Cirrus@Austlit

'Ian Barker QC began conducting murder trials in his 20s when practising in the Northern Territory. He became a QC at a young age and was appointed Solicitor-General for the Northern Territory in 1978. He became an internationally known figure in 1982 when prosecuting Lindy Chamberlain in the famous dingo case. Found guilty of murder at her trial, Lindy Chamberlain was later exonerated. But the trial cemented Barker’s national reputation as a gifted advocate.

'Over the next 30 years he appeared in many notable cases. He represented David Combe in the Hope Royal Commission into espionage in 1983. In 1986 he successfully defended Justice Lionel Murphy who was prosecuted for attempting to pervert the course of justice. Within the legal profession he became known as the lawyers’ lawyer…the one members of the legal profession turned to when in trouble. Unlike the often facile representation of lawyers on television, Barker was modest, self-effacing, and genuine, as well as clever. He spent much of his life on good causes, including conservation and human rights. After September 11, 2001, he took up the causes of Australian prisoners held in Guantanamo. As well as his gifts as an advocate, and his contribution to good causes, Ian Barker was a highly amusing raconteur. And he never let serious things stop him from having a good time. This book, by a retired judge, looks at his life and describes some of his more significant cases.

'Policemen and politicians have one thing in common – they’re the last people the community can look to, to preserve a principle essential to the freedom of the individual. Legal principles are mere impediments to social progress. When the mob clamours for vengeance, they will be given vengeance. So the legal profession, maligned as it is, can at least do its best to stand in the way, at least to the extent of reminding the community that the rule of law should be applied indiscriminately, and according to established principles. It ought not be swept aside to accommodate what may be seen to be special problems, or for the purpose of dealing with special people.
‑ Ian Barker QC, Darwin, 30 May 1997' (Publication summary)

'From the small but influential Jane Street Theatre in Randwick to the Royal Court Theatre, the Bankside Globe, the esteemed Old Vic and the National Theatre of Great Britain, in London, the author worked on several significant 20th-century productions before returning to Australia, where he converted a deconsecrated church complex in Sydney into a 200 seat venue for avant-garde performances. Curtain Calls relates the author’s journey with insights into the productions and behind-the-scenes anecdotes about the participating actors and production personnel.' (Publication summary) 

'In 1803 the convict escapee William Buckley, an Englishman and former British soldier, abandoned the life he knew and without contact with Europeans lived for many years among the indigenous peoples of what was eventually to become the colony of Victoria. In doing so he showed not only his survival skills but also an extraordinary ability to understand and adapt to a culture in which he was the alien and the intruder. How and with whom he lived between 1803 and 1835 has not been explored, and colonisation soon destroyed the way of life of those Buckley had lived among, leaving him and his achievements generally ignored and also open to ridicule. This book will change that view.

'As Murrangoork, Buckley deeply believed in the reincarnation myth he was embodying, and he may have thought of himself as Kondak, a Wathaurong elder—an astonishing claim by the first long-term European resident of Victoria, who went on to become that colony’s first and greatest racial conciliator.'  (Publication summary)

'How did a shy Polish immigrant kid - Karl Sven Woytek Sas Konkovitch Matthew Kruszelnicki - evolve into the fabulously eccentric Dr Karl?

'The only child of Holocaust survivors who fled to Australia in 1950, Karl has always forged his own destiny in an idiosyncratic way. Before he became one of the world's favourite scientific storytellers, he ambled through a convoluted cacophony of a career.

'In the 1960s, he got his start as a physicist at the Port Kembla Steelworks and promptly joined the Steel Industries Auto Club, racing modified rally cars on Wollongong's deserted back roads. In the 1970s, he entered his self-described 'drug-crazed hippie years', making a living as a long-haired, dope-smoking taxi driver. After he applied to be a NASA astronaut in the 1980s and 'failed', he ended up live broadcasting the first space shuttle launch on Triple J instead. Unexpectedly, that blasted off his media career, and from there it was a stratospheric rise from radio to TV, books, newspapers, speaking, podcasts and the internet.

'Karl's story teaches us that you don't have to know all the answers, as long as you ask the right questions. He has wandered down more than a dozen career paths, from being a TV weatherman (really) to a professional four-wheel drive tester in the outback (really) to being a roadie for Bo Diddley (really). All of these seemingly random experiences have helped create the Karl we know today.

'In this long-awaited memoir, you will learn that it's okay to not take a linear path through life, and that by following our curiosities and our passions, we can bend the universe to our liking.' (Publication summary) 

'These days the Heide Museum of Modern Art is a popular place to visit, but in 1969 it was home to John and Sunday Reed who were close friends of my parents, John Sinclair and Jean Langley. In February of that year, Jean escaped her difficult marriage and went to live in London, taking my younger sister and me with her. We returned to Australia in 1970 when I was fifteen. This book tells of two parallel lives. My mother's story is told mainly through her highly emotional letters to Sunday, and I write of my experiences as I struggled with the awkward transition from child to teenager, while living in Swinging London.'  (Publication summary)

'The 1872 Education Act introduced changes that would alter the structure and operation of education in Victoria for the next hundred years. This book is about four educationists who found themselves immersed in these changes. Its focus is on their work with the Education Department in Victoria, encompassing the latter half of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th century. These four educationists are Gilbert Wilson Brown, who as Secretary of Public Instruction between 1878 to 1889 was responsible for teachers, schools and clerical staff; Herbert W. Wilson, who lectured at Melbourne Teachers College and University of Melbourne in Science and Nature Study at various times between 1908 and 1942 and was known as 'The Major' due to his WWI service; Nathan Spielvogel, a classroom teacher between 1892 and 1939, who as 'Old Eko' contributed humorous anecdotes to magazines and journals; and Julia Flynn, who was the first woman to be appointed to a senior position, as an inspector of secondary schools and later, in 1936, Chief Inspector Secondary.' (Publication summary)

'Dr Arthur Andrews, a worthy citizen of Albury, contributed greatly to the growth and development of his adopted town. He was not only exceptionally public-spirited, but also a pioneer local historian and a leader in the early study of Australasian tokens and coins. His personal story has been overlooked-and so also Albury's history, as the city's promise around the time of Federation is perhaps only now being fulfilled. However, Dr Andrew's histories of Albury and the Upper Murray, and his handbook of tokens and coins, are still used. The Country Surgeon is an extensive, well-illustrated biography. It illuminates the lives and everyday preoccupations of Dr Andrew's fellow citizens in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.' (Publication summary)

'What are said to be the facts of a matter can be affected by pieces of fiction, as in testimony flawed by an imperfect memory or tales prompted by self-interest.

'Alert to the ins and outs of the trial process, Nicholas Hasluck, a former judge and accomplished novelist, has drawn upon his personal diaries to explore the relationship between law and literature, as he did in his earlier work about judicial life, Bench and Book.

'Judging isn’t just about finding facts and applying law. It involves getting to grips with individual stories and dilemmas. A mind alert to the complexities of human nature won’t accept too easily what is simply alleged or said to be true. At its best, law is truth in action, a story showing what actually happened and what should be done.' (Publication summary)

'Aeneas Gunn achieved posthumous fame in 1908 as the Maluka, following the publication of Jeannie (Mrs Aeneas) Gunn's acclaimed novel, We of the Never-Never. The story of Aeneas James Gunn prior to and including his year managing a remote cattle station in the Northern Territory can now be told, thanks to the discovery of a large cache of his letters. Gunn's voice enriches the narrative with deeply personal, perceptive and often humorous glimpses into life in Australia during the last decades of colonisation. A proud and capable literary man, Gunn found his vulnerabilities exposed in unusual circumstances. His Anglocentric views would, in time, be tempered by the woman he loved and admired.' (Publication summary)

'Captain Bligh's Journal is the most important of all of the primary documents relating to the infamous mutiny on the Bounty. Needless to say, writers-and Hollywood in its memorable Errol Flynn and Marlin Brando movie classics-have made great use of it. Up till now, however, the relationship between the Journal's official version (at The National Archives in London) and Bligh's private version (at the Mitchell Library in Sydney) has not been explored. This surprising omission is dealt with in this meticulous comparison of the two versions by John A. Fish. Very many surprising and significant differences are thus revealed, particularly those relating to the notorious Bligh's interaction with his officers and men. A full historical and bibliographical study of Bligh's three expedition journals-of the journals of the Bounty, the Resource and the Vlydt-is included. The author also scrutinises Bligh's large manuscript account of the mutiny and the voyage in the open boat, which is in the Mitchell Library and is the forerunner of Bligh's Narrative of the Mutiny (1790). The significance of this work, which is in Bligh's own hand, had not previously been fully recognised. Based on extensive research (including several close examinations of the primary sources) and a deep understanding of the relevant literature, this book will prove to be a landmark event in the history of Bligh/Bounty scholarship.' (Publication summary)

'Augustine Dall’Ava carves and assembles materials—including woods, seeds, stones, marble, granite, aluminium, stainless steel—to create sculptures. He first came to prominence in the 1970s and is now renowned for works both domestic and monumental in scale. Dall’Ava’s large works—like the 9.5m high Cosmic Resonance installed at Mornington Peninsula’s Point Leo Sculpture Park—are to be found in arts locations and university campuses along Australia’s east coast. His small sculptures are more personal, and they reflect his Italian heritage and aspects of the human condition. Several series, entitled Dialogues and Conversations, explore human relations; others remain mysterious and meditative.

'Dall’Ava’s sculptures, ever abstract and quite unique, are displayed sumptuously in this superb production by renowned designer and publisher, Jenny Zimmer. Author Ken Scarlett has published extensively on Australian sculpture. Artist Viki Petherbridge provided the stunning photographs for the book.' (Publication summary)

'Dr Fanny Reading arrived in Australia in 1889 as a migrant child and felt the loneliness of the newcomer. A brilliant musician and compassionate medical doctor, she created the National Council of Jewish Women of Australia, mentoring thousands of women, bringing them out of their kitchens into the worlds of public debate and policies. A leader on Australia’s home-front during World War II, she was a trailblazer, feminist and courageous activist for the disadvantaged at home and abroad.

'‘This illuminating biography makes a significant contribution to Australian history, politics and culture.’—Emeritus Professor Konrad Kwiet, Resident Historian at the Sydney Jewish Museum

'‘Few leaders are endowed with the vision and ability to transform their society. One such catalyst of change was Dr Fanny Reading …’—Professor Andrew Markus, Emeritus Professor of Monash University’s Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation' (Publication summary)

'William Henry Williams was one of three foundation lecturers at the newly established University of Tasmania in 1892, and he was in charge of the undergraduate and Honours programs in Classics, English Language and Literature until his retirement as Professor Emeritus in 1925.

'Ralph Spaulding explores the formative experiences and influences which prepared Williams for his role as Tasmania's first professor of English: his study of Classics at Trinity College Cambridge; his teaching at The Leys School Cambridge and his subsequent headmastership of Newington College, Sydney. This biography focuses on his teaching of English at the University and compares Williams' program with those of Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide Universities; it also examines his scrupulous editing of texts by writers such as John Dryden, John Skelton and Nicholas Udall, noting that his editions of Ralph Roister Doister and Jacke Jugular won considerable praise from international scholars.' (Publication summary)

'‘To begin with I saw Hilton’s tale of Shangri-La as an evocative fictional motif in the non-fictional tapestry of my collection, a metaphor for this journey in old books from Desert Cathay to The Land of Snows. Now I begin to see a different motif…it’s the missing sutra in the empty cave in the hole in the cliffside outside Dunhuang…’

'The author reflects on his own fifty-year voyage of discovery of Asia, culminating in a journey to far western China in 2018; to Dunhuang, the oasis town on the fringe of the Gobi and Lop deserts that for centuries gave access to the Silk Roads – and to the ‘Caves of a Thousand Buddhas’. These temple-caves once concealed the world’s oldest printed book, known as the Diamond Sutra, but as he contemplates the significance of the missing sutra and an empty cave, he finds himself confronted by the world’s oldest question.' (Publication summary)

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