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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'The Water Dreamers is the story of the settlement of Australia: of the scarcity of water and the need to fill an imagined silence with the sounds of civilisation. From the moment the First Fleeters stepped ashore, water determined progress. The Tank Stream that flowed through what is now the Sydney CBD provided fresh water until settlers and their livestock fouled it. Then water from a nearby swamp was piped into the growing settlement. When it ran dry sights were set further afield.
'The Water Dreamers is an illuminating account of the ways people have imagined and interpreted Australia while struggling to understand this continent and striving to conquer its obstacles. It's an environmental history and a cultural history with an unmistakable sense of how, today, we are part of that continuing story.' (From the publisher's website.)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
The Water Dreamers : The Remarkable History of Our Dry Continent [Book Review]
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: Journal of Northern Territory History , no. 21 2010; (p. 103-105)
— Review of The Water Dreamers : The Remarkable History of Our Dry Continent 2009 single work prose -
Water, Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink
Lindsay Simpson
(interviewer),
2010
single work
interview
— Appears in: LiNQ , December vol. 37 no. 2010; (p. 177-182) -
Spaces of Hybridity : Creating a Sense of Belonging through Spatial Awareness
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Postcolonial Issues in Australian Literature 2010; (p. 93-107) -
Untitled
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: Zeitschrift fur Australienstudien , no. 24 2010; (p. 148-153)
— Review of The Water Dreamers : The Remarkable History of Our Dry Continent 2009 single work prose -
Silent Sea
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 315 2009; (p. 44-45)
— Review of The Water Dreamers : The Remarkable History of Our Dry Continent 2009 single work prose
-
The Tyranny of Dryness
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 29 August 2009; (p. 21)
— Review of The Water Dreamers : The Remarkable History of Our Dry Continent 2009 single work prose -
Briefing Books
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 29-30 August 2009; (p. 12)
— Review of The Water Dreamers : The Remarkable History of Our Dry Continent 2009 single work prose -
Untitled
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Adelaide Review , September no. 355 2009; (p. 36)
— Review of The Water Dreamers : The Remarkable History of Our Dry Continent 2009 single work prose -
We're Not Only Here for the Beer
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , September vol. 4 no. 8 2009; (p. 11-12)
— Review of The Water Dreamers : The Remarkable History of Our Dry Continent 2009 single work prose -
An Insatiable Thirst Turns Our Dreams into Lust
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 5-6 September 2009; (p. 26-27)
— Review of The Water Dreamers : The Remarkable History of Our Dry Continent 2009 single work prose -
Historical Element
Shane Strange
(interviewer),
2009
single work
interview
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , August vol. 89 no. 1 2009; (p. 54) -
Spaces of Hybridity : Creating a Sense of Belonging through Spatial Awareness
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Postcolonial Issues in Australian Literature 2010; (p. 93-107) -
Water, Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink
Lindsay Simpson
(interviewer),
2010
single work
interview
— Appears in: LiNQ , December vol. 37 no. 2010; (p. 177-182)
Awards
- 2010 shortlisted Prime Minister's Literary Awards — Non-Fiction
- 2010 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction
- 2009 winner Colin Roderick Award