A handy collection of facts, figures and stand-out features about Australia. This book presents concise, reader-friendly information about a wide range of topics that will give you an excellent overview about all aspects of Australian life, culture, environment, economics and more.

Loran McDougall has compiled a fascinating guide to what makes up Australia in the 21st century, without forgetting the beginnings of this sun-burnt land.

Featuring statistics on each state and territory, you are sure to learn something new with every page as you delve into the many categories covered – history, geography, nature, science, religion, media, politics, health, education, law, immigration, tourism, transport, sport as well as holidays and events.

Second Edition.

The starry heavens have been a source of fascination for mankind since the dawn of time. With the extraordinary discoveries of modern-day astronomers an even greater curiosity is constantly being fueled. 

The Australian Guide to Stargazing is the ideal companion to explore the world of the night sky with the naked eye, binoculars or telescopes.

Kim Torney

A powerful exploration of the making of a uniquely Australian image - the image of a child lost in the bush.

Stories of children lost in the bush, along with drought, fires and floods, became central to many Australian colonial experiences. This cultural legacy remains to this day, and is one of the few experiences modern Australians share with their colonial past.

Evolution is the grand theme of Country, which is a triple pronged book. It's autobiographical travel, an account of the evolution of kangaroos, and offers new information in defence of Flannery's theory that it was people rather than climate change that caused the extinction of mega-fauna.  258 pages

Disasters that shocked Australia

by Ian Ferguson

A history of Australia's disasters

From the best-selling author of Murders that Shocked Australia, comes a new title in this exciting series. Spanning the decades from the first world war to the devastating bushfires of Black Saturday, Disasters that Shocked Australia will remind you of the turbulent and terrifying times that Australia has survived.

Covering disasters from the natural – earthquakes, bushfires and storms, to social and economic and even sport, Ian Ferguson has compiled one of the most thorough books on Australia’s disasters to this day.

With a story and disaster to engage every age, this is a great book to learn from, share and to have on your shelf for years to come.

‘It is the driest, flattest, hottest, most desiccated, infertile and climatically aggressive of all the inhabited continents and still Australia teems with life – a large portion of it quite deadly. In fact Australia has more things that can kill you in a very nasty way than anywhere else’. 

This book is not written specifically for an Australian audience but should appeal to the wacky Australian sense of humour.

It’s All About Australia Mate.

Denis Gregory takes us on an unforgettable and hilarious journey through the history of Australia and what it means to be an Australia. Full of quirky observations and little-known facts, this book is a vivid commentary on the life and culture of ‘ the lucky country’. 176 pp

Completely revised and updated with the latest official statistics, this invaluable book has all the answers to these and thousands more questions. Illustrated throughout with colour photographs, maps and drawings, The little Aussie Fact Book is packed with information about Australia's past and present - its famous people and places, its government and economy and its flora and fauna..

Outbackers: Travelling the Outback with the Uteman

Strewth! Are we there yet? People of all ages travel or dream of travelling around our outback areas by car/caravan/campervan and are keen to read about people who have actually followed that dream. The Uteman, Allan Nixon - bestselling author of the Beaut Ute titles - travels the Outback in a new travel book a difference, featuring stories about the colourful people he meets in his travels as The Uteman. Journeying along legendary roads like ′The Long Paddock′ (from Echuca to Wilcannia), to The Flinders Ranges, Broken Hill and many off-the-beaten-track places, Allan discusses the history of areas and shares with his readers the wisdom of some genuine Aussie characters. Tricks of the outback travel trade will be included: why should every vehicle carry at least one can of warm beer? How can you pump up a tyre without a pump?

Australia's most innovative and penetrating historian

Hirst blends the intimacy of the insider with the objectivity usually only available to the outsider. Included here are classic essays on the pioneer legend, Australian egalitarianism and colonial culture. 

Hirst overturns familiar conceptions and deepens our sense of Australia's development from convict society to distinctive democracy.

1788     David Hill

An extraordinary narrative history of the First Fleet, by the bestselling author of The Forgotten Children. Never before or since has there been an experiment quite as bold as this. Set against the backdrop of Georgian England with its peculiar mix of elegance, prosperity, progress and squalor, the story of the First Fleet is one of courage, of short-sightedness, of tragedy but above all of extraordinary resilience. It is also, of course, the story of the very first European Australians, reluctant pioneers who travelled into the unknown - the vast majority against their will - in order to form a colony by order of the King's government. Separated from loved ones and travelling in cramped conditions for the months-long journey to Botany Bay, they suffered the most unbearable hardship on arrival on Australian land where a near-famine dictated that rations be cut to the bone. But why was the settlement of New South Wales proposed in the first place? Who were the main players in a story that changed the world and ultimately forged the Australian nation? How did the initial skirmishes with the indigenous population break out and how did the relationship turn sour so quickly?

Using diaries, letters and official records, DAVID HILL artfully reconstructs the experiences of these famous and infamous men and women of history, combining narrative skill with an eye for detail and an exceptional empathy with the people of the past.