200 lashes

July 11, 2009 1:41 PM

What books (fiction, non-fiction) should I read to find out more about the early colonial history of Australia?

I've just finished The Nutmeg of Consolation by Patrick O'Brian, which takes place, during the last third of the book, in Sydney.

I'd like to learn more about life in Australia as a penal colony circa 1800. Are there any books I should read?

posted by KokuRyu to society & culture (17 comments total)

Robert Hughes' The Fatal Shore has become the standard reference.
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 1:44 PM on July 11 [3 favorites]

Seconding foxy_hedgehog -- I've read the Fatal Shore twice. It's absolutely riveting, and it seems encyclopedic, too.
posted by Devils Rancher at 2:11 PM on July 11

O'Brian cites the Fatal Shore in his intro to TNoC, so, duh, I suppose I should go grab a copy.
posted by KokuRyu at 2:21 PM on July 11

Australia's Birthstain was a decent reexamination of convict history and historiography. I note that there's a new history of early Sydney from the same publisher.
posted by zamboni at 2:37 PM on July 11

It doesn't focus particularly on the early colonial history, but Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country is a very enjoyable read, and does touch on that period of Australian history somewhat.
posted by just_ducky at 4:09 PM on July 11 [1 favorite]

Have a look at the Australian Government Cultural Portal, especially their pages on novels and history.

Two of my personal fiction recommendations include:
For the Term of his Natural Life - Marcus Clarke (1874)
True History of the Kelly Gang - Peter Carey (2000)
both of which are based on some true documentation.
posted by Kerasia at 6:01 PM on July 11

My suggestion, Leviathan by John Birmingham does cover the very first days of Sydney, but goes on to describe the city's evolution into what it is today. It is fairly dark, but is well researched from memory.
posted by dantodd at 6:10 PM on July 11 [2 favorites]

Robert Hughes's The Fatal Shore.
posted by orthogonality at 6:14 PM on July 11

A Complete Account of the Settlement at Port Jackson, by Watkin Tench... a cracking good read!
posted by Duke999R at 7:35 PM on July 11

I tried to check out The Fatal Shore from the library but it was taken, so I found myself with Australia: A New History of the Great Southern Land to be a satisfying substitute. It's sometimes exhaustively detailed, and partly through its focus on the development of Australian government over people or culture, I found it rather jingoistic, though.
posted by dhartung at 9:07 PM on July 11

The Fatal Shore is a wonderful book even if you don't give a flip about Australia. It's just a pleasure to read something so well-written and lively.

Additionally, I have found this website to be a wealth of information. About everything include the animals. The homepage link is currently broken so I worry the whole thing may come down...

It is perhaps not as comprehensive as Fatal Shore, but on the plus side for convict creations, AC/DC is given their due.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 9:58 PM on July 11

These are all awesome suggestions. Thanks so much.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:27 PM on July 11

I got really excited when I saw the question 'cause I wanted to let you know about The Fatal Shore but I'm too late. So just read it already.
posted by consummate dilettante at 11:30 PM on July 11

As far as fiction goes, My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin is very good - I had to read it in high school and still managed to enjoy it quite a bit. It's a 'biography' of a woman growing up in a poor colonial patch of New South Wales. It's ostensibly a romance, but the protagonist is a hardassed cynic and makes it all read like something a hell of a lot more contemporary.

Picnic at Hanging Rock is good too. Very tauntly written and atmosperic.

I shouldn't bother about either of the films based on these books, incidentally. The books are much better.

Leviathan mentioned above is very good. It is bleak as all hell, but has some seriously funny bits in it too that really drives home some of the ridiculous stuff going on at the founding of the colonies.
posted by Jilder at 3:50 AM on July 12

Once you're done with the early colonial days, can I suggest Capricornia by Xavier Herbert for a view of the frontier around Darwin in the late 1800s, early 1900s? It is an excellent read, and is very revealing of that time and place.
posted by bystander at 9:01 PM on July 12

Just found Fatal Shore by chance today at a used bookstore.
posted by KokuRyu at 9:13 PM on July 12

I discovered in a used bookshop in Melbourne the other day that My Brilliant Career has a sequel called My Career Goes Bung.
posted by bendy at 12:41 AM on July 13