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Shot Down: The Secret Diary of One POW's Long March to Freedom
by Alex Kerr&“An incredibly rich life story . . . It is also a significant addition to Australian military, aviation, and prisoner of war history. Uplifting. Read it.&” —Bomber Command Australia Alex Kerr&’s Wellington, a twin-engine bomber, was shot down over Germany in 1941. At first hospitalized with hopes of repatriation, he unexpectedly found himself a prisoner in a German POW camp. Throughout those trying four years he was held captive, Alex kept a secret diary. This book reproduces his diary entries in a fascinating account of all aspects of life in a wartime prison. He describes being part of the infamous Long March during which he and his comrades were strafed by Allied aircraft; sixty POWs were killed and one hundred wounded. Alex escaped the march with a mate, passing through the front lines between the British and German forces to commandeer a German mayor&’s car and drive back to Brussels to take the next aircraft to freedom. Alex&’s charm and optimistic outlook will buoy the reader throughout, and the camaraderie between him and his captive comrades is always entertaining. This is an authentic Second World War adventure from being shot out of the sky, to incarceration and the ultimate triumph of escape and the end of the war. &“Based on a secret diary maintained during four years of imprisonment, this is an authentic voice from WWII. The author demonstrates charm and optimism which lightens what might have been a depressing story. Recommended.&” —Firetrench
Sideswiped: Off the Map 2 (Off the Map #2)
by Lia RileyIt was only meant to last the summer . . .Talia Stolfi has seen more than her share of loss in her twenty-one years. But then fate brought her Bran Lockhart, and her dark world was suddenly and spectacularly illuminated. So if being with Bran means leaving her colourless NorCal life for rugged and wild Australia, then that's what she'll do. But as much as Talia longs to give herself over completely to a new beginning, the fears of her past are still lurking in the shadows.Bran Lockhart knows that living without the beautiful girl who stole his heart will be torment, so he'll take whatever time with her he can. But even though she has packed up her life in California and is back in his arms for the time being, she can't stay forever. And the remaining time they have together is ticking by way too fast. Though fate seems determined to tear them apart, they won't give up without a fight-because while time may have limits, their love is infinite . . .Book #2 in the OFF THE MAP seriesPraise for Lia Riley:'Upside Down gave me all the feels. Romantic and poignant, the journey of love and acceptance lingers long after the book is closed' Jennifer L. Armentrout/J. Lynn, #1 New York Times bestselling author'Must read romance . . . refreshing and heartfelt New Adult contemporary romance' USA Today'Addictively readable' Booklist (starred review)'Riley writes a captivating story from beginning to breathtaking end' Publishers Weekly starred review'Fresh, sexy, and romantic. I cannot wait for the next book' Kristen Callihan, bestselling author'Fast paced, electric and sweetly emotional!' Tracy Wolff, New York Times bestselling author'Where to even start with this book? Beautifully written, Australia, hot surfer Bran, unique heroine Talia. Yep, it's all just a whole lot of awesome. Loved it!' Cindi Madsen, USA Today bestselling author'A rich setting and utterly romantic . . . I absolutely loved it!' Melissa West, author of Pieces of Olivia'Upside Down is a brilliantly-written New Adult romance that transported me to another country. With vivid imagery and rich characterisations, I was completely smitten with the love story of Bran and Talia. I cannot wait for the rest of their story!' Megan Erickson, author of Make it Count
Simpson and the Donkey Anniversary Edition: The Making of a Legend
by Peter CochraneThe simple tale of Simpson and his donkey is the pre-eminent legend of heroism. It is the story of a humble water-carrier, a rescuer of wounded men, a tale of compassion, stoic persistence, with a tragic end. His tale is an integral part of the Anzac story. Across time, a simple tale can acquire a complicated history. This is what happened to the man with the donkey and is the subject of this book, Simpson's 'afterlife', the legend.
Sister Heart
by Sally MorganA young Aboriginal girl is taken from the north of Australia and sent to an institution in the distant south. There, she slowly makes a new life for herself and, in the face of tragedy, finds strength in new friendships. Poignantly told from the child's perspective, Sister Heart affirms the power of family and kinship. This compelling novel about the stolen generations helps teachers sensitively introduce into the classroom one of world's most confronting histories.
Six Impossible Things
by Fiona Wood1. Kiss Estelle.2. Get a job.3. Cheer my mother up.4. Try not to be a complete nerd/loser.5. Talk to my father when he calls.6. Figure out how to be good.Nerd-boy Dan Cereill is not quite coping with a whole heap of problems, including a reversal of family fortune, moving, new-school hell, a mother with a failing wedding cake business, a just-out gay dad, and a massive crush on Estelle, the girl next door. His life is a mess, but for now he's narrowed it down to just six impossible things.... In this charming story of one guy's efforts to get it together when his life is falling apart, award-winning author Fiona Wood introduces an irresistible voice and a delightfully awkward character who is impossible to forget.
Six Paintings from Papunya: A Conversation
by Terry Smith Fred R. MyersIn the early 1970s at Papunya, a remote settlement in the Central Australian desert, a group of Indigenous artists decided to communicate the sacred power of their traditional knowledge to the wider worlds beyond their own. Their exceptional, innovative efforts led to an outburst of creative energy across the continent that gave rise to the contemporary Aboriginal art movement that continues to this day. In their new book, anthropologist Fred Myers and art critic Terry Smith discuss six Papunya paintings featured in a 2022 exhibition in New York. They draw on several discourses that have developed around First Nations art—notably anthropology, art history, and curating as practiced by Indigenous and non-Indigenous interpreters. Their focus on six key paintings enables unusually close and intense insight into the works’ content and extraordinary innovation. Six Paintings from Papunya also includes a reflection by Indigenous curator and scholar Stephen Gilchrist, who considers the nature and significance of this rare transcultural conversation.
Slipping into Paradise: Why I Live in New Zealand
by Jeffrey Moussaieff MassonIn the tradition of Under the Tuscan Sun and A Year in Provence, here is Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson's ode to his personal paradise-his adopted home, New Zealand. After living in California, why did Masson settle- out of all the places on earth-in such a faraway land? It turns out that while visiting a beautiful sandy beach just fifteen minutes from bustling Auckland, Masson and his family were utterly seduced by the exotic locale. There was little deliberation. This place, surrounded by lush forest on a bay dotted with volcanic islands, would be their new home.Masson takes readers on a remarkable journey to another world, as he and his family "slip into" the paradise that is New Zealand. For anyone who has ever dreamed of finding utopia, Masson reveals a country where neighbors talk to one another and provide a sense of real community-rarely, outside of the big cities, locking their doors-and where politics are as mellow as the weather. New Zealand is also a land of spectacular scenery, made even more famous for being the shooting location for the Lord of the Rings films. The flora is plentiful. Mangroves, banana plants, papaya trees, and more than ten thousand species of ferns grow wild and freely. The fauna is benign. There are no snakes, tarantulas, or scorpions. Children can walk to school barefoot without a care- there is nothing to sting them, bite them, or give them a rash. In the blue waters near the lush coastline, dolphins and orcas abound. While describing his love affair with the country and his affinity for its citizens, Masson reflects on the meaning of home, the importance of acting on intuition, and what happens when we lose our connection to the place we live in. Responding to an impulse, Masson reveals, he realized a dream.Featuring a its glossary of phrases used by New Zealanders and important Maori words, as well as the author's recommended travel itinerary, Slipping into Paradise is ideal for anyone planning a visit to this exquisite land. Full of photographs, delightful anecdotes, and little-known facts (jogging, for example, was invented in New Zealand), Slipping into Paradise is also a book for those who fantasize about dramatically changing their lives-and who imagine something better for themselves. Jeffrey Masson's message: New Zealand awaits.From the Hardcover edition.
Snow, Fire, Sword
by Sophie MassonOn the island of Jayangan, old beliefs and magic exist side by side with new pop songs and motorcycles. . . . Adi is a fisherman's son, proud to be studying with the greatest of traditional sword makers. Dewi is the daughter of a healer, curious about the world beyond her quiet village. Neither Adi nor Dewi is prepared for the sudden violence that transforms their lives. Both are propelled into an epic battle in which even the mystical spirits of Jayangan are threatened and helpless. Charged with a desperate quest to find the mysterious Snow, Fire, and Sword, Adi and Dewi know only that if they fail, their beloved homeland will fall to an evil shrouded in impenetrable darkness. Can two children of the modern world succeed where the most powerful and ancient spirits cannot? Set against the backdrop of a mythic Indonesia, Sophie Masson's gripping fantasy will leave readers breathless.
Solace + Yearning – Poetry of Dance and Belonging: A Community Arts Project from Denmark, Western Australia
by Annette Carmichael‘Solace + Yearning’ layers landscape, poetry, eco-art and contemporary dance to create an immersive space for many voices: yearning to connect to country, grief for what is absent, and reaching towards an understanding of indigenous language and culture. “Along the edges, voices call softly, softly… the past speaking to the present.” This multi-arts collaboration explores ‘settler guilt’ and ‘solastalgia’—a sense of loss caused by environmental change—in a small rural community. The work unravels contradictory and complicated feelings about Australia’s stories, the assumed advantage of non-indigenous Australians, and yet our deep longing for the wisdom and connection intrinsic in indigenous cultures. “It is beneath the bark where stories are whispered and life rises to stitch together this river with this sky.” Performed in Denmark, Western Australia in 2012, and again as a solo performance by Annette Carmichael in 2014, these images and reflections portray a complex relationship between people and place. “Sometimes, sometimes I make the mistake of thinking that what has not been written down has been forgotten.” With gratitude to Joey Williams, Wayne Webb, Toni Webb, and Harley Coyne, who walked the trail with us and generously shared their Noongar culture and stories.
Solomon Time: An Unlikely Quest in the South Pacific
by Will RandallWho hasn't fantasized about dismantling his or her hassled, wired-up life for a simpler existence? Yet who among us has the will and opportunity to do it? The answer, of course, is very few.Will Randall, a young English schoolmaster, had such a chance -- and took it. He uprooted his conventional First World life and let himself be blown to one of the farthest and most beautiful corners of the earth, the Solomon Islands of the South Pacific. In the entertaining tradition of Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country, this is the story of Solomon Time.From the first, it's an improbable journey. In a chance encounter on a rugby field, Randall meets a doddering old man known as "the Commander," who has retired to England after running a cocoa plantation in the South Pacific for thirty years. Six months later, the Commander dies and his will is read: he wants someone to travel to his beloved, long-missed island -- where his plantation has fallen into ruin -- and devise a way for the natives to support themselves. If successful, they might avoid poverty, build a new school, and even fend off the greedy developers circling their peaceful waters.It's a mission of noblesse oblige, yet possibly a fool's errand, too. Randall agrees to go.Spread across the Tropic of Capricorn, the Solomon Islands are not so much the Pacific archipelago that time forgot as the one that forgets time. Randall's new home is Mendali, a fishing village so remote it can be reached only by motorized canoe. But the people of the village, some with cheeks engraved with a rising sun, are welcoming, for they remember the Commander kindly, and still practice a pagan Anglicanism in a church he built for them in 1956. They sleep in houses made of leaves and live on fish of every sort, mud crabs, yams, ngali nuts, even the honeycomb of termites.Randall decides that the villagers could raise chickens, and they greet the idea with enthusiasm. But finding live chicken eggs in their watery world proves wildly difficult, and Randall must chase after the eggs over shark-infested seas and through jungles where strange characters reside, including a one-eyed dwarf and a tattooed lady.One couldn't imagine a better man than Will Randall to help the people of Mendali meet the twenty-first century on their own terms. But will he succeed?Solomon Time is a moving and witty account of one man's accidental adventure in paradise and is certain to enchant explorers and armchair travelers alike.
Someone Special: The #1 bestseller! Friendship, family and love will collide …
by Sheila O'FlanaganSOMEONE SPECIAL by Sheila O'Flanagan is an enthralling novel about families, friends and finding love that should not be missed by readers of Veronica Henry and Marian Keyes.Romy Kilkenny loves her life in Australia - she has her dream job, a fun lifestyle, and best friend Keith who understands her better than anyone. Best of all, she couldn't be further from her family. But when a phone call summons her home at short notice, Romy's world is turned upside down. Romy has never fitted in, and with Keith too far away to give comfort, she feels like more of an outsider than ever. She also worries that the accidental half-kiss with Keith at the airport may have lost her the greatest friend she's ever had. What on earth has Romy let herself in for?What readers are saying about Someone Special:'So many twists and turns throughout the book as well as many other smaller stories interwoventhroughout. It is more than just a love story, and now my favourite book of [Sheila O'Flanagan's]' Amazon reviewer, 5 stars'Interesting story about an unusual and dysfunctional Irish family. You simply fall in love with them' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars'I liked thedifferences between characters, what they have gone through and how they interact when they need each other. It was my first book by Sheila O'Flanagan and I will definitely read more' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
Someone Special: The #1 bestseller! Friendship, family and love will collide …
by Sheila O'FlanaganSOMEONE SPECIAL by Sheila O'Flanagan is an enthralling novel about families, friends and finding love that should not be missed by readers of Veronica Henry and Marian Keyes.Romy Kilkenny loves her life in Australia - she has her dream job, a fun lifestyle, and best friend Keith who understands her better than anyone. Best of all, she couldn't be further from her family. But when a phone call summons her home at short notice, Romy's world is turned upside down. Romy has never fitted in, and with Keith too far away to give comfort, she feels like more of an outsider than ever. She also worries that the accidental half-kiss with Keith at the airport may have lost her the greatest friend she's ever had. What on earth has Romy let herself in for?What readers are saying about Someone Special: 'So many twists and turns throughout the book as well as many other smaller stories interwoven throughout. It is more than just a love story, and now my favourite book of [Sheila O'Flanagan's]' Amazon reviewer, 5 stars'Interesting story about an unusual and dysfunctional Irish family. You simply fall in love with them' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars'I liked the differences between characters, what they have gone through and how they interact when they need each other. It was my first book by Sheila O'Flanagan and I will definitely read more' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
Someone Special: The #1 bestseller! Friendship, family and love will collide …
by Sheila O'FlanaganSOMEONE SPECIAL by Sheila O'Flanagan is an enthralling novel about families, friends and finding love that should not be missed by readers of Emily Bleeker and Kerry Lonsdale.Romy Kilkenny loves her life in Australia - she has her dream job, a fun lifestyle, and best friend Keith who understands her better than anyone. Best of all, she couldn't be further from her family. But when a phone call summons her home at short notice, Romy's world is turned upside down. Romy has never fitted in, and with Keith too far away to give comfort, she feels like more of an outsider than ever. She also worries that the accidental half-kiss with Keith at the airport may have lost her the greatest friend she's ever had. What on earth has Romy let herself in for?(P)Oakhill Publishing Group Ltd 2014
Songlines and Fault Lines: Epic Walks of the Red Centre
by Glenn MorrisonVisitors to the Red Centre come looking for the real Australia, but find a place both beautiful and disturbing. There is wilderness, desire and artworks depicting an Aboriginal philosophy of home. But there is also the confusing countenance of the Australian frontier, a meeting place between black and white, ancient and modern. Songlines and Fault Lines explores the Red Centre on foot, through six remarkable stories that have shaped our nation. It follows Aboriginal Dreamtime ancestors along a songline and trudges with John McDouall Stuart as he crosses the continent, and walks the Finke River in the footsteps of anthropologist TGH Strehlow. It keeps pace with conservationist Arthur Groom as he reimagines the country's heart as tourist playground, ponders a philosophy of walking with British travel writer Bruce Chatwin, and then strolls the grog-troubled streets of Alice Springs with Eleanor Hogan.Retracing time-worn pathways and stories of Australia's centre, Glenn Morrison finds fresh answers to age-old queries.
Songs the People Love
by Kurt Liffman Patricia LiffmanAt the start of World War II, Eric Liffman, a refugee from Nazi Germany, is imprisoned and transported from London to Australia on the infamous troop ship HMT Dunera. After imprisonment in Hay and Tatura, he, in a strange twist of fate, is invited to join the Australian Army, whereupon he restarts his musical career as a gifted tenor and becomes a celebrity performing to packed concert halls and raising large sums of money for the war effort. After the war, he returns to Germany to search for surviving members of his family. A unique account of wartime London, Melbourne, pre and post war Germany from a refugee/prisoner, who became the most celebrated tenor in Australia during the Second World War.
South Asian Diaspora Narratives
by Amit SarwalSome happy occasions, like the 1995 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book to Bangladeshi-Australian author Adib Khan, the 2008 Man Booker Prize to Indian born Australian writer Arvinda Adiga, and the 2013 Australian Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction to Sri Lankan-Australian author Michele de Krester, have boosted the self-confidence of South Asian-Australian writers in Australia. South Asian diasporic communities have also been the focus for relatively small, but constantly growing, studies by anthropologists and sociologists on the interrelation of gender, race, ethnicity and migration in Australia. The terms "Labels" and "Locations" capture numerous aspects that contribute in the making of a diasporic consciousness. This book critically examines the issues of identity, gender, family, class and caste, expressed in the short narratives of South Asian diaspora writers based in Australia. Taking an interdisciplinary approach--from literary, cultural, historical, anthropological, and sociological studies--this book engages chiefly with the oeuvre of postcolonial writers and academics, namely: Mena Abdullah, Adib Khan, Yasmine Gooneratne, Michelle De Kretser, Chandani Lokuge, Chitra Fernando, Satendra Nandan, Suneeta Peres da Costa, Hanifa Deen, Christopher Cyrill, Suvendrini Perera, Sunil Govinnage, Brij V. Lal, Sunil Badami, Glenn D'Cruz, Chris Raja, Manik Datar, David De Vos, Rashmere Bhatti, Kirpal Singh Chauli, Sujhatha Fernandes, Neelam Maharaj, Sushie Narayan, Madu Pasipanodya, Shrishti Sharma, Beryl T. Mitchell, and Sunitha. This book will, by calling upon the works of this much-neglected South Asian diaspora group, fill a lacuna in the broader critical rubric of diaspora studies.
South Pacific and Micronesia
by Geert Cole Oliver Berry Becca Blond Celeste Brash Jean-Bernard Carillet Tione Chinula Susannah Farfor Jocelyn Harewood Virginia Jealous Rowan Mckinnon Simon Sellars Paul Smitz Vincent Talbot Justine Vaisutis Leanne Logan Brett AtkinsonSink your toes into the sand, suck on that coconut and sit back with a sigh -- yep, it's hard to believe anywhere can be this beautiful, but the South Pacific really is. Palm-fringed islands, turquoise lagoons and luscious scenery interplay with underwater worlds, ancient cultures and urban groove. Get over the legendary paralysis that afflicts travelers to this region and you'll find the South Pacific is infinitely more than leisurely dips in aquamarine waters and lengthy spells lying on blonde beaches...though they'll do to start.
Southern Anthropology - a History of Fison and Howitt’s Kamilaroi and Kurnai: A History Of Fison And Howitt's Kamilaroi And Kurnai (Palgrave Studies in Pacific History)
by Helen Gardner Patrick McConvellSouthern Anthropology, the history of Fison and Howitt's Kamilaroi and Kurnai is the biography of Kamilaroi and Kurnai (1880) written from both a historical and anthropological perspective. Southern Anthropology investigates the authors' work on Aboriginal and Pacific people and the reception of their book in metropolitan centres.
Southern Edge
by Barbara TempertonIn this collection of three long narrative poems, Temperton conjures up the highs and lows of the coastal environment to explore the effects of nature’s “Powerful forces at work” on human existence.An impressive third collection written with flair, passion and the ability to look unpleasant realities in the eye.
Southwest Passage: The Yanks in the Pacific
by Alex Belth John LardnerAt a time when few Americans had visited Australia, journalist John Lardner sailed down under with the U.S. armed forces as one of the first American war correspondents in the Pacific theater. With his excellent sense of humor and gift for narrative, Lardner penned vignettes of MacArthur’s arrival and his reception in Melbourne and a flight with the daring Dutch flier Capt. Hans Smits. More frequently, Lardner wrote about the ordinary day and the average person. Traveling throughout the country, in Southwest Passage Lardner offers a glimpse of Australia in the 1940s and generates warmth and admiration for World War II fighters in the Pacific, whether Australian, New Zealander, aboriginal, or American. For generations of readers who have learned about World War II with the benefit of hindsight, Lardner’s tone, style, and selected topics give more than just entertaining anecdotes about the military in the Pacific; they are a view into the culture and society of midcentury America.
Sovereign Subjects: Indigenous sovereignty matters
by Aileen Moreton-Robinson; Rachel Fensham; Jon StrattonIndigenous rights in Australia are at a crossroads. Over the past decade, neo-liberal governments have reasserted their claim to land in Australia, and refuse to either negotiate with the Indigenous owners or to make amends for the damage done by dispossession. Many Indigenous communities are in a parlous state, under threat both physically and culturally.In Sovereign Subjects some of Indigenous Australia's emerging and well-known critical thinkers examine the implications for Indigenous people of continuing to live in a state founded on invasion. They show how for Indigenous people, self-determination, welfare dependency, representation, cultural maintenance, history writing, reconciliation, land ownership and justice are all inextricably linked to the original act of dispossession by white settlers and the ongoing loss of sovereignty.At a time when the old left political agenda has run its course, and the new right is looking increasingly morally bankrupt, Sovereign Subjects sets a new rights agenda for Indigenous politics and Indigenous studies.
Speaking Out Of Turn: Lectures and Speeches 1940–1991
by Manning ClarkThis fascinating book brings together forty-two selected speeches and lectures by Professor Manning Clark. They range over fifty years from 'What of Germany', delivered in 1940, to the last, delivered in 1991 just before his death at the launch of Barry Humphries' book The Life and Death of Sandy Stone and reveal recurring themes as well as developments in Clark's thinking. In one sense they are all of a piece. They reflect the values, aspirations, regrets-and laughter-of one passionate and intelligent man. In another, they change and develop during the course of that man's intellectual and emotional career. In early manhood he analysed issues and problems ruthlessly in terms of his own values. In middle life he portrayed men and women and expounded ideas from a historical perspective. Towards his end the elegiac mood prevailed and he sought-not always successfully-to speak as a 'life affirmer' and to regard all men and women and events with the 'eye of pity'.A History of Australia ,Volumes 1 & 2, Earliest Times - 1838, deals with the pre-white settlement era and the earliest years of European colonisation through to the establishment of an increasingly settled society and the expeditions of the great inland explorers.
Speaking Up
by Gillian TriggsAs president of the Human Rights Commission, Gillian Triggs advocated for the disempowered, the disenfranchised, the marginalised. She withstood relentless political pressure and media scrutiny as she defended the defenceless for five tumultuous years. How did this aspiring ballet dancer, dignified daughter of a tank commander and eminent law academic respond when appreciative passengers on a full airplane departing Canberra greeted her with a round of applause? Speaking Up shares with readers the values that have guided Triggs' convictions and the causes she has championed. She dares women to be a little vulgar and men to move beyond their comfort zones to achieve equity for all. And she will not rest until Australia has a Bill of Rights. Triggs' passionate memoir is an irresistible call to everyone who yearns for a fairer world.
Speaking from the Heart: Stories of Life, Family and Country
by Sally Morgan Blaze Kwaymullina Tjalaminu MiaEighteen Aboriginal Australians from across the country share powerful stories that are central to their lives, family, community, or country. The stories provide a very personal picture of the history, culture, and contemporary experience of Aboriginal Australia.
Spies and Sparrows: ASIO and the Cold War
by Phillip DeeryIn the wake of the Second World War and the realisation that the Soviet Union had set up extensive espionage networks around the world, Australia responded by establishing its own spy-hunting agency: ASIO. By the 1950s its counterespionage activities were increasingly supplemented by attempts at countersubversion - identifying individuals and organisations suspected of activities that threatened national security. In doing so, it crossed the boundary from being a professional agency that collected, evaluated and transmitted intelligence, to a sometimes politicised but always shadowy presence, monitoring not just communists but also peace activists, scientists, academics, journalists and writers. The human cost of ASIO's monitoring of domestic dissenters is difficult to measure. It is only through recovering the hidden histories of personal damage inflicted by ASIO on both lawful protesters and, in some cases, its own agents, that the extent can be revealed. By interrogating the roles of eight individuals intimately involved in the conduct of the Cold War, and drawing on many years of research, Phillip Deery's Spies and Sparrows: ASIO and the Cold War shines a powerful new light on the history of ASIO and raises important and enduring questions about the nature and impact of a state's surveillance of its citizens.