The Glass CanoeGenius Of Australia
Monkey Grip
Bad Debts
Manning Clark’s History of Australia

The Australian Canon

The Great Works of Australian Literature and the Arts

A nation without a past is a nation without a future.

The great works of Australian culture are essential to understanding our past and our present; but they are increasingly being discarded and/or denigrated in our schools and our universities.

Genius is defined as “the prevailing character or spirit of Australia”.

By exploring the works in the Australian Canon developed here at the Centre for the Australian Way of Life, new generations of Australians can connect to the classic works that tell us who we are; which made us who we are.

This site provides essays, commentaries and Podcast episodes to help Australians make those connections, as they read, watch, view and listen to the great works in the Australian Canon.

Each canonical work will be analysed

Over time an introductory commentary will be provided on every work in the Canon.

Go to the Index, below, and you will see links highlighted wherever these posts have already been published.

The Genius of Australia Podcast

(coming soon)

  • Episode One: An Introduction to the Australian Canon

  • Episode Two: Patrick White’s Voss and David Marr’s biography

  • Episode Three: Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson

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