8 ratings | 6 reviews | avg rating:5.00

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Matt Murphy

Goodreads Author

Born

Sydney, Australia

Member Since

October 2013

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At school, Matt Murphy failed English and couldn't see the point of history. He became a firie and has been serving in Sydney's inner city for 38 years. He is now also a part time historian and teacher, tolerating the attitudes of kids towards history that he used to share.

He has written four books: Weight of Evidence, about what was the longest civil court case in New South Wales; Rum, about the influence of alcohol in colonial Australia; Gold, concerning the life of Edward Hargraves and his dubious claim to be Australia's gold discoverer; and Straya Day, looking at 237 other things that could instead be commemorated on Australia's national day.

Matt also can't believe they made him write his own bio. ...more

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Combine Editions
Matt Murphy’s books

Average rating: 3.95 · 130 ratings · 25 reviews · 4 distinct works • Similar authors

	Rum: A Distilled History of Colonial Australia 4.05 avg rating — 74 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Gold 3.75 avg rating — 36 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Weight of Evidence 3.71 avg rating — 14 ratings — published 2013 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Straya Day: The Unofficial History of Australia's National Day by Matt Murphy (Goodreads Author), Kaya Byrne (Narrator) 3.78 avg rating — 9 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Matt Murphy and 1 other person liked David Cox's review of Rum: A Distilled History of Colonial Australia: "I really enjoyed this. It's an easy read and far more entertaining than most history books. I picked it up to quickly check one chapter out in case it was useful research for something I'm writing and ended up reading the whole thing for fun. Definit" Read more of this review »
Mar 03, 2026 03:30AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Rum by Matt Murphy. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Rum by Matt Murphy <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Matt Murphy rated a book it was amazing Straya Day: The Unofficial History of Australia's National Day by Matt Murphy (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
My favourite. Not necessarily a lot of fun stories (though many are!) but great fun to research and write.
Mar 02, 2026 09:04PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Straya Day by Matt Murphy. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Straya Day by Matt Murphy <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Matt Murphy and 13 other people liked Val Bickley's review of Killing for Country: A Family Story: "Compulsive and compulsory reading 'KILLING for Country' is an essential account of Australia's bloody and atrocity filled colonial past. Such a grotesque past needs to be faced, acknowledged and its consequences for First Australians recognised and ad" Read more of this review »
Oct 11, 2025 04:52AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Killing for Country by David Marr. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Killing for Country by David Marr <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Matt Murphy and 23 other people liked Warrick's review of Killing for Country: A Family Story: "If this detailed account of the brutality of white settlement wasn’t grim enough, reading it in the shadow of the recent defeat of a referendum that might have gone a tiny, tentative step towards redress was dark indeed. This is an account of how vest" Read more of this review »
Oct 11, 2025 04:52AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Killing for Country by David Marr. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Killing for Country by David Marr <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Matt Murphy liked William Palmer's review of Gold: "Quite a good read."
Jul 06, 2025 06:37AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Gold by Matt Murphy. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Gold by Matt Murphy <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Matt Murphy joined the group Goodreads Librarians Group
Jun 01, 2025 04:21PM · like
Matt Murphy rated a book it was amazing Gold by Matt Murphy (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
better than his last one.
Mar 30, 2025 04:12PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Gold by Matt Murphy. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Gold by Matt Murphy <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Matt Murphy shared a quote “History is just one f*cking thing after another” Alan Bennett
Oct 28, 2024 03:51PM · like · more quotes by Alan Bennett · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The History Boys by Alan Bennett. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The History Boys by Alan Bennett <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">