THE WARRNAMBOOL FIRE BRIGADE 1863 - 2013 by QUARRELL, AVIS

$15.00 AUD

Category: Australiana

THE CHURCH ON THE HILL by DOYLE, HELEN

$39.99 AUD

Category: Australiana

Saving St Brigid's by Regina Lane; Shane Howard (Foreword by)

$35.00 AUD

Category: Australiana

At the top of a hill in south-west Victoria, surrounded by rolling green hills that fall away to the Southern Ocean, sits a grand old red-brick church. For more than 150 years, these fertile volcanic fields have sustained the largest rural population of Irish descent in Australia. Built and paid for by the children of potato-famine survivors, St Brigid's is a symbol of faith and hope in an ancient land, by a cold, wild sea. In 2009, the Catholic Church put the church and hall up for sale, against the wishes of the local community. What began as a small local issue soon became a national news story, in a battle that went all the way to Rome. Saving St Brigid's is the truly unique story of a small Australian rural community who, in the spirit of their Irish rebel ancestors, stood up for what they believed in. Their fight for justice awakened the author to the richness of her Irish Catholic culture, and its lasting legacy on the community, and the Church, she grew up in. Through the lens of her Irish heritage and that of the local Indigenous people, she weaves together a lyrical narrative of song and story, and discovers just how much our ancestral traditions have to teach us if we are to transform the world we live in. ...Show more

Strayan Dictionary: Avo, Arvo, ScoMo, Mabo and All the Essential Strayan Words by Dominic Knight

$29.99 AUD

Category: Australiana

Following up on the success of Strayapedia, Dom has put together a dictionary of all things 'Strayan. This is a funny, topical stocking stuffer for the Christmas market, and the perfect gift for anyone who loves The Chaser or The Betoota Advocate. See the attached sample definitions for a sense of the w hole book. Avo - avocado, because 'cado' is just so onerous to say. Increasingly Australians 'smash' their avocado as opposed to slicing it, also for laziness reasons. It was suggested by the social researcher Bernard Salt that young Australians couldn't afford to buy property because they blow their disposable income on 'smashed avocado' at fancy cafe. As one of the baby boomers who profited enormously from the massive increases in real estate value, pricing millennials out of the market, Salt was fortunate that the understandable backlash to his article didn't lead to him getting smashed himself. Bathers - swimmers Battler - 1. Someone of limited financial means. 2. Someone of comfortable financial means who views themselves as hard done by because most of their disposable income goes on their foolishly large mortgage. ?Howard's battlers - People who voted for John Howard because they shared his belief in ordinary enterprising Australians doing it for themselves without the interfering government getting in the way, and who were subsequently lavishly rewarded by his middle-class welfare programmes. BHP - Broken Hill Proprietary, a major mining company that was once known as "the big Australian". Its merger with the UK-based Billiton saw it follow the Australian tradition of hanging out in London, doing a little bar work, and ultimately coming back home when things didn't work out - consequently, the company is now known just as BHP. Its namesake hill in Western NSW is now considerably more broken, thanks to BHP mining it until it no longer exists. Nevertheless, as one of Australia's largest companies, it has a proud record of job creation both at home and in Papua New Guinea, where its Ok Tedi mine created many jobs fixing the 1300 square kilometres of countryside it polluted and helping the 50,000 people affected. Billy - a bush teapot, originally made from an empty tin of 'bully beef', and generally stoked in a campfire. Later usage commemorates the prime minister Billy McMahon, whom most Australians wanted to throw in a fire. Bogan - a derogatory term for lower-class Australians. Bogans may be identified by their flannelette markings and mullet plumage, and are found mostly in Maccas car parks, sitting on the bonnets of the highly polished V8s they collect as trophies. Bogans undertake an annual migration to Canberra for a ritual known as the 'Summernats', and are considered an endangered species thanks to their prodigious consumption of Winnie Blue cigarettes.   ...Show more

Shearing in Victoria's Western District by Tracey Kruger

$60.00 AUD

Category: Australiana

This book includes photographs and a brief history of 160 working woolsheds that were photographed by Tracey Kruger over a 2 and a half year time frame.

Up Came a Squatter : The Life and Times of Niel Black , 1839-1880 by Maggie Black

$49.99 AUD

Category: Australiana

Niel Black, a Scot from Argyllshire, arrived in Melbourne in September intending to make his fortune. Ambitious and determined, Black became one of the most successful and energetic squatters in the Western District of Victoria - a livestock breeder and a Member of the Legislative Council. He was also a correspondent extraordinaire, and his letters to family, fellow pastoralists, colonial officials, and his chief UK business partner, Thomas Steuart Gladstone (and first cousin of the British prime minister), offer a unique insight into the time. Black's letters and journals, now held at the State Library of Victoria, are the inspiration for this revelatory book written by his great-granddaughter. Battles with local Aboriginal people, other settlers, Commissioners of Crown Lands and bush-fires, along with droughts, family feuds, multiple trips back to Scotland to find a wife and Black's rise to gentrified excess are all vividly brought to life. 'In this vivid, fast-moving book Niel Black comes to life' - Geoffrey Blainey ...Show more

Cattlemen in Pearls - Celebrating Women in Agriculture by Ian and Anne Galloway (Concept by)

$49.99 AUD

Category: Australiana

Cattlemen in Pearls introduces us to 28 remarkable Australian women, spanning three generations, whose love for the land and livestock is ingrained in their genetic profile. These powerful, surprising and moving mini-biographies recount tales of gritty determination, direst tragedy and glorious courage. We are given rare insight into how and what it's like to start a cattle business from scratch; to run a successful stud enterprise; to manage a vast cattle station; to head a pastoral industry group and corporation.The tough physical and emotional terrain of the bush, and strong family ties, play a role in each of these diverse, down-to-earth and sometimes heartbreaking stories. There are droughts, floods, emergencies, times of despair and loss, as well as hilarious antics, joyous gatherings and extraordinary stories of success. For each of these thoroughly capable, warm-hearted women there is simply no other lifestyle choice. Cattlemen in Pearls is a compelling tribute to women in agriculture, specifically Australia's beef industry. ...Show more

Outback Cop by Evan McHugh; Neale McShane

$35.00 AUD

Category: Australiana

Birdsville is one of the most remote police postings in Australia. It can be lonely and uneventful for weeks, then the dramas come thick and fast: from desert rescues to rising floods, venomous vipers to visiting VIPs. Throw in heat, dust and flies and it's not a job for the faint-hearted, unless you'r e Senior Constable Neale McShane, who has single-handedly taken care of a beat the size of Victoria for the past ten years. Recently retired from this "hardship posting," Neale and his family thrived on the adventures and colourful times that come with the territory in the furthest corner of our country. Yarning with friend and bestselling author Evan McHugh, Neale's experiences are humorous and heartfelt. How do you feed 4000 unexpected dinner guests? Where do you find a Chinook helicopter when you need one? Who's your backup when the population explodes for the famous Birdsville Races? And what do you do when you're the person the Flying Doctor is flying out? Among these inspiring tales of danger and death, dreamers and "dumb tourists," you'll encounter a little community with a big heart that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with a larger-than-life policeman who's become part of Australia's outback legend.   ...Show more

Tale Of Two Cities: History Of Modern Warrnambool by Gordon Forth

$20.00 AUD

Category: Australiana

All round Australia a phenomenon is emerging. While country centres stagnate or decline, some have transformed themselves into "regional cities" that grow and grow, dominating large catchments far beyond their local districts. The modern story of Wagga and Alice Springs, Mackay and Bunbury, is the story of dozens of cities-and of changes that have reoriented Australian society. Warrnambool makes a perfect illustration, with extra interest from its distinctive locale. Each aspect of communal life shows how these centres increasingly replicate capital cities, and concentrate activities once spread across their regions. Education, culture, health, retailing, economies and governments, homes and workplaces-all dramatically rearranged-form the new pattern of urban and country life illustrated in this handsome book. ...Show more

Amazing Story of Mystery Dog Ben and His Eerie Sense of Knowing by AUSTIN, TIM

$10.00 AUD

Category: Australiana

The 1863 Shipboard Diary of Edward Charlwood - From England to Australia by Edward Charlwood; Don Charlwood (Foreword by)

$14.99 AUD

Category: Australiana

This beautiful book is a facsimile reproduction of the elegantly handwritten diary of 27-year-old Edward, accompanying his bride to her new land. It is an entertaining and informative account of their voyage onboard the Suffolk ¿ a voyage similar to that taken by the many immigrants of the sailing ship era. Edward Charlwood was Don Charlwood great-uncle. Edward¿s wife¿s descendents in England gave the diary to Don in the 1980s. ...Show more

On the Sheeps Back by Axiom Publishing

$34.99 AUD

Category: Australiana

It is great to see a book put together with stories directly from the mouths of people who have been in the industry for many years. Their stories are not the tales of fishermen but of fact, about the characters who for years made up the shearing industry.