Andrew Tink’s superb book tells the story of Australia in the twentieth century, from Federation to the Sydney 2000 Olympics. A century marked by the trauma of war and the despair of the depression, balanced by extraordinary achievements in sport, science and the arts. A country underpinned by a political system that worked most of the time and the emergence of a mainly harmonious society. Australians at the start of the century could hardly have imagined the prosperity enjoyed by their diverse countrymen and women one hundred years later. Tink’s story is driven by people, whether they be prime ministers, soldiers, shop-keepers, singers, footballers or farmers; a mix of men or women, Australian-born, immigrants and Aborigines. He brings the decades to life, writing with empathy, humour and insight to create a narrative that is as entertaining as it is illuminating.

From the John Holmes Library collection.

Transformation of Australia's population, 1970-2030.

A provocative reassessment of the Australian constitution from the perspective of a political scientist.

Issues for 1901/07-1901/20 include corrected statistics for the period 1788 to 1900.

Published to mark the centenary of Federation, this important book explores Australia's national origins in a comprehensive and accessible way. A high-calibre team of writers has been gathered to write the first ever comprehensive, general history of Federation. Starting from the perspective of the individual colonies as they made their way towards membership of the Australian Commonwealth in 1901, the book also provides cross-referenced short alphabetical entries covering key events, people and concepts. It approaches Federation not simply as a formal political story, but as a social and cultural process, maintaining the relevance of nation-making by highlighting ongoing debates about democracy, sovereignty and progressive citizenry. A major contribution to the Centenary of Federation, this book should become a standard reference for scholars, students and general readers in the continuing discussions of Australia's future as a nation.

This book provides an arresting interpretation of the history of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific from the earliest settlements to the present. Usually viewed in isolation, these societies are covered here in a single account, in which the authors show how the peoples of the region constructed their own identities and influenced those of their neighbours. By broadening the focus to the regional level, this volume develops analyses - of economic, social and political history - which transcend national boundaries. The result is a compelling work which both describes the aspirations of European settlers and reveals how the dispossessed and marginalized indigenous peoples negotiated their own lives as best they could. The authors demonstrate that these stories are not separate but rather strands of a single history.