'This issue of the Journal of Australian Studies leads us towards a rich mix of contested, forgotten or untold histories across 19th- and 20th-century Australia. A range of cultural artefacts is central to these histories, from rock art to infant clothing to fences and bollards, as are material practices and labour, both free and unfree. Such a sweep of stories, agents and forces in history reminds us that our understanding of “Australia” is always assembling, and humanities scholars play a critical part in this.' (Emily Potter & Brigid Magner, Assembling Australia: Histories, Materials and Labours, Editorial introduction)
'From 1864 to 1867, Australian novelist Rolf Boldrewood (Thomas Alexander Browne) was resident manager of the Riverina sheep run Bundidjaree. During this time, he fenced the run but left penniless after droughts and falling prices broke him. These experiences formed the background to his 12-part serial, The Fencing of Wanderowna: A Tale of Squatting Life, published anonymously in the Australian Town and Country Journal from June to August 1873. In 1898, he compiled the serial into a novella: The Fencing of Wandaroona: A Riverina Reminiscence. In the novella, Scottish gentlemen squatters, brothers Gilbert and Hobbie Elliot, transition from shepherding to paddocking sheep. The story includes details of managing a sheep run, decision-making prior to fencing and during droughts, and a financial analysis comparing shepherding and fencing. Contemporaneous reviews in both England and Australia criticised the writing but accepted the authenticity of the narrative; however, while omitting many details, and containing flaws in the financial analysis, the story does contain some accurate, and often missing, information about life on a Riverina sheep run in the 1860s.' (Publication abstract)
'In her foreword, Paula Leverage is right to say that this volume, notwithstanding its title’s suggestion of the blossoming of a field, is more a “powerful statement about the human experience and its expression in a modern world” (xii). Although a range of contemporary Australian literary texts are analysed in light of theories of “embodied cognition” (xiii), there is nothing prescriptive or categorical about the overall approach of the contributors.' (Introduction)
'My first impression of this book, by Ken Gelder and Rachael Weaver, was that it is a visual delight. At a time when authors have to plead—and pay—for every image, the Miegunyah Press, funded by a legacy from Russell and Mab Grimwade, is keeping alive the art of book design and illustration. Under the hand of designer Patrick Cannon, almost 40 images—resplendent in their original colours—adorn the pages. But this beauty belies the subject matter. A close examination of the painting on the cover, J. A. Turner's The Last Leap (1873), reveals a kangaroo with a spear in its back being harried by a trio of greyhound-like dogs. This image captures the moment before death, signalling the book's theme of how the bloody business of kangaroo hunting was represented during Australia's colonial period and why it matters.' (Introduction)
'This rich book charts the complex relationship between two iconic Australian women of the mid-20th century: Daisy Bates and Ernestine Hill. Journalists and writers, Bates’s and Hill’s life stories are set against the “great Australian loneliness” of the outback. It is a masterful act of storytelling that is beautifully written, and readers are drawn into an intimacy with the subjects.' (Introduction)
