Mrs Charles (Ellen) Clacy (1830-1901) was a clergyman's daughter who, in 1852, travelled to the Australian goldfields. Published in 1853, on her return to England, this work, the first edition of which sold out almost immediately, is essentially a guide for prospective emigrants. It includes, within the lively narrative, practical advice on the cost of living, the labour market, gold-digging regulations, and marriage prospects. Mrs Clacy published several subsequent books, but her life remains obscure. Research suggests an illegitimate pregnancy or an absconding husband, unmentioned in the upbeat and respectable narrative, but possibly echoed by the highly coloured 'tale' of an anonymous emigrant woman, whose lover (twice) leaves her pregnant at the altar to go to the goldfields, with tragic consequences. However this relates to Mrs Clacy's actual circumstances, her writing vividly depicts the mixture of opportunity and hazard in nineteenth-century Australia, illuminating the country's early social history.

The British politician and lawyer Sir John Eldon Gorst (1835-1916) arrived in New Zealand in 1860, shortly after the outbreak of the Taranaki Wars (from 1860 onwards), with idealistic intentions of working with Bishop Selwyn and the Maori. He took on various governmental roles that required contact with the Maori, including those of school inspector, magistrate and, later, Civil Commissioner for the Waikato region, whose powerful chiefs had not signed the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi. In 1864 he published this book analysing the social and economic situation in New Zealand, the rapid deterioration of relations between Maori and Europeans (which he ascribes largely to errors and neglect on the part of the British administration) and Maori demands for self-government. He describes, often as an eye-witness, the complex political wrangling that took place, and sets out his own views about the past and future relations between the two ethnic groups.

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.

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 wrote twelve books and numerous pamphlets on the early history of the country and was elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1914. This book, first published in Wellington in 1926, describes one of the most significant conflicts in nineteenth-century New Zealand, the Flagstaff War (1845-6), in which European settlers and their Maori supporters fought those Maori who were resisting colonial encroachment. A key figure during the war was the Nga Puhi chief Hone Heke, from the Bay of Islands, who famously refused to acknowledge British sovereignty and repeatedly felled the British flagpole in Kororareka. Buick's account probes the complex relationships among the warring factions, describes the individual phases of the war, and explains how peace was eventually restored.

Robert McNab (1864-1917), lawyer, politician, and historian, was one of the most prominent and influential of New Zealand's early intellectuals, renowned for his meticulous gathering of historical resources. The result of nine years of painstaking research, this book was developed from a series of articles on Southland history published in the newspaper Southern Standard in the late 1890s. Murihiku spans the history of European exploration and settlement in the South Island, from the voyages of Abel Tasman and Captain Cook to the arrival of the sealers, whalers, missionaries, and the early settlers in the years leading up the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. The book was first published in 1905. After extensive research in archives in Australia, the USA, and Britain, McNab produced a more substantial edition in 1907. This third edition appeared in 1909. McNab was elected fellow of the Royal Geographical society in 1908.

Ernest Powell Giles (1835-97) is best remembered as one of the first explorers of South Australia. Powell emigrated to Australia with his parents in 1850, settling in Adelaide. From 1861 he was leading small-scale expeditions along the Darling River, searching for land suitable for cultivation. Following the completion of the Overland Telegraph Line between Adelaide and Darwin in 1872, Powell embarked on five expeditions attempting to discover an overland route between Adelaide and Perth. These volumes, first published in 1889, provide a detailed and dramatic account of his discoveries. Based on Powell's personal journals, these volumes describe in vivid detail the hardships and dangers of exploration in Australia in the nineteenth century, while providing an evocative description of the South Australian landscape before colonisation. Volume 1 contains Powell's account of his first two unsuccessful expeditions of 1872 and 1873, including his discovery of the Gibson Desert and Lake Amadeus.

Ernest Powell Giles (1835-97) is best remembered as one of the first explorers of South Australia. Powell emigrated to Australia with his parents in 1850, settling in Adelaide. From 1861 he was leading small-scale expeditions along the Darling River, searching for land suitable for cultivation. Following the completion of the Overland Telegraph Line between Adelaide and Darwin in 1872, Powell embarked on five expeditions attempting to discover an overland route between Adelaide and Perth. These volumes, first published in 1889, provide a detailed and dramatic account of his discoveries. Based on Powell's personal journals, these volumes describe in vivid detail the hardships and dangers of exploration in Australia in the nineteenth century, while providing an evocative description of the South Australian landscape before colonisation. Volume 2 deals with Powell's expeditions in 1874 and 1875, including his discovery of the Great Victoria Desert and his return journey.

John McDouall Stuart (1815-66) was a surveyor and a pioneering explorer of Australia. Born in Scotland, he emigrated in 1839 to Australia where he worked in surveying and made many expeditions into the outback. The treks he undertook from 1858 to 1862 are the focus of this account, published in 1864, and are compiled from Stuart's notes by William Hardman (1828-90). During these periods of exploration he managed - though suffering from scurvy - to cross the continent, and he also discovered various rivers and geographical features. Hardman's account uses Stuart's journals to give an account of six historic and often gruelling expeditions. The first was to the north-west; the following two were explorations around Lake Torrens; the fourth was an attempt to find the centre of the territory; a fifth involved a forced retreat after an aboriginal attack; and in the final one Stuart traversed the continent.

Van Diemen's Land was the name originally given to the island known today as Tasmania, Australia, and it was settled by the British in 1803 as a penal colony. Before writing this history of the island, the author, Henry Saxelby Melville (1799-1873), a journalist, was imprisoned in 1835 for contempt of court over an article he wrote about an ongoing trial. While experiencing the prison system at first hand, he completed this work, which examines the history of Van Diemen's Land, focusing on the period from 1824 to 1835, and offers harsh criticism of the colonial administration and penal reforms enacted by lieutenant-governor Colonel George Arthur (1784-1854). Melville also includes an essay of his views on the island's system of prison discipline. He initially had the book printed on the island, but later smuggled copies to London where it could be freely published and read.

This captivating work charts the history of Tasmania from the arrival of European maritime expeditions in the late eighteenth century, through to the modern day. By presenting the perspectives of both Indigenous Tasmanians and British settlers, author Henry Reynolds provides an original and engaging exploration of these first fraught encounters. Utilising key themes to bind his narrative, Reynolds explores how geography created a unique economic and migratory history for Tasmania, quite separate from the mainland experience. He offers an astute analysis of the island's economic and demographic reality, by noting that this facilitated the survival of a rich heritage of colonial architecture unique in Australia, and allowed the resident population to foster a powerful web of kinship. Reynolds' remarkable capacity to empathise with the characters of his chronicle makes this a powerful, engaging and moving account of Tasmania's unique position within Australian history.

Throughout history, gold has been the stuff of legends, fortunes, conflict and change. The discovery of gold in Australia 150 years ago precipitated enormous developments in the newly settled land. Immigrants flooded in from Asia and Europe, and the population and economy boomed in spontaneous cities. The effects on both the environment and indigenous Aboriginal peoples have been profound and lasting. In the most unexpected ways, gold has shaped modern Australia. In this book, a team of Australia's most prominent historians and curators have collaborated to produce a cultural history of gold and its impact on the development of Australian society. Like a handful of tailings, Gold brings together a collection of stories that have been left out of standard Australian histories. In between runs a critical analysis of the relationship between gold and social change, race relations, gender, the environment, entertainment and industry.

A pioneering Australian reference work, this dictionary was published in 1879 by John Henniker Heaton (1848-1914), who in his youth spent twenty years as a journalist in Australia before returning to England and campaigning in Parliament for postal reform. Published amid a bitter dispute with the government printer, it is still acknowledged to contain much useful information despite some inaccuracies. The first part, 'Men of the Time', focuses on notable men and women with Australian connections, from 1542 to the date of publication, including explorers, governors, leading colonists, writers and scientists. The second part, 'The Australian Dictionary of Dates', provides an alphabetical listing of the most remarkable Australian historical events and topics, from Aboriginal cricketers to the Zig Zag railway line, particularly noting political and legal landmarks. Heaton's book is an important document of Victorian colonial historiography and a valuable resource for the history of European settlement in Australia.

'Luca Antara is a book-lover's book, a graceful and mesmerizing blend of history, autobiography, travel and romance.' - JM Coetzee Part memoir, travelogue, history and part detective story, Luca Antara is a rich tapestry of history and the present. It parallels the life of the author, an emigre to Sydney, and the life of an historical figure, Antonio da Nova, the servant of a Portuguese explorer who in the 1600s sends him to find out more about Luca Antara (now Australia). New to Sydney, Martin Edmond finds himself impoverished and displaced. He earns money as a taxi driver but spends his spare time frequenting second hand bookshops trying to learn more about the history of Australia and the wider region. The people Edmond encounters in his taxi and in his search for rare books are varied and strange, offering the reader a voyeuristic glimpse into Sydney's sub-culture. Sent to discover more about Luca Antara, Antonio da Nova's crew mutiny and dump him on the West Australian coast. He is found by Aborigines, who take him on an epic walk across northern Australia. Eventually he manages to return to his master in Portugal who awaits news of his explorations. Edmond's reading centres upon da Nova, but each book he reads leads to another and the subject becomes broader and increasingly fascinating. The lives of the two men and the strange customs and unique social mores of each man's culture and time intertwine throughout the book, ending with Edmond literally walking in the footsteps of da Nova across northern Australia.

John Lort Stokes (1812-85) was a naval officer on board H.M.S. Beagle - the same ship that had carried naturalist Charles Darwin around the world in 1831-6. Stokes served on that expedition and on the following commission, which was a survey of Australia in which the crew was charged with discovering more about the largely unknown land mass. The expedition set off in 1837 and Stokes did not return to England until 1843 - after 18 years of service on the Beagle - when he began work on this two-volume account of the voyage, which was published in 1846. This work provides a detailed narrative of the journey, including interaction with indigenous peoples and observations about the natural world in Australia, making it an important source about the early years of the European colony. Volume 1 covers Stokes' time exploring north-west Australia and includes illustrations of plants, insects, and reptiles.

John Lort Stokes (1812-85) was a naval officer on board H.M.S. Beagle - the same ship that had carried naturalist Charles Darwin around the world in 1831-6. Stokes served on that expedition and on the following commission, which was a survey of Australia in which the crew was charged with discovering more about the largely unknown land mass. The expedition set off in 1837 and Stokes did not return to England until 1843 - after 18 years of service on the Beagle - when he began work on this two-volume account of the voyage, which was published in 1846. This work provides a detailed narrative of the journey, including interaction with indigenous peoples and observations about the natural world in Australia, making it an important source about the early years of the European colony. Volume 2 sees the expedition explore the Victoria River, and later venture north into the Indonesian archipelago.

This book engages a complex subject that mainline theologies avoid, Indigenous Australia. The heritages, wisdoms and dreams of Indigenous Australians are tormented by the discriminating mindsets and colonialist practices of non-Indigenous peoples. This book gives special attention to the torments due to the arrival and development of the church.

This study treats the Victorian Antipodes as a compelling site of romance and satire for middle-class writers who went to New Zealand between 1840 and 1872. Blythe's research fits with the rising study of settler colonialism and highlights the intersection of late-Victorian ideas and post-colonial theories.

Written by the adventurous and widely travelled Lady Mary Anne Barker (1831 1911), this 1870 publication records 'the expeditions, adventures, and emergencies diversifying the daily life of the wife of a New Zealand sheep farmer'. Born in Jamaica and educated in England and France, Barker married her second husband in 1865 and spent the next three years living on his sheep station on the South Island. This book is based on letters written to Barker's younger sister, beginning with an account of her two-month voyage to Melbourne and her onward journey via Nelson and Wellington to Christchurch. Barker vividly describes her domestic surroundings, friends, neighbours, servants, her first (and last) experience of camping, the Canterbury landscape and vegetation, and the 7,000 sheep on the farm. Her enthusiastic personal account of Victorian colonial expansion captures the 'delight and freedom of an existence so far from our own highly-wrought civilization'.

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 1 covers the early voyages of discovery to the Antipodes made by explorers including Abel Tasman and Captain Cook, and later expeditions up to the 1840s, including Fitzroy and Darwin's voyage around Australia and New Zealand aboard the Beagle.

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.

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.

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 2 focuses mainly on Java, where Jukes visited sugar and coffee plantations and industrial sites. The appendixes contain vocabulary lists for several indigenous languages, and notes on marine life and snakes.

William Pember Reeves' scholarly work of 1902 provides a full and candid account of radical and experimental laws in Australia and New Zealand. From the Anti-Chinese Acts of 1881 to the adoption of the women's franchise by the Commonwealth Parliament in Australia in 1902, the two volumes survey all noteworthy laws and statutes, addressing colonial questions of the time. Well-known for his history of New Zealand, The Long White Cloud (1898), the statesman Reeves (1857 1932) draws attention to admitted defects or failures in the laws without imposing his personal political views on the reader. Volume 1 sets out the historical background of Australasia, and covers such areas as the Progressive Movement, the women's franchise and issues concerning land laws. Overall, the two volumes represent an important record of the many reforms and changes occurring in the political and social systems of the continent at this time.

William Pember Reeves' scholarly work of 1902 provides a full and candid account of radical and experimental laws in Australia and New Zealand. From the Anti-Chinese Acts of 1881 to the adoption of the women's franchise by the Commonwealth Parliament in Australia in 1902, the two volumes survey all noteworthy laws and statutes, addressing colonial questions of the time. Well-known for his history of New Zealand, The Long White Cloud (1898), the statesman Reeves (1857 1932) draws attention to admitted defects or failures in the laws without imposing his personal political views on the reader. Volume 2 covers areas including labour and factory laws, pensions, liquor and licensing laws and immigration issues. Overall, the two volumes represent an important record of the many reforms and changes occurring in the political and social systems of Australasia at this time.