The Great Republic of the Southern Seas
The Great Republic of the Southern Seas

Author: Audrey Oldfield

Publisher:

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13:

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British settlement in Australia began amid the great republican movements of the late 18th century and from its earliest days republican ideals affected political thinking in the colony. In this study, Audrey Oldfield investigates the subject from a biographical angle, concentrating on the people involved in the republican debate throughout the century: from the Scottish martyr, Thomas Muir, convicted of sedition in 1793, to Henry Lawson writing 'The Song of the Republic' in 1887. She explores such questions as: Did transportation to siphon off agitators and urban poor save Britain from revolution and republicanism? Was there ever any likelihood that Australia might have chosen republican constitutions in the 1850s? Was there a deliberate attempt by Britain and Australian monarchists to subvert republicanism in the federation period?

William Charles Wentworth
William Charles Wentworth

Author: Andrew Tink

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Published: 2009-08-01

Total Pages: 373

ISBN-13: 1741768748

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Publisher's description: Described by Manning Clark as 'Australia's greatest native son', William Charles Wentworth led a life of firsts. A man of rat cunning, great intelligence and sharp wit, he wrote the first book by an Australian to be published, was joint editor and proprietor of the colony's first independent newspaper, and founder of Australia's first university. But more importantly, with ruthless energy and a volcanic personality this 'convict brat' spent his life as an unrelenting advocate for comprehensive trial by jury, self-government and an Australian Confederation. Articulating a distinctly Australian identity to the world, he has a strong claim to be a founding father of modern Australia. Wentworth's great personal achievements have been largely forgotten - until now. Andrew Tink, who for nineteen years sat under the looming presence of Wentworth's portrait in the New South Wales Parliament, has turned his gaze to this great man of Australian history. The result is a biography that is long overdue and a fascinating and richly rewarding insight into the life of this complex man and the young nation he helped to create.

The Letters of Charles Harpur and his Circle
The Letters of Charles Harpur and his Circle

Author: Paul Eggert

Publisher: Sydney University Press

Published: 2023-12-01

Total Pages: 404

ISBN-13: 1743328893

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This is the first collection in print of the letters of Australian colonial poet Charles Harpur (1813–68) and his circle. Supported by extensive annotation newly prepared for this edition, the 200 letters and life-documents open up successive phases of colonial culture from the 1830s to the 1860s in a newly focused way. Harpur’s two-way correspondence with poet Henry Kendall, and with poet and future premier of NSW Henry Parkes, is especially impressive. The letters selected for this edition document Harpur’s life in a previously unavailable way. They reveal the intriguing struggle of a high-minded young man to pursue a serious vocation as a poet amidst the unpromising contours of colonial New South Wales society. Despite bearing the taint of a convict family background, Harpur took his vocation with utmost seriousness and had much to endure before he would find recognition as a poet, mainly in colonial newspapers where his poems made over 900 appearances. This edition captures the process in detail, as well as the production in 1883 of his Poems in book form. Even though editorially mangled, Poems confirmed his reputation and led to his presence in dozens of anthologies down to the present day.

Great Australian Speeches
Great Australian Speeches

Author: Pamela Robson

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Published: 1940-01-01

Total Pages: 171

ISBN-13: 1742662218

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Great Australian Speeches brings together a diverse and often moving collection of more than 40 speeches ranging from colonial times to the present day. Some have resonated with power enough to shape the nation; others encapsulate the best … and worst … of the Australian character. This selection proves that stirring oratory is not simply the preserve of politicians and military figures. Bushranger Ned Kelly makes a speech within a speech as his death sentence is passed, interrupting the address of Judge Barry with words of defiance. Also featured are singer Nellie Melba's farewell speech (the irony of which neither speaker nor listeners appreciated at the time); Miles Franklin's tribute to Henry Lawson 'who gave us this kingdom as our own'; and Richie Benaud's moving eulogy to cricketing legend Donald Bradman. Iconic political speeches include Governor Phillip's message to the First Fleet on landing at Sydney Cove; the opening address of the Federal parliament by MP William Groom, ex-convict; Robert Menzies' 'Forgotten People' speech of 1942; Mick Dodson's 'Stolen Generation' protest of 1997; the 'dismissal' declarations of Gough Whitlam and Governor General John Kerr; and Kevin Rudd's statesmanlike 'Sorry …' speech of 2008.

Australian Literature, 1788-1914
Australian Literature, 1788-1914

Author: Selina Samuels

Publisher: Detroit [Mich.] : Gale Group

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 508

ISBN-13:

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This volume commences in 1788, the year of the arrival of the First Fleet, sent to colonize Australia and is the logical starting point since the focus is on Australian literature in English, and does include entries on Aboriginal writers who wrote and published in English. Entries include those writers who produced at least their first important work before the end of 1914.