AustLit
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'The Tyranny of Distance is the classic account of how Australia's geographical remoteness has been central to shaping our history and identity - and how it will continue to form our future. As well as being hailed as a work of enduring scholarship, The Tyranny of Distance brings our history to life. Geoffrey Blainey recounts the fascinating story of Australia's development, from Captain Cook's bold voyages and the hardships of the early settlers, through to the challenges we face in the world today.
This revised and updated edition of The Tyranny of Distance examines how distance and isolation, while tamed, have always been and will remain vital to Australia's development, even in the twenty-first century "global village"'. - Book jacket, 2001 new revised edition.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also braille.
Works about this Work
-
The History Boy
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: The Australian , 16 July 2016; (p. 8) 'It was a hit almost before the public had read a word, remembers Brian Stonier. One evening in early 1966, Stonier, a founder of the new paperback imprint Sun Books, had the task of introducing historian Geoffrey Blainey to an audience in the library at Geelong College. He mentioned Blainey’s seven previous works and publicised his next: “We’re hoping later this year to publish a new book, which we’re thinking of calling The Tyranny of Distance.” The 60 schoolchildren burst into applause, spontaneously and portentously — the book approaches its half-century as perhaps Australian history’s biggest bestseller, having never been out of print, with about 180,000 copies sold. ...' -
Distance and Destiny
2016
single work
essay
— Appears in: Inside Story , July 2016;'Published fifty years ago, The Tyranny of Distance changed the way we see Australia, writes Graeme Davison'
-
The Shield of Distance : Apocalypse in Australian Literature After 1945
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Apocalypse in Australian Fiction and Film : A Critical Study 2011; (p. 54-82) '...One of the major themes of the Australian apocalyptic discourse is the nation's vulnerability to outside influence. In a sense, Australia's position on the edge of the globe not only excludes it from the world and its advantages but also shields the country from crises as a kind of utopian space free from harm, whereby the end of 'the world' can occur even if Australia still exists.
In the case studies in this chapter, the nation initially appears to be relatively utopian setting while war has destroyed the rest of the world, and the country's remote location seem to have protected it from the disaster elsewhere; yet this proves to be a false hope. Australia cannot escape catastrophe, and the authors suggest social and political complacency and indifference as the main reasons for collapse. In this way the novels function as warnings, using crisis to reveal dystopian futures. The associations these case studies make between disaster and Australia ultimately work to reinforce the concept that the nation is an apocalyptic space.' (54)
-
Identity in Australia
2009
single work
criticism
— Appears in: From Fixity to Fluidity : The Theme of Identity in Thomas Keneally's Fiction 2009; (p. 5-10) -
'All the Water in the Rough Rude Sea'
2009
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australia and the Insular Imagination : Beaches, Boarders, Boats, and Bodies 2009; (p. 33-51)
-
Historian with Big Ideas
1984
single work
review
— Appears in: Hemisphere , January-February vol. 28 no. 4 1984; (p. 238-239)
— Review of The Tyranny of Distance : How Distance Shaped Australia's History 1966 single work non-fiction -
The Tyranny of Distance : How Distance Shaped Australia's History : Geoffrey Blainey (1930- )
2007
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Classics : Fifty Great Writers and Their Celebrated Works 2007; (p. 234-239) -
Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Read! Read! Read!
2006
single work
column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 21-22 January 2006; (p. 1) In 2006, we're still avid readers, but we arentt into the mindset that sees anything originating overseas as better or more important. We might still be in thrall to American and British publishing, but we've grown accustomed to reading about our won stories - indeed we demand it. So, now comes the interesting bit: if you were to recommend a book that every Australian ought to read this Australia Day, what shelf would you go to? Our panel swerved widely in their opinions of what to press into the collective Australian hands...(extract) -
'All the Water in the Rough Rude Sea'
2009
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australia and the Insular Imagination : Beaches, Boarders, Boats, and Bodies 2009; (p. 33-51) -
The Shield of Distance : Apocalypse in Australian Literature After 1945
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Apocalypse in Australian Fiction and Film : A Critical Study 2011; (p. 54-82) '...One of the major themes of the Australian apocalyptic discourse is the nation's vulnerability to outside influence. In a sense, Australia's position on the edge of the globe not only excludes it from the world and its advantages but also shields the country from crises as a kind of utopian space free from harm, whereby the end of 'the world' can occur even if Australia still exists.
In the case studies in this chapter, the nation initially appears to be relatively utopian setting while war has destroyed the rest of the world, and the country's remote location seem to have protected it from the disaster elsewhere; yet this proves to be a false hope. Australia cannot escape catastrophe, and the authors suggest social and political complacency and indifference as the main reasons for collapse. In this way the novels function as warnings, using crisis to reveal dystopian futures. The associations these case studies make between disaster and Australia ultimately work to reinforce the concept that the nation is an apocalyptic space.' (54)
-
Identity in Australia
2009
single work
criticism
— Appears in: From Fixity to Fluidity : The Theme of Identity in Thomas Keneally's Fiction 2009; (p. 5-10)
Last amended 18 Jul 2016 10:54:36
Export this record
