Every Assistance and Protection is the first book presenting an in-depth history of the Australian passport. In charting the development of the passport from its early beginnings to its present form, the book traverses changes in government policy and social history from the early 19th century to the modern era. It shows how the Australian passport evolved from a signifier of British nationality into a badge of membership of one of the most multicultural countries in the world. The book explores the landmark events in this history:the great 19th century diasporas, resulting from relaxation of official controls on the movement of people; the early passport regime regulating the movement of "ticket-of-leave" convicts; the establishment of the centralised passport system during World War I; the enactment of the first passport legislation for the Commonwealth, The Passports Act 1920, and the reaction of some Australians who felt the new law infringed the liberties of the British subject; changes to the laws in 1938 such that possession of a passport was no longer mandatory for an Australian to travel, though still a practical necessity; the use of the government's discretionary power to cancel or withhold passports to inhibit the movement of individual communists; the establishment of Australian citizenship in 1948 - the basis for possession of an Australian passport; the removal of the word "British" from the cover in 1967; the effects of globalisation and heightened security in the late 20th and early 21st century. It also touches on the lives of individuals: boxer Les Darcy, journalist Wilfred Burchett, and General Sir Thomas Blamey, are among the many Australians featuring in these pages. The book is based on an exhaustive examination of hitherto unexamined primary sources of many government departments, including the Departments of External Affairs, the Prime Minister's, the Attorney-General's, Defence, Home and Territories, Immigration and Foreign Affairs. Sponsored by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

An Australian hero torn between family and country 'Put Les Darcy in a uniform and the men of Australia will march to hell behind him.' that was the message trained on Australia's great 'Blacksmith Boxer', as debate about conscription raged in the middle of World War I. the problem was that Les Darcy didn't want to march at the fore of such a procession, nor to such a destination. He wanted to continue what he had been doing to extraordinary acclaim before the war began - taking on the best boxers the world could throw at him, and lifting his entire family out of poverty as he did so. torn between the duty he felt he owed his family, and the duty many felt he owed his country, Les made his choice ... and faced the consequences. And so unfolds a ballad of love, war, betrayal, mystery, patriotism and heroism; a ballad of a champion whose story still has the power to move the stoniest heart.

Discover the heritage of Maitland, New South Wales, Australia! Fascinating facts, bewitching stories and awe-inspiring vintage photographs reveal its people and places, alluring readers to inhabit this treasured landscape. THE FOOTPRINTS OF MAITLAND’S OLD HANDS trilogy is a grand tapestry and a go-to guide to transport you back in time. Its an ambitious and comprehensive study of Maitland and its neighbouring historical estates. The author devoted thirty years to weave the tale of this town, weighing untold data left idle in ignored documents and undisturbed memories. With the keen eye of a seasoned historian, three centuries of Maitland’s history, gateway to the Hunter Valley, are recorded for future generations. Footprints left by ancestors are no longer hidden by nature’s fury of floods, fires or human forgetfulness. This three-book work is a treasure-trove for tens-of-thousands, young and old, whose families made Maitland the heritage gateway to the Hunter!

This book is about a poor boy who makes it through sport to the highest levels of academia.

The legendary Harry Greb stepped into the ring more than 300 times from 1913 to 1926, defeated opponents who outweighed him by more than 30 pounds, held the middleweight and light heavyweight titles and beat every Hall of Fame boxer he ever fought. Dubbed "the Pittsburgh Windmill" because of his manic, freewheeling style in the ring, Greb also crossed racial lines, taking on all comers regardless of color. An injury in the ring led to Greb's gradually going blind in one eye and should have ended his career, but he kept his condition secret and fought on. Tragically, the indomitable fighter would be dead by the age of 32, felled by complications during minor surgery. This biography of one of the toughest boxers of all time includes interviews, family recollections, modern doctors' analyses of Greb's eye injury and more than 120 rare photographs, as well as a complete fight record and round-by-round descriptions of his most famous fights.

The Great War of 1914-1918 affected all Australians and decisively changed the new nation. They were 'The Crying Years' according to writer Zora Cross, who lost her brother in 1917. This visual history of Australia's Great War offers a different perspective on a period of time familiar to many. It helps to connect the war overseas - the well-chronicled battles at Gallipoli, Fromelles, Passchendaele and Villers-Bretonneux - with the equally bitter war at home, for and against conscription, over 'loyalty' and 'disloyalty'. Men faced life-changing choices: volunteer to fight or stay at home; join the revolutionary unionists or break the strikes. Women bore the burdens of waiting and worrying, of working for charities, or of voting to send men to their deaths. Even children were drawn into the animosities, as their communities fractured under the stress. Prize-winning historian Professor Peter Stanley of UNSW Canberra uses documents, photographs, artefacts and images from the collections of the National Library of Australia to evoke the drama and tragedy, suffering and sacrifice, pain and pity of Australia's Great War.

"Dazzling...as funny as it is poignant, nostalgic as it is sharp." —Carley Fortune, New York Times bestselling author of Every Summer After A book editor spends one last summer on Fire Island in this sparkling and surprising new novel from the author of A Shoe Story. As a book editor, Julia Morse lived and breathed stories. Whether with her pen to a manuscript or curled up with a book while at her beloved Fire Island cottage, her imagination alight with a good tale, she could anticipate practically any ending. The ending she’d never imagined was her own. To be fair, no one expects to die at thirty-seven. So when the unthinkable happens to Julia, rather than following the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, she chooses to spend one last summer near those she loves most. As she follows her adoring, novelist husband Ben to their—unexpectedly full—home on Fire Island, she discovers the ripple affect her life has had on the trajectory of so many: her baseball loving, young-at-heart neighbor who believes it’s best not to go it alone, two bright-eyed teenagers eager to become adults, and her best friend who must shake off heartbreak for a new chance at love. With poignant comedy and insight, On Fire Island is an ode to the stories all around us and to the brightest types of loves…for the people closest to you and the places that shape you.

Vaudeville manager, boxing promoter, stock swindler and card shark Freeman Bernstein was no stranger to the law. But the charges he was arrested for in 1937 were more serious than those he had ever encountered before. The most powerful and feared man in the world - Adolf Hitler - claimed that Bernstein had committed fraud against the German government. In this fascinating and colourful book, Bernstein's great nephew discovers that this New York Jew may indeed have been responsible for a critical shortage of Nazi resources in the early years of WWII.

Whether opening saloons, raising cattle, or promoting sporting events, George Lewis "Tex" Rickard (1870-1929) possessed a drive to be the best. After an early career as a cowboy and Texas sheriff, Rickard pioneered the largest ranch in South America, built a series of profitable saloons in the Klondike and Nevada gold rushes, and turned boxing into a million-dollar sport. As "the Father of Madison Square Garden," he promoted over 200 fights, including some of the most notable of the 20th century: the "Longest Fight," the "Great White Hope," fight, and the famous "Long Count" fight. Along the way, he rubbed shoulders with some of history's most renowned figures, including Teddy Roosevelt, Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, John Ringling, Jack Dempsey, and Gene Tunney. This detailed biography chronicles Rickard's colorful life and his critical role in the evolution of boxing from a minor sport to a modern spectacle.