Originally published during the early part of the twentieth century, the Cambridge Manuals of Science and Literature were designed to provide concise introductions to a broad range of topics. They were written by experts for the general reader and combined a comprehensive approach to knowledge with an emphasis on accessibility. Australia by J. W. Gregory was first published in 1916. The volume presents a discussion of Australia's social and political character, together with information on botany, geography and the historical development of the area.

This two-volume work by Captain Phillip Parker King (1791-1856) was published in 1827, and describes the Royal Navy's 1817-22 surveying expedition to chart the coastal regions of Australia. King carried out the surveys in two successive ships, the Mermaid, which was declared unseaworthy in 1820, and the newly commissioned Bathurst. He worked on the charts, which were published by the Hydrographic Office, for two years after his return to England. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society, and later undertook a similar surveying voyage, in which he was accompanied by Captain Fitzroy on the Beagle, around the coast of South America. The book is derived from the author's journal, and describes not only the voyages but also the towns and settlements and the natural history of the region, often making comparisons with Captain Cook's account. Volume 1 covers the south, east and north coasts of Australia.

When George William Rusden (1819-1903) was fourteen, his family emigrated from England to Australia, where he later became a prominent educationalist and civil servant, responsible for establishing national schools. In 1883, after retiring to England, he published histories of Australia and New Zealand, both of them sympathetic to the indigenous populations. The latter proved controversial and resulted in a libel case against Rusden, which he lost. Aureretanga, first published in 1888, was written with the purpose of exposing British abuses of the Treaty of Waitangi, which had ceded New Zealand to the Crown in 1840. Drawing on government documents, official correspondence, court records, petitions and press reports, Rusden lists the hardships and injustices inflicted on the Maori, asserting that the actions of the British-led government 'dishonoured the name of England'. His book provides intriguing contemporary insights into the harsh realities of even supposedly enlightened colonialism.

The fighting on the Kokoda Track in World War II is second only to Gallipoli in the Australian national consciousness. The Kokoda campaign of 1942 has taken on mythical status in Australian military history. According to the legend, Australian soldiers were vastly outnumbered by the Japanese, who suffered great losses in battle and as a result of the harsh conditions of the Kokoda Track. In this important book, Peter Williams seeks to dispel the Kokoda myth. Using extensive research and Japanese sources, he explains what really happened on the Kokoda Track in 1942. Unlike most other books written from an Australian perspective, The Kokoda Campaign 1942: Myth and reality focuses on the strategies, tactics and battle plans of the Japanese and shows that the Australians were in fact rarely outnumbered. For the first time, this book combines narrative with careful analysis to present an undistorted picture of the events of the campaign. It is a must-read for anyone who is interested in the truth of the Kokoda campaign of 1942.

Educated at Sandhurst, Sir George Grey (1812 98) became Governor of South Australia when he was not yet thirty. Later he served as Governor of New Zealand and High Commissioner for South Africa, and in the 1870s he enjoyed a period as Premier of New Zealand. Although he liked to portray himself as 'good Governor Grey' some of his contemporaries found him ruthless and manipulative. Like many other Victorian administrators, he was convinced that the 'savage' natives needed to be 'raised' properly in order to become more like Europeans. In this 1841 publication, Grey writes about two expeditions to North West Australia that took place under his leadership in 1837 9. In Volume 1, he tells of the difficulties that the expedition encountered while seeking a site for settlement, including an incident when the spear of a 'coloured man' wounded him and he shot the 'wretched savage'.

An exploration of the little-known yet historically important emigration of British army officers to the Australian colonies in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. The book looks at the significant impact they made at a time of great colonial expansion, particularly in new south Wales with its transition from a convict colony to a free society.

Sir Edmund Hillary described Douglas Mawson's epic and punishing journey across 600 miles of unknown Antarctic wasteland as 'the greatest story of lone survival in polar exploration'.This Accursed Land tells that story; how Mawson declined to join Captain Robert Scott's ill-fated British expedition and instead lead a three-man husky team to explore the far eastern coastline of the Antarctic continent. But the loss of one member and most of the supplies soon turned the hazardous trek into a nightmare. Mawson was trapped 320 miles from base with barely nine days' food and nothing for the dogs. Eating poisoned meat, watching his body fall apart, crawling over chasms and crevices of deadly ice, his ultimate and lone struggle for survival, starving, poisoned, exhausted and indescribably cold, is an unforgettable story of human endurance. Grippingly told by Lennard Bickel, this is the most extraordinary journey from the brutal golden age of Antarctic exploration. Perfect for fans of Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air or Michael Palin's Erebus.

In 1832, aged just seventeen, the future colonial governor Edward John Eyre (1815-1901) set sail from London for Australia. The farming life that awaited him laid the foundations of an enduring interest in the topography, anthropology and zoology of his adopted homeland. Following an initial expedition in 1839, in 1840 Eyre set out on his pioneering trek from Adelaide to Western Australia. The year-long adventure financially ruined the explorer, but won him the coveted gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society for discovering Lake Torrens. Published in 1845, this two-volume account of the expedition made Eyre a household name in Britain and fuelled popular interest in the former penal colony. Including eleven engravings, Volume 1 opens with the origins of the expedition, but quickly leads readers into the darkest moments experienced en route, including conflicts within the party, desperate searches for water, and the murder of an overseer.

Thomas Lindsay Buick (1865-1938) became interested in New Zealand history while working as a political journalist in Wellington, and became an influential figure in the field. He went on to write twelve books and numerous pamphlets on the early history of the country and was elected a fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1914. In this book Buick recounts the events leading up to the Treaty of Waitangi, the controversial document signed by British officials and Maori chiefs which ceded New Zealand to the British Empire in 1840. Buick claims that the need for a formal handover of authority to Britain arose from the rowdy misdeeds of sealers, whalers, and escaped convicts from Australia, who needed to be kept in check. The work was first published in 1914; the revised edition reissued here appeared in 1933, and a third edition was published in 1936.

Thomas Lindsay Buick (1865-1938) became interested in New Zealand history while working as a political journalist in Wellington, and became an influential figure in the field. He went on to write twelve books and numerous pamphlets on the early history of the country and was elected a fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1914. First published in Wellington in 1928, this work describes the history of Akaroa in the South Island, a small settlement on the Banks Peninsula founded by French settlers in 1840. In the same year, New Zealand became part of the British Empire, and much of Buick's account focuses on the interaction and disputes between the French and British settlers. The book, which was published under the auspices of the Board of Maori Ethnological Research, also includes the history of the local Maori tribes.

J. S. Polack (1807-82) lived in New Zealand during 1831-7 and 1842-50. An enterprising businessman and land speculator, he traded in timber and flax, and in 1835 set up the first brewery in the country. He also learned the Maori language, and warned against the destructive effects on Maori society of unorganized European settlement, while arguing for the benefits of systematic colonization. This two-volume work, published in 1838, was the first of two successful books by Polack about his experiences in New Zealand and is still regarded as an important and impartial source about the period immediately preceding the Treaty of Waitangi. Volume 1 outlines the discovery of the islands, their climate, geology, topography and fauna. It contains vivid descriptions of the Maori and their customs (including an account of an energetic haka) and details about family life, social status, food, tapu prohibitions, dress, and tattooing.

J. S. Polack (1807-82) lived in New Zealand during 1831-7 and 1842-50. An enterprising businessman and land speculator, he traded in timber and flax, and in 1835 set up the first brewery in the country. He also learned the Maori language, and warned against the destructive effects on Maori society of unorganized European settlement, while arguing for the benefits of systematic colonization. This two-volume work, published in 1838, was the first of two successful books by Polack about his experiences in New Zealand and is still regarded as an important and impartial source about the period immediately preceding the Treaty of Waitangi. Volume 2 focuses on Maori material culture and craftsmanship, traditional beliefs and rituals, and warfare (including lurid reports of cannibalism), as well as the early interactions of Maori and Europeans through trade, missions and whaling.

Sir Timothy Coghlan (1855 1926) was the statistician for New South Wales from 1886. He produced the world's first example of national financial accounts, and is regarded as Australia's first 'mandarin'. His advice was sought by state and federal governments on matters as diverse as tax, public sanitation and infant mortality. In 1905 he took up an appointment as a New South Wales government agent in London, remaining there for the rest of his life. First published in 1918, this monumental book is Coghlan's very personal history of Australia, embracing materials, population growth, trade and land. In Volume 4 Coghlan discusses in depth the foundation of the Australian Labor Party, which came after a series of devastating strikes in the 1890s. The recovery from depression and crisis, and the growing move towards federation, are also examined, alongside the recurrent themes of immigration, land and industry.

The prolific writer William Howitt (1792 1879) embarked for Australia in 1852 and spent two years there travelling and panning for gold. His experiences resulted in several books that appealed to the Victorian public's avid interest in Antipodean exploration. Published in 1865, when New Zealand had only been recognised as a country for a generation, this two-volume work describes 'scenes of danger and of wild romance, of heroic daring and devoted deaths, such as few countries have to show'. It gives a valuable account of early European exploration and settlement in Australia and New Zealand as well as insights into European travellers' responses to this previously unknown continent. Volume 2 begins in the mid-1840s, and focuses on the 1861 disappearance in Australia of Burke and Wills, the expeditions searching for them (including one led by Howitt's son), and visits to New Zealand by explorers including Charles Heaphy and Julius Haast.

Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell (1792 1855) was an acclaimed surveyor and explorer of Australia. After attending the University of Edinburgh Mitchell joined the British Army in 1811. He took part in major battles of the Peninsular War and difficult military surveys in the Pyrenees. In 1827 he was appointed Deputy Surveyor of New South Wales, and he became Surveyor General in 1828. This fascinating two-volume work, first published in 1838, contains Mitchell's illustrated account of his three expeditions into the then unexplored interior of modern eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales between 1831 and 1836, for which he received a knighthood in 1839. Drawing on Mitchell's personal journals, Volume 1 describes in vivid detail the difficulties and dangers of exploring the Kindur and Gwydir rivers, and provides valuable first-hand descriptions of the lives and society of the indigenous Australians his expedition encountered.

The first prominent advocate of Australian republicanism, Scottish-born John Dunmore Lang (1799-1878) is an important figure in the history of his adopted country. This two-volume work, originally published in 1834, presents a series of chapters illustrating Australia's history and its condition in his own time. Written during a voyage from New South Wales to Britain in 1833, the book promotes what Lang deems to be the best interests of the New South Wales colony, by encouraging the emigration 'of reputable families and individuals to its territory'. Volume 2 investigates the distribution and character of the convict population and stresses the advantages of New South Wales to emigrants, finishing with an analysis of the practicalities of emigration and settling in Australia. The reader will be mindful of Lang's aim in writing the work - to tell the truth 'fully and fearlessly' in order to secure Australia's general welfare and advancement.

Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell (1792 1855) was an acclaimed surveyor and explorer of Australia. After attending the University of Edinburgh Mitchell joined the British Army in 1811. He took part in major battles of the Peninsular War and difficult military surveys in the Pyrenees. In 1827 he was appointed Deputy Surveyor of New South Wales, and he became Surveyor General in 1828. This fascinating two-volume work, first published in 1838, contains Mitchell's illustrated account of his three expeditions into the then unexplored interior of modern eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales between 1831 and 1836, for which he received a knighthood in 1839. Drawing on Mitchell's personal journals, Volume 2 describes in vivid detail the difficulties and dangers of exploring the Murray Darling river systems, and provides valuable first-hand descriptions of the lives and society of the indigenous Australians his expedition encountered.

Joseph Beete Jukes (1811-1869) was a geologist who studied at St John's College, Cambridge under Adam Sedgwick (1785-1873) and, after many field expeditions in England, was appointed to a survey of Newfoundland in 1839. In 1841 he joined the H.M.S. Fly as a naturalist for an upcoming expedition to chart the coasts of Australia and New Guinea. He also made some inland investigations on Java before returning to England in 1846. The following year he published this two-volume account of his journey. Blackwood's Magazine described Jukes' work as 'scientific without being abstruse, and picturesque without being extravagant, [Jukes] has made his volumes a striking and graceful addition to our knowledge of countries highly interesting in themselves'. Volume 1 describes Jukes' voyage up the coast of North Queensland, his observations of the Barrier Reef, his exploration of the Torres Strait, and his arrival in the Sunda Islands.

Edward Gibbon Wakefield (1796 1862) was a controversial colonial advocate and political theorist, who was the driving force behind the early colonization of New Zealand and South Australia. Barred from entering parliament after serving a three-year sentence in Newgate Prison, Wakefield read widely on contemporary economic and social questions before forming the New Zealand Association in 1837, with the aim of creating a colony in the country based on his theories of systemic colonization. This volume, first published in 1839, contains a detailed description of the New Zealand Association's plans for the formation of a British colony in the country. Published to attract new members and potential colonists to the Association, this volume discusses the natural resources of New Zealand and describes the Association's method of colonisation together with a proposed system of government, providing a valuable practical example of Wakefield's influential theories of colonization.

The publications of the Hakluyt Society (founded in 1846) made available edited (and sometimes translated) early accounts of exploration. The first series, which ran from 1847 to 1899, consists of 100 books containing published or previously unpublished works by authors from Christopher Columbus to Sir Francis Drake, and covering voyages to the New World, to China and Japan, to Russia and to Africa and India. This compilation by R. H. Major of the British Museum (published in 1859) brings together various manuscript and published sources, some of them anonymous, which provide a picture of European exploration in the Southern Ocean in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It includes passages from the writings of William Dampier, who not only surveyed part of the coast of Australia ('New Holland'), but also made detailed notes of the fauna and flora he encountered there.

Eminent biologist Sir Baldwin Spencer (1860 1929) was born in Lancashire but moved to Australia to take up the chair in biology at the University of Melbourne in 1887. As a member of the 1894 Horn Scientific Expedition to Central Australia, Spencer made the acquaintance of F. J. Gillen, an advocate of Aboriginal rights, with whom he later formed a working partnership. Spencer and Gillen returned to Alice Springs in Central Australia in 1896 1897, to carry out observations on the local Aboriginal tribe, the Arunta. These observations were published in 1899, in The Native Tribes of Central Australia (also reissued in this series), which represented the most comprehensive study of Aboriginal customs. Gillen and Spencer continued to undertake fieldwork until 1903. Volume 2 of Across Australia (published in two volumes in 1912) describes Aboriginal tribes of the present-day Northern Territory, between Alice Springs and the Gulf of Carpentaria.

The mounted soldier is one of the most evocative symbols in Australian military history. Now a celebrated part of Australia's army heritage, the role and very existence of mounted troops in modern warfare was being called into question at the time of its most crowning military moments. Light horse regiments, particularly those that served in South Africa, Palestine and the trenches of Gallipoli, played a vital role in Australia's early military campaigns. Based on extensive research from both Australia and Britain, this book is a comprehensive history of the Australian Light Horse in war and peace. Historian Jean Bou examines the place of the light horse in Australia's military history throughout its existence, from its antecedents in the middle of the nineteenth century, until the last regiment was disbanded in 1944.

This book examines the deep connection Australians have with their climate to understand contemporary views on human-induced climate change. It is the first study of the Australian relationship with La Nina and it explains how fundamental this relationship is to the climate change debate both locally and globally. While unease with the Australian environment was a hallmark of early settler relations with a new continent, this book argues that the climate itself quickly became a source of hope and linked to progress. Once observed, weather patterns coalesced into recognizable cycles of wet and dry years and Australians adopted a belief in the certainty of good seasons. It was this optimistic response to climate linked to La Nina that laid the groundwork for this relationship with the Australian environment. This book will appeal to scholars and students of the environmental humanities, history and science as well as anyone concerned about climate change.

Following Mark Johnston"s acclaimed illustrated histories of the 7th and 9th Australian Divisions, this is his long-awaited history of the 6th Australian Division: the first such history ever published. The 6th was a household name during World War II. It was the first division raised in the Second Australian Imperial Force, the first division to go overseas and the first to fight. Its success in that fight, in Libya in 1941, indicated that the standard established in the Great War would be continued. General Blamey and nearly every other officer who became wartime army, corps and divisional commanders were once members of the 6th Division. Through photographs and an authoritative text, this book tells their story and the story of the proud, independent and tough troops they commanded.