Australasian History

Life is messy. Relationships are complex. Outcomes are uncertain. Yet none of our differences-whether based on ethnicity, politics, religion, cultural tastes and preferences, or gender-are nearly as significant as the...

'Radio Birdman live brought loyalty as strong and powerful as their music. Yeah hup!' Anthony Albanese, PM and fan 'Radio Birdman are analogous to dark matter: largely unseen yet profoundly...

'A story of faith, courage, strength and future prospects ... a sizzling summer read.' Mrs B's Book Reviews on Once Burnt, Twice Shy When a drought dries up the contents...

In wild Tasmania there are trees whose direct ancestors lived with dinosaurs. Many of those alive today are thousands of years old, and some have been growing for ten millennia...

'In the only war in which Australian soldiers ever faced off against the might of Mao, this is a revealing and spellbinding account of an extraordinary victory.' - Peter FitzSimons...

Shortlisted for The Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award 2023 Wreathed in morning mist, the rainforest is a place where evolution and legend rule. Where the thunderbird...

Shortlisted for the 2025 Tasmanian Literary Awards Premier's Prize for Non-fiction Longlisted for the 2024 Green Family Tasmanian History Award All families have their secrets, and a convict ancestor or...

Shortlisted for the 2023 Danger Awards He lurched through the gun smoke, his head encased in an iron helmet, and started shooting. To the weary police in the cordon around...

Ninety years on from its opening in 1932, the Sydney Harbour Bridge remains the most recognisable symbol of Australia. The iconic arch took almost nine years to complete - at...

There was a bed, a timber floor, thin tar paper on one side for privacy from the nearby road but nothing else. The flimsiest of 'walls', no pegs or nails...

'Grose's compassionate, honest and vivid account deserves to be widely read.' Sun Herald on An Awkward Truth 'About as good as any yarn can get . . . a great...

Winner of The Age Non-Fiction Book of the Year Award 1998 Shortlisted for Best Australian History Book in the NSW Premier's History Awards 1998 In 1920, 26 men and women...

'I am sometimes identified as one of the "success stories" of the policies of removal of Aboriginal children. But for much of my childhood I was deeply unhappy. I feel...

'Stunning revelations, shocking crimes and a cracking read: I thought I knew a lot about these two infamous villains, but what I learned from Mercer's book surprised even me.' Kate...

'An astonishing story of lust and love in early colonial Australia, shocking, entrancing and utterly enthralling.' - Sue Williams, author of Elizabeth and Elizabeth Born on Norfolk Island to First...

From First Nations gunyahs and First Fleet huts to 21st century eco-pavilions and skyscrapers, Davina Jackson surveys the evolution of architecture in Australia. Dr Jackson explores how early colonial building...

'Deeply researched with keen judgements, Traitors and Spies is a devastating indictment of Australia's security services and their political masters in the decades before the formation of ASIO.' - Professor...

'A wonderful book that tells a remarkable and heroic story.' AIR CHIEF MARSHAL SIR ANGUS HOUSTON AK, AFC (RET'D) The choking, chest-tightening feeling of being trapped in a burning Lancaster,...

'We have decided we must have the 747.' - Bert Ritchie, Qantas Chief Executive, 1967 From its first Qantas flight in 1971, the Boeing 747 flew millions of people to...

'A must read for all who would like to understand the languages and culture of Indigenous Australians.' Dr Ernie Grant, Elder of the Jirrbal nation When Captain Cook landed at...

She was 'amused, cynical, ironic, loving, gay, ferocious, cold, ardent but never gentle'. She was a whirlwind. She created around her the atmosphere of a Court at which her friends...

'Donald Mackay was not just an innocent victim tragically struck down by a criminal act. He was a casualty of the actual fight against organised crime ... killed on active...

' A glorious endeavour ' Nigella Lawson Over 90 rediscovered and revived Australian classics - thrifty, no-waste recipes from a time that honoured seasonal, locally grown ingredients and truly understood...

In March 1945 Reg Cleworth, a navigator on PBY Catalina seaplanes flying out of Darwin, went missing in action. No details were ever given about the incident that took his...

Australia was born with its eyes wide open. Although politicians spoke publicly of loyalty to Britain and the empire, in secret they immediately set about protecting Australia's interests from the...

Bill the Bastard Bill the Bastard is a remarkable tale of the bond between a determined trooper and his stoic but cantankerous mount during the Light Horse campaigns against the...

Winner of the National Biography Award 2021 Shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Award for Non-fiction 2021 'A compelling story, beautifully told' - JULIA BAIRD, author and broadcaster 'At last, a...

Between 1942 and 1943, Qantas lost eight aircraft during its involvement in Australia's war against the Japanese. Over sixty passengers and crew died as a result. Yet Qantas' exemplary contribution...

The British plan to settle Australia was a high-risk venture. We now take it for granted that the first colony was the basis of one of the most successful nations...

Shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Award for Australian History 2021 In 1790, five convicts escaped Sydney by boat and were swept ashore near present-day Newcastle. They were taken in by...

'The vast sweeping story of Aboriginal Australia from 1788 is told in Richard Broome's typical lucid and imaginative style. This is an important work of great scholarship, passion and imagination.'...

Shortlisted for the Society of Women Writers NSW Book Awards Esther only just escaped the hangman in London. Aged 16, she stood trial at the Old Bailey for stealing 24...

The Original Australians tells the story of Australian Indigenous history and society from its distant beginnings to the present day. From the wisdom and paintings of the Dreamtime to the...

WINNER: 2024 MARION ACT Book of the Year, Books for Older Readers WINNER: 2024 Readings Young Adult Prize S HORTLISTED: 2024 NSW Premier's Literary Awards, Ethel Turner Prize for Young...

WINNER: 2022 Australian Book Industry Awards Picture Book of the Year (Ages 0-6) WINNER: 2022 Educational Publishing Awards Australia Primary Educational Picture Book WINNER: 2022 Karajia Award for Children's Literature...

Monash and Chauvel follows the extraordinary campaigns of the two most outstanding battlefield commanders of the First World War across all the Allied armies: John Monash and Harry Chauvel. John...

The long-awaited new cookbook from the king of relaxed Australian cafe style food 'Every city has one cafe that becomes the poster child for its inner spirit, and for Sydney,...

Winner of the 2018 HMAA Laurel Award for best book First published as The Australian Native Garden There's never been a more crucial time to droughtproof your garden and to...

'Karen McCartney's Iconic Australian Houses books are re-imagined so cleverly in this freshly redesigned, encyclopaedic book, which brings together in one volume the best of 50 years of Australian residential...

In a world where suburban nature is declining and diversity is shrinking, Habitat is a practical guide for those of us who want to encourage insects, reptiles, frogs, birds and...

The Cold War between the West and the Soviet Bloc didn't end with detente in 1975: it just went underground. Until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, tensions...

'Grose's compassionate, honest and vivid account . deserves to be widely read.'- Sun-Herald The bombing of Darwin on 19 February 1942 is the battle Australia tries to forget. Although there...

By 1963, Robert Menzies had been prime minister for thirteen years, Australia had its first troops in Vietnam, and change was in the air. There would soon be street protests...

Winner of the Prime Minister's Award for Australian History 2021 Winner of the NSW Premier's Australian History Prize 2021 Co-winner of the Ernest Scott Prize for History 2021 Winner, Henry...

'[Rees'] account of the danger and difficulty is gripping.a remarkable book.' - Canberra Times 'Rees has an eye for technical detail and a passion for the people involved. Lancaster Men...

Winner of the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Australian History 2014 Winner of the NSW Premier's History Awards, Australian History Prize 2014 Winner of the Queensland Literary Awards, History Award...

Winner of the 2015 Queensland Premier's Award for a work of State Significance Winner of the 2016 Magarey Medal for Biography 'Connors lays down the hard truth. Not all our...

'The bible for seafood. The only book you'll ever need on the topic.' Neil Perry Written by the most respected authorities on seafood in the country, this landmark publication contains...