Cirrus@Austlit

'During the darkest days of the Holocaust, Europe's Jews faced annihilation. In faraway Melbourne, immigrants Leo and Mina Fink rallied to rescue the survivors. It was a massive task. Undaunted, they battled bureaucrats, public opinion and at times the Minister for Immigration Arthur Calwell. Marshalling the might of local and international agencies, they spearheaded the urgent relief and resettlement of thousands of displaced Holocaust survivors desperate to leave a shattered Europe, a graveyard continent of dust and ashes. By 1954, 17,000 survivors called Australia home.

'Following the chaos of war, Leo and Mina remained at the forefront of communal life. They initiated expansive welfare programs, while personally helping countless individuals. Mina's devotion to a group of war orphans known as the 'Buchenwald boys' was testament to her and Leo's relentless efforts to improve the lives of others.

'But survival of the Jewish world remained paramount. Leo pioneered the first Australian business venture in Israel, in a bid to underpin the young nation's fragile economy. Mina's global outreach and humanitarian vision transformed the National Council of Jewish Women into a proactive force with a clear feminist agenda. When 'Holocaust denial' launched its assault on historical truth and memory, Mina championed the establishment of Melbourne's Holocaust Museum, pushing its mandate beyond remembrance to education, to combat all forms of racism.

'Leo and Mina Fink's remarkable story is skilfully told through the turbulent, rapidly changing times in which they lived. This is a compelling account of how and why two individuals set out to change the world for the greater good.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'1860. An Aboriginal labourer named Jim Crow is led to the scaffold of the Maitland Gaol in colonial New South Wales. Among the onlookers is the Scotsman AS Hamilton, who will later take bizarre steps in the aftermath of the execution to exhume this young man’s skull. Hamilton is a lecturer who travels the Australian colonies teaching phrenology, a popular science that claims character and intellect can be judged from a person’s head. For Hamilton, Jim Crow is an important prize.

'A century and a half later, researchers at Museum Victoria want to repatriate Jim Crow and other Aboriginal people from Hamilton’s collection of human remains to their respective communities. But their only clues are damaged labels and skulls. With each new find, more questions emerge. Who was Jim Crow? Why was he executed? And how did he end up so far south in Melbourne?

'In a compelling and original work of history, Alexandra Roginski leads the reader through her extensive research aimed at finding the person within the museum piece. Reconstructing the narrative of a life and a theft, she crafts a case study that elegantly navigates between legal and Aboriginal history, heritage studies and biography.

'The Hanged Man and the Body Thief is a nuanced story about phrenology, a biased legal system, the aspirations of a new museum, and the dilemmas of a theatrical third wife. It is most importantly a tale of two very different men, collector and collected, one of whom can now return home.' (Publication summary)

'Raimond Gaita was awarded the Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Antwerp ‘for his exceptional contribution to contemporary moral philosophy and for his singular contribution to the role of the intellectual in today’s academic world’, so recognising the influence of Gaita’s ethical thought beyond academic philosophy. The essays in this collection examine the influence of Gaita’s ethical thought in this broad sense, and particularly within Australian society and culture, where it has been most significant. Through his various works, including in particular his acclaimed biography, Romulus: My Father, Gaita’s ethical thought has had a considerable impact on the intellectual and cultural life of Australia. This collection is unique for its survey of this influence, with new essays from significant writers and academics, including Barry Hill, Alex Miller, Brigitta Olubas, Helen Pringle, Robert Manne, Gerry Simpson, Steven Tudor, Geoffrey Brahm Levey, Dorothy Scott, Christopher Cordner, Craig Taylor and Miranda Fricker, along with an introductory piece by J.M. Coetzee. Other features of the collection include a new poem for Gaita by poet and screenwriter Nick Drake and an interview with Gaita by Anne Manne, in which Gaita reflects on the origins and development of his ethical thought as a form of lucidity.' (Publication summary)

'Much is known about British migration to Australia and something is known of British communities in Australia, but knowledge, particularly quantitative, of the reverse process is very sketchy. The phenomenon has been acknowledged but little explored. There are a number of important studies of significant Australians in the UK, and there has been recent research on the current Australian diaspora, but there is no study of the overall Australian presence, its constituents or its characteristics. Developments in this field of research offer an important window on how Australians related to the 'British world' historically and on the dynamism of the contemporary relationship. Australians in Britain is an edited collection of papers of international research on the character and experience of overseas Australians and Australian communities in Britain since c.1901. It offers a comprehensive overview of current scholarship in this exciting, new and developing field of inquiry. This book has a contemporary focus, drawing on both recent and historical experiences with a view to understanding continuing trends, such as the consistent preponderance of women and the recent surge in young professionals, and issues such as expatriatism, imperialism, globalisation, national identity and overseas citizenship. This book will appeal to scholars of Australian Studies (within Australia and Britain especially), History, Demography, Literary and Cultural studies and Tourism. The topics of this book range from Australians in Britain (especially London), including artists, literary intellectuals, students, women, tourists and travellers, servicemen, nurses, teachers and journalists, global professionals; the changing community; demographic trends; migration; links between the two countries; Australian newspapers in London; and Australia in the 'British world'.' (Publication summary)

'For anyone wanting to write histories that capture the imagination and challenge the intellect. A useful text for teachers and students in history-writing classes.' (Publication summary)

'Long before the advent of modern tourism, Australians travelled to live in Italy, or undertook extensive visits there. Indeed they continue to do so in increasing numbers, as women and men find Italian partners; as business people with European interests settle there; as retirees in their thousands seek "the good life" that Italy - in Ros Pesman's words, this "culturally endowed place of rebirth" - seems to promise.

'While many are familiar with celebrated expatriates such as Germaine Greer, Jeffrey Smart, Peter Robb and David Malouf, hundreds of other artists, writers, musicians and intellectuals have made and continue to make a notable contribution to the cultural and intellectual lives of both countries. Whilst Australian Studies flourishes in Italian universities, Australian academics write distinguished accounts of Italian history covering various eras. Despite this sustained activity, the scholarly and cultural engagement of Australians with Italy is not a well known story.

'This collection seeks to map the past and present of the Australian love affair with Italy, and yields rich insights into its causes, motivations and transformations. Contributors include former Australian Ambassador to Italy Rory Steele, poet Peter Porter, contemporary artists Euan Heng and Jo-Anne Duggan, as well as distinguished academics and young scholars. Amongst the diverse range of articles and vignettes are chapters by Ian Britain on Donald Friend's Italian years, Loretta Baldassar exploring the phenomenon of reverse migration, and novelist Lisa Clifford reflecting on her family ties with Italy.

'Australians in Italy will appeal to scholars and students of migration and multiculturalism, Australian Studies, Italian Studies, and tourism and travel. It will also delight those interested in Italy and all things Italian - people of Italo-Australian backgrounds, armchair and actual travellers, sojourners in Italy, and the general reader.' (Publisher's blurb)