Manning Clark’s History of Australia
Michael Cathcart (editor), 1989 Sitting down in his flat at Balliol College, Oxford, in October 1938, the drum beat of war growing louder across Europe, a twenty-three year old Manning Clark wrote an impassioned letter to his future wife, Dymphna. 'I feel certain that I can write [...]
The Harp in the South
Ruth Park, 1948 Now a bestselling Australian classic, The Harp in the South was hastily written in just six weeks by author Ruth Park at her parent’s kitchen table with two young children underfoot. It is conspicuously Australian, deeply empathetic and provides a unique insight into [...]
The Drover’s Wife
Henry Lawson, 1892 Poet and writer Henry Lawson explores the darker side of the Australian myth in his short story about a young mother living alone in the bush - The Drover’s Wife. Deeply gloomy in tone, Lawson paints a bleak but realistic picture of the [...]
A Town Like Alice
Nevil Shute, 1950 The impact of World War II and the Prisoner of War experience on the Australian psyche is described in gritty detail by Neville Shute in his famous novel A Town Like Alice. It is a story of trial and triumph, cruelty and kindness, [...]
Dot and the Kangaroo
Ethel Pedley, 1899 A plea for environmental conservation sits at the heart of classic children’s tale Dot and the Kangaroo which constructs a strong sense of national identity based on Australia’s unique native flora and fauna. Ethel Pedley explores the wonder and beauty of the Australian [...]
Life Cycle
Bruce Dawe, 2009 Best-selling poet, Bruce Dawe (1930 – 2020) has been acclaimed as Australia’s premier bard of the suburbs. A highly respected writer and educator, Dawe’s work was described by Les Murray – arguably Australia’s most important poet of the 20th century – as “wonderfully [...]
Noonday Axeman
Les Murray, 1965 During his lifetime Les Murray (1938 – 2019) was widely considered Australia’s premier poet. In death, there is an argument suggesting he was the greatest poet this country has ever produced. Nobel Prize-winning American poet Joseph Brodsky once said of Murray, “he is, [...]
Don’s Party
David Williamson, 1971 Don’s Party is the play by David Williamson you would preserve on a desert island if the world was laid waste. And David Williamson is the Australian playwright that you would go to if you wanted to know what Australians looked like, how [...]
Crocodile Dundee
Peter Faiman, 1986 Crocodile Dundee was an immensely successful attempt to create an Australian hit movie, a residually comic depiction of a folk hero bushman who was at home in a world of crocodiles and snakes but could also do battle with the shadiness and sophistication of [...]