She [Joy Eadie] has forced us to re-examine in some detail a largely forgotten figure in Australian art. For this we must be grateful.
—Sasha Grishin
Discovering Charles Meere – Joy Eadie
New Maritime History of the Early Sydney Colony
The Flag’s Up
by Peter Poland
In the early days of the colony, ships from Russia, France, America and Spain anchored alongside British convict vessels in Sydney’s renowned harbour. Many famous figures sailed through the heads, such as Bligh, Bennelong, Flinders and Macquarie. The South Head Lookout Post which recorded these arrivals and departures has been manned since January 1790, making it the longest permanently manned site in Australia.
Continue reading “New Maritime History of the Early Sydney Colony”
The Great New Guinea Tsunami
The scale of the human tragedy there, especially with so many children killed, was almost beyond belief.
– ABC’s Papua New Guinea correspondent Sean Dorney
In the years before the Boxing Day Tsunami wrought havoc across the Indian ocean, and Fukushima was demolished by enormous waves, Australia was alerted to these dangers by a disaster closer to home.
4 Weeks to Wellness
This is not a quick fix program. There are no expensive gym memberships or equipment. You don’t need to find your “inner self” or walk on burning coals.
– Dr Bryce Fleming (B.Chiro.SC M.Chiro)
Shady Acres
However modern we might feel, corruption is a pre-existing and ongoing fact of Sydney life. Certainly this is the implication of Lesley Muir’s marvellous book.
– Elizabeth Farrelly
Paved with Good Intentions
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ERNEST SCOTT HISTORY PRIZE
Over a century before the Mabo case recognised Native Title and rejected the doctrine of Terra Nullius, Aboriginal land rights were briefly acknowledged in two Australian colonies. Paved with Good Intentions, reveals the many strong declarations in favour of Aboriginal land rights in early Colonial times, and shows how this language was twisted and remodelled to support dispossession of Aborigines. South Australia and Port Phillip were settled in the mid-1830s, under very different circumstances to earlier colonies. A new wave of colonists comprising entrepreneurs and humanitarians jostled for ascendancy, with Aboriginals caught between good intentions and voracious demands.
As settlers seized nearly 20 million acres of Aboriginal country, the original owners of the land were pushed to the margins—offered “protection” and assimilation instead of recognition of their legal rights.
The Author
Hannah Robert is a lecturer at La Trobe University Law School whose writing has appeared in The Conversation, the Good Weekend, the Journal of Law and Medicine, and the Australian Feminist Law Journal.
Author in conversation with Dr Anna Clark
Paperback, RRP $34.95
200 Year Commemoration of the Royal Botanic Garden
Town & Country
A History of the Manning Valley
This area lies about 300km north of Sydney, where the earliest European settlers first arrived in the late 1820s. The Manning River runs through this rugged, isolated terrain, and this was to become the region’s main highway throughout the 19th Century. It is a valley with a rich history, a hidden gem with a rich past, and Max Solling’s latest book tells those stories and more, painting a vivd picture of life before and after settlement, and the people who left their homelands for a new life on the other side of the world. He also tells of the conservation history of the Wingham Brush, the last remnant of ancient wilderness in the region, and details the fight for its survival.
Max Solling is a passionate advocate for local histories whose previous work, a history of Glebe, was released to great acclaim.
Town & Country RRP $59.95
A Risky Life
LIFE’S A RISK. BUT HOW TO CALCULATE IT?
What are the risks we incur in life? How much is attributed to lifestyle? How much is pure chance? Is there anything we can do to minimise risk?
Risk analyst Robert Phillips may have the answers.
Centennial Park: A History
Centennial Park is a priceless haven in our city, a carefully tended patch of ‘wilderness’. As we enjoy its many pleasures, we should appreciated how hard-won they are. And we should never take them for granted.
—Susan Wyndham, Literary Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald.