Cirrus@Austlit

'The Indigenous people of Australia have lived here for tens of thousands of years. They survived the ice age and ancient global warming. They saw oceans sink and oceans rise. They watched the mega-beasts disappear and dingoes arrive. Theirs is the oldest civilization in the world. Then along came the Dutch. And the Portuguese. And the British. Things would never be the same again.' (Publication summary)

'It was the craziest, wildest and most daring expedition the world had ever seen. Eleven ships with nearly 15,000 people travelled 25,000 kilometers to the other side of the world. But what did they find when they arrived?' (Publication summary)

'There were two tiny colonies at the end of the world-one in New South Wales and one in Van Diemen's Land-perched on the edge of a vast and mostly unmapped continent. There were four main towns-Sydney and Parramatta in New South Wales, and Hobart and Launceston in Van Diemen's Land. Radiating out from around these towns were a growing number of smaller villages.'  (Publication summary)

'For 60,000 years the rest of the world had pretty much left Australia and its Aboriginal nations alone. Then it became a home for Britain's criminals and poor. Now a con man had found gold and suddenly everyone was heading to Australia: adventurers, revolutionaries, camels . . . Australia would never be the same.'  (Publication summary)

'The Australian colonies had come a long way since they were a dump for grim crims and convicts. Life was comfortable, at least for some. But soon drought would send swaggies waltzing their matildas along the roads, and bad times would make politicians dream of uniting the country into one nation. And then a far off war would create a different kind of digger. What they brought back home would make greater changes to Australia than gold ever did. Meet the scabs and the swaggies, battling politicians, doddering generals, sheep stealers and heroic diggers who finally turned us into a nation in the latest instalment of the Fair Dinkum Histories. It is history as you have never seen it!'  (Publication summary)

'1920-1945, an iconic period in Australian history: QANTAS founded, the Sydney Harbour Bridge built, Phar Lap wins the Melbourne Cup and dies in the US, Don Bradman wows the world at the wicket and becomes the main target in the Bodyline series. The Depression hits. 

'Australia enters WW II. Aborigines lobby for full citizenship. German ships lay mines off the Australian coast and the Japanese attack Australia. History comes to life!' (Publication summary)

'World War II was over, and it was a good time to be Australian. Rock 'n' roll, television and the Olympics had come down under. But underneath it all was the menace of the Cold War, and then came the horrors of Korea and Vietnam. Why couldn't we all just get along? Covers a pivotal time in Australia's history, as ideologies clashed and a new national identity was evolving.'  (Publication summary)

'Telling it like it really was-true-blue Aussie history! Australia had changed before, but slowly. Now everything was fast! Attitudes were evolving, technology was changing every aspect of life, and people were starting to recognise the damage we were doing to our land-and the way Australia's Indigenous people had been mistreated. Our resources had made us a rich country, but how long could the good times last? Join the fireys, goths, yuppies and greenies for the final instalment of the Fair Dinkum Histories. It's history as you've never seen it!' (Publication summary)

'Telling BITS of history as they really were! Gold fever hit Australia in the 1850s and it was the start of a wild, crazy hunt that saw people from all over the world come to try their luck. A few people might have dug up a fortune, but what most diggers dug was latrines. It turns out that the Gold Rush was mostly smelly, dirty, filthy and just yuck. Welcome to the most STINKY look at Australia yet!'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Telling BITS of history as they really were! In 1788, beautiful Australia became a prison as England sent their convicts to the new colony on crowded, smelly ships. And when they arrived, they brought the stink with them. Life as a convict was toughflogging was frequent, food was scarce, and they knew almost nothing about farming. Let alone their new home. Life as a convict stankin every way! Welcome to the most STINKY look at Australia yet!' (Publication summary)