The story of Australia by Don Watson

The striking gentle blue cover of The Story of Australia: For the young (and the curious) draws the reader in to a very special and important book. Don Watson, who has written previously for adults, has created an easy-to-read non-fiction book that covers all aspects of Australia’s history, from ancient times to our contemporary era. What sets this book apart and more in tune with today’s thinking is that it explores and explains our history from both an honest and meaningful indigenous perspective, interlaced with a non-indigenous perspective. Reading the first two chapters about Ancient Australia and Aboriginal Australia sets the reader on a chronological path to finding out how Australia grew over time and the successes, struggles and injustices that ensued. Throughout the book, the author has written openly about landmark events such as the massacre at Myall Creek NSW in 1838 of twenty-eight Aboriginal men, women and children or World War Two in which nearly 40,000 Australians died and the great Eddie Mabo and the land rights debate of the 1990’s. He shares the plight of women convicts in colonial times and the effect of the Great Depression on the Australian people. The diverse topics covered provide a wonderful snapshot of how our country has grown and changed. Each chapter ends with a profile of a famous Australian including the likes of the Mungo Woman, Caroline Chisholm, Mary Gilmore, Albert Namatjira and even Kylie Minogue. The book has a detailed contents page and extensive index, as well as photographs and illustrations on each page to break up the text into manageable chunks. The clever use of footnotes displaying the dates ensures the reader can either follow the history through from cover to cover or research a certain period.

This book is an important read for late primary to upper secondary students as well as adults who may need to rethink Australia’s history from a different perspective. The Story of Australia: For the young (and the curious) would be a valuable addition to a classroom, public or home library.

Themes: Australia, History - Ancient, Indigenous, Colonial, Contemporary.

Kathryn Beilby