A Traveller's History of Australia

by Chambers, John H.

• ISBN13: 9781566564243
• ISBN10: 1566564247
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-12-01
• Publisher: Interlink Pub Group Inc

Summary

The Traveller's History series is designed for travellers who want more historical background on the country they are visiting than can be found in a tour guide. Each volume offers a complete and authoritative history of the country from the earliest times up to the present. A Gazetteer cross-referenced to the main text pin-points the historical importance of sights and towns.

Illustrated with maps and line drawings, this literate and lively series makes ideal before-you-go reading, and is just as handy tucked into suitcase or backpack.

Essential reading for travelers who wish to enjoy the amazing diversity of Australia, this book outlines the history of that great southern democracy from the arrival of the earliest Aborigines some fifty or sixty thousand years ago to the present.

The ancient Aboriginal way of life is described; early European sightings; and the establishment of the British convict colony in 1788, which dragged the continent into the modern world. The dynamic story of Australia in the twentieth century and its confident cultural vibrancy

Author Biography

John H. Chambers was born in Queensland. He holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University and most recently was a visiting professor at City University of New York. He is the author of nine books, including A Traveller’s History to New Zealand in this series.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Introduction: Two Beginnings	1	(2)
The Physical Environment	3	(8)
Aboriginal Australia	11	(25)
Europeans Arrive	36	(24)
The Convict System and the Growth of the First Two Colonies	60	(26)
New Britannias: Cities and Colonies all around the Coast	86	(26)
Explorers and Squatters: the Demise of Black Australia	112	(28)
Economic Development: 1850-1900	140	(32)
Democracy and Nationalism: 1820-1900	172	(31)
The Early Federation, the Great War, the 1920s and '30s	203	(25)
World War II and Post-war Changes to 1972	228	(30)
Politics, the Economy, and Culture since 1972	258	(39)
Appendix 1: Adaptation of the Red Kangaroo to the Environment	297	(3)
Appendix 2: Why Boomerangs Return	300	(1)
Governors-General, Governors, and Premiers	301	(6)
Prime Ministers	307	(1)
Chronology of Major Events	308	(7)
Further Reading	315	(3)
Historical Gazetteer	318	(21)
Index	339