The moment of contact between two peoples, two alien societies, marks the opening of an epoch and the joining of histories. What if it had happened differently? The stories that indigenous peoples and Europeans tell about their first encounters with one another are enormously valuable historical records, but their relevance extends beyond the past. Settler populations and indigenous peoples the world over are engaged in negotiations over legitimacy, power, and rights. These struggles cannot be dissociated from written and oral accounts of "contact" moments, which not only shape our collective sense of history but also guide our understanding of current events. For all their importance, contact stories have not been systematically or critically evaluated as a genre. Myth and Memory explores the narratives of indigenous and newcomer populations from New Zealand and across North America, from the Lost Colony of Roanoke on the Atlantic seaboard of the United States to the Pacific Northwest and as far as Sitka, Alaska. It illustrates how indigenous and explorer accounts of the same meetings reflect fundamentally different systems of thought, and focuses on the cultural misunderstandings embedded in these stories. The contributors discuss the contemporary relevance, production, and performance of Aboriginal and European contact narratives, and introduce new tools for interpreting the genre. They argue that we are still in the contact zone, striving to understand the meaning of contact and the relationship between indigenous and settler populations.

Stories and yarns about my favourite bits of Down Under Paul Hogan's ancestors were a couple of Irish blow-ins who arrived in the colony of New South Wales by boat, with a little assistance from the judges of the Old Bailey. Blow-ins from everywhere have been coming ever since, and while it hasn't always been a walk in the park, Hoges reckons this mixed-up mob of old and new inhabitants works most of the time. In fact, according to Hoges, Australia may well be the best country on earth. In Australia, According to Hoges, the comedy legend explores some of the highways and byways of his country's past and present to map out all that is strange, marvellous and majestic about his homeland and why Australia qualifies as the Eighth Wonder of the World. From the rich and ancient culture of the island continent's Original human inhabitants to its prison-farm phase, from a baptism by fire through wars and depression to a passion for sport, gambling and outdoor cookery, and from the influence of Marlon Brando on a teenager from Sydney's western suburbs to the culinary wonders brought by new arrivals from all around the world, Hoges portrays a nation that believes in a fair go for all and never takes itself too seriously. Full of laugh-out-loud yarns from Hoges' and the nation's past, Australia, According to Hoges is a love letter to Down Under. As Hoges says, 'We're not perfect, but we're working on it.'

This book traces the history of the Civil Defence in Western Australia, from the mid-1930s, to when the State Emergency Service was first formed in 1959, and the subsequent years as it passed through a number of government departments including the Premiers department, WA Police, as its own department and ending with being under the general responsibility of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services. DFES is supported by an extensive network of over 29,000 volunteers (including 2000 SES Volunteers) and 1100 career firefighters who all work together with the community and government to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from a diverse range of emergencies. This book has been authored by Gordon Hall ESM and peer reviewed by John Capes OAM and Allen Gale.