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Issue Details: First known date: 1981... 1981 The Other Side of the Frontier : Aboriginal Resistance to the European Invasion of Australia
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The publication of this book in 1981 profoundly changed the way in which we understand the history of relations between indigenous Australians and European settlers. It has since become a classic of Australian history. Drawing from documentary and oral evidence, the book describes in meticulous and compelling detail the ways in which Aborigines responded to the arrival of Europeans. Henry Reynolds’ argument that the Aborigines resisted fiercely was highly original when it was first published and is no less challenging today.' (Source: Google Books website)

Notes

  • Foreword by C.D. Rowley.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Ringwood, Ringwood - Croydon - Kilsyth area, Melbourne - East, Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin Books , 1982 .
      image of person or book cover 4923872658546813801.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: xii, 255p.
      Edition info: Rev. ed.
      Reprinted: 1990
      Note/s:
      • First published by James Cook University of North Queensland, 1981.
      • Includes: bibliography and index.
      ISBN: 0140130403 (pbk)

Other Formats

  • Also e-book.
  • Also large print.

Works about this Work

‘A Flicker of the Divine Progress?’ : Stage-managing Narratives of Empire in Jan Morris's Pax Britannica Trilogy Judith Pryor , 2022 single work criticism
— Appears in: Textual Practice , August vol. 36 no. 8 2022; (p. 1-20)

'When Jan Morris died in 2020, people from around the world praised her elegant and eloquent writing, and her extraordinary life. Her many achievements included the publication between 1966 and 1978 of the ‘intellectual and artistic high-point of [her] career’: the Pax Britannica trilogy charting the zenith and decline of the British Empire. The popular trilogy, which remains in print, played a key role in establishing the late twentieth-century cultural narrative that the British Empire was ‘a force for good’ in the world. Calling into question the boundary between history, fiction and memory, Morris draws heavily on theatrical techniques to both construct a narrative of Empire, one which is dominated by the adventures of individual imperialists, and draw attention to its fabrication. Attending closely to its mode of address, I argue that Morris's trilogy, while equivocal and, in places, critical, ultimately offers a reassuring narrative of Empire. At a time of debate about these histories, I argue that the memorialising of Morris in the wake of her death represents one example of a continuing refusal to face the ongoing consequences of Empire.'(Publication abstract)

Culture Wars and Corporatism : The Cultural Mission in Australian Non-fiction Book Publishing, 1958–2018 Mark Davis , 2020 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , April vol. 35 no. 1 2020;

'In this article I investigate four phases in Australian non-fiction publishing between the late 1950s and early 2000s, focused on works of current affairs, politics and popular history. Many such books, I argue, were published as part of a ‘cultural mission’ in Australian non-fiction book publishing, where an imperative for reform motivated many publishers to publish books they believed to be of greater than commercial importance. The paper first defines ‘cultural mission’ publishing. I then argue that such publishing has played a crucial role in Australian culture wars and struggles over national identity since the late 1950s and that these struggles have played out in four overlapping phases that reflect shifts in national debate and the commercial imperatives of book publishing. These consist of, first, a ‘renaissance’ phase from the late 1950s until roughly the late 1960s; second, an ‘insurrectionist’ phase from the late 1960s until the mid-1980s; third, a ‘reaction’ phase from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, and fourth a ‘corporatist’ phase that gathered pace in the late 1990s.' (Introduction)

What I’m Reading Jenny Sinclair , 2018 single work column
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2018;
The 'Cultural Mission' in Indigenous Non-Fiction Book Publishing in Australia 1960–2000 Mark Davis , 2017 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , vol. 41 no. 4 2017; (p. 450-471)

'Non-fiction books by and about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have arguably played a crucial role in the framing of public discussion of Indigenous issues in Australia since the 1950s. In this article, I track quantitative trends in the publishing of the approximately 769 such books for the Australian retail trade between 1960 and 2000, as part of what I describe as an emerging “cultural mission” among Australian book publishers through the period. The article then discusses two major trends within the data. The first is an overall increase in the number of titles published annually through the period, while the second is a declining interest by mass-market trade publishers in publishing books in the area from the 1980s onwards versus an increased publication rate by smaller independent presses and two large trade publishers with a particular interest in the area, one of which is also independently owned. The article concludes with a discussion of possible reasons for the latter trend in the context of ongoing debates about white Australian colonialism.'  (Publication abstract)

Re-Viewing History : Bicentennial Fictions Jo Jones , 2013 single work criticism
— Appears in: Telling Stories : Australian Life and Literature 1935–2012 2013; (p. 447-483)
Re-Viewing History : Bicentennial Fictions Jo Jones , 2013 single work criticism
— Appears in: Telling Stories : Australian Life and Literature 1935–2012 2013; (p. 447-483)
The 'Cultural Mission' in Indigenous Non-Fiction Book Publishing in Australia 1960–2000 Mark Davis , 2017 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , vol. 41 no. 4 2017; (p. 450-471)

'Non-fiction books by and about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have arguably played a crucial role in the framing of public discussion of Indigenous issues in Australia since the 1950s. In this article, I track quantitative trends in the publishing of the approximately 769 such books for the Australian retail trade between 1960 and 2000, as part of what I describe as an emerging “cultural mission” among Australian book publishers through the period. The article then discusses two major trends within the data. The first is an overall increase in the number of titles published annually through the period, while the second is a declining interest by mass-market trade publishers in publishing books in the area from the 1980s onwards versus an increased publication rate by smaller independent presses and two large trade publishers with a particular interest in the area, one of which is also independently owned. The article concludes with a discussion of possible reasons for the latter trend in the context of ongoing debates about white Australian colonialism.'  (Publication abstract)

Culture Wars and Corporatism : The Cultural Mission in Australian Non-fiction Book Publishing, 1958–2018 Mark Davis , 2020 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , April vol. 35 no. 1 2020;

'In this article I investigate four phases in Australian non-fiction publishing between the late 1950s and early 2000s, focused on works of current affairs, politics and popular history. Many such books, I argue, were published as part of a ‘cultural mission’ in Australian non-fiction book publishing, where an imperative for reform motivated many publishers to publish books they believed to be of greater than commercial importance. The paper first defines ‘cultural mission’ publishing. I then argue that such publishing has played a crucial role in Australian culture wars and struggles over national identity since the late 1950s and that these struggles have played out in four overlapping phases that reflect shifts in national debate and the commercial imperatives of book publishing. These consist of, first, a ‘renaissance’ phase from the late 1950s until roughly the late 1960s; second, an ‘insurrectionist’ phase from the late 1960s until the mid-1980s; third, a ‘reaction’ phase from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, and fourth a ‘corporatist’ phase that gathered pace in the late 1990s.' (Introduction)

What I’m Reading Jenny Sinclair , 2018 single work column
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2018;
‘A Flicker of the Divine Progress?’ : Stage-managing Narratives of Empire in Jan Morris's Pax Britannica Trilogy Judith Pryor , 2022 single work criticism
— Appears in: Textual Practice , August vol. 36 no. 8 2022; (p. 1-20)

'When Jan Morris died in 2020, people from around the world praised her elegant and eloquent writing, and her extraordinary life. Her many achievements included the publication between 1966 and 1978 of the ‘intellectual and artistic high-point of [her] career’: the Pax Britannica trilogy charting the zenith and decline of the British Empire. The popular trilogy, which remains in print, played a key role in establishing the late twentieth-century cultural narrative that the British Empire was ‘a force for good’ in the world. Calling into question the boundary between history, fiction and memory, Morris draws heavily on theatrical techniques to both construct a narrative of Empire, one which is dominated by the adventures of individual imperialists, and draw attention to its fabrication. Attending closely to its mode of address, I argue that Morris's trilogy, while equivocal and, in places, critical, ultimately offers a reassuring narrative of Empire. At a time of debate about these histories, I argue that the memorialising of Morris in the wake of her death represents one example of a continuing refusal to face the ongoing consequences of Empire.'(Publication abstract)

Last amended 10 Feb 2017 10:25:18
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