ever smoke with the Wild Colonial Boy and Mad Dan Morgan.If Manning Clark and Bill Bryson were left on a desert island with only one pen, they would write True Girt. ...Show more

The Catalpa Rescue: The Most Dramatic & Successful Prison Break in Australian History by Peter FitzSimons

$34.99 AUD

Category: Australian | Reading Level: very good

The incredible true story of one of the most extraordinary and inspirational prison breaks in Australian history. New York, 1874. Members of the Clan-na-Gael - agitators for Irish freedom from the English yoke - hatch a daring plan to free six Irish political prisoners from the most remote prison in the Britsh Empire, Fremantle Prison in Western Australia. Under the guise of a whale hunt, Captain Anthony sets sail on the Catalpa to rescue the men from the stone walls of this hell on Earth known to the inmates as a 'living tomb'. What follows is one of history's most stirring sagas that splices Irish, American, British and Australian history together in its climatic moment. For Ireland, who had suffered English occupation for 700 years, a successful escape was an inspirational call to arms. For America, it was a chance to slap back at Britain for their support of the South in the Civil War; for England, a humiliation. And for a young Australia, still not sure if it was Great Britain in the South Seas or worthy of being an independent country in its own right, it was proof that Great Britain was not unbeatable. Told with FitzSimons' trademark combination of arresting history and storytelling verve, The Catalpa Rescue is a tale of courage and cunning, the fight for independence and the triumph of good men, against all odds. ...Show more

Built on Faith

$65.00 AUD

Category: Australian

44 Days 75 Squadron and the Fight for Australia by Michael Veitch

$22.99 AUD

Category: Australian

'Brilliantly researched and sympathetically told, 44 DAYS is more than just a fitting tribute to brave but overlooked heroes. It's also a top read.' ****ADELAIDE ADVERTISERThe epic World War II story of the heroes of Australia's 75 Squadron - and the 44 days when these brave and barely trained pilots fo ught alone against the Japanese.In March and April 1942, RAAF 75 Squadron bravely defended Port Moresby for 44 days when Australia truly stood alone against the Japanese. This group of raw young recruits scrambled ceaselessly in their Kittyhawk fighters to an extraordinary and heroic battle, the story of which has been left largely untold.The recruits had almost nothing going for them against the Japanese war machine, except for one extraordinary leader named John Jackson, a balding, tubby Queenslander - at 35 possibly the oldest fighter pilot in the world - who said little, led from the front, and who had absolutely no sense of physical fear.Time and time again this brave group were hurled into battle, against all odds and logic, and succeeded in mauling a far superior enemy - whilst also fighting against the air force hierarchy. After relentless attack, the squadron was almost wiped out by the time relief came, having succeeded in their mission - but also paying a terrible price.Michael Veitch, actor, presenter and critically acclaimed author, brings to life the incredible exploits and tragic sacrifices of this courageous squadron of Australian heroes. ...Show more

From Great Depths by M. McCarthy

$70.00 AUD

Category: Australian

Long considered one of the world's most significant wartime mysteries, the fateful dusk encounter between HMAS Sydney (II) and the German raider Kormoran stands as Australia's single largest naval disaster. The loss of both ships on the night of 19 November 1941 with Sydney's full war complement of men and boys sparked a growing mystery spanning sixty-six years for Australia's most famous fighting ship and for one of Germany's best known raiders. The 2008 discovery of the wrecks captured the imagination of two young researchers who dreamt and then lived their impossible dream — bringing what lies in total darkness on the seabed nearly three kilometres beneath the waves and over 100 kilometres from the coast to the surface for all to experience. This had never been done before. Needing a state-of-the-art ship and its crew, the most modern of underwater vehicles, state-of-the-art visual modeling and reconstructive imaging technology, an unheard of array of mounted lighting and cameras, and the support and services of some of Australia's leading scientists, maritime archaeologists and historians, they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. From Great Depths features the results of their astounding success, presenting absolutely stunning underwater photography and fascinating new discoveries, brought together with inspiring and heartrending personal accounts of wartime service on the ships, and their fierce battle with the devastating loss of over 700 souls from both sides. ...Show more

Exploring Gallipoli: Australian Army's Battlefield Guide to Gallipoli by Lt Col Glenn Wahlert

$19.99 AUD

Category: Australian | Series: Australian Army Campaign

This book provides both practical touring information on Gallipoli for the independent traveller, and a guide to the amazing First World War Anzac battlefields. Written by a serving Australian Army officer with over 30 years soldiering experience, and now a historian with the Australian Army History Uni t, Lieutenant Colonel Glenn Wahlert presents a unique view of the campaign and of the key events that occurred on the ground. It includes detailed information on the key sites at Gallipoli, including recommended routes, optional walks and drives, maps, digital images, original art work and even sound files to download on to your MP3 player. Information and suggestions on accommodation, transport, restaurants, entertainment and sightseeing are also provided to enable you to plan your holiday and make the most of your time on the Peninsula. ...Show more

Girt: The Unauthorised History of Australia by David Hunt

$29.99 AUD

Category: Australian

Winner, 2014 Indie Award for Non-Fiction   Girt. No word could better capture the essence of Australia...   In this hilarious history, David Hunt reveals the truth of Australia's past, from megafauna to Macquarie - the cock-ups and curiosities, the forgotten eccentrics and Eureka moments that have m ade us who we are.   Girt introduces forgotten heroes like Mary McLoghlin, transported for the crime of "felony of sock," and Trim the cat, who beat a French monkey to become the first animal to circumnavigate Australia. It recounts the misfortunes of the escaped Irish convicts who set out to walk from Sydney to China, guided only by a hand-drawn paper compass, and explains the role of the coconut in Australia's only military coup.   Our nation's beginnings are steeped in the strange, the ridiculous and the frankly bizarre. Girt proudly reclaims these stories for all of us.   Not to read it would be un-Australian.   Shortlisted, 2014 ABA Nielsen BookData Bookseller's Choice Award, 2014 NSW Premier's Literary Awards, 2014 Australian Book Industry Awards.   'Girt ... cuts an irreverent swath through the facts, fools, fantasies and frauds that made this country what it is today, hoisting sacred cows on their own petards and otherwise sawing the legs off Lady Macquarie's chair. I was transported.' -Shane Maloney, the Age Best Books of 2013   'Girt is a ripping read... a humorous history that is accessible enough to share with the eight-year-old. Hunt's writing interests span comedy, politics and history, a happy triumvirate when your subject is Australia.' -Stephen Romei in the Australian   David Hunt is an unusually tall and handsome man who likes writing his own bios for all the books he has written. David is the author of Girt: The Unauthorised History of Australia, which won the 2014 Indie Award for non-fiction and was shortlisted in both the NSW Premier's Literary Awards and Australian Book Industry Awards. True Girt, the sequel, was published in 2016, as was a book for children, The Nose Pixies. David has a birthmark that looks like Tasmania, only smaller and not as far south. ...Show more

Biggest Estate on Earth by Bill Gammage

$39.99 AUD

Category: Australian

Across Australia, early Europeans commented again and again that the land looked like a park. With extensive grassy patches and pathways, open woodlands and abundant wildlife, it evoked a country estate in England. Bill Gammage has discovered this was because Aboriginal people managed the land in a far more systematic and scientific fashion than we have ever realised. For over a decade, Gammage has examined written and visual records of the Australian landscape. He has uncovered an extraordinarily complex system of land management using fire and the life cycles of native plants to ensure plentiful wildlife and plant foods throughout the year. We know Aboriginal people spent far less time and effort than Europeans in securing food and shelter, and now we know how they did it. With details of land-management strategies from around Australia, The Biggest Estate on Earth rewrites the history of this continent, with huge implications for us today. Once Aboriginal people were no longer able to tend their country, it became overgrown and vulnerable to the hugely damaging bushfires we now experience. And what we think of as virgin bush in a national park is nothing of the kind. ...Show more