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Matt Murphy

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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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Matt Murphy’s books

Average rating: 3.88 · 145 ratings · 31 reviews · 4 distinct works • Similar authors

	Rum: A Distilled History of Colonial Australia 4.05 avg rating — 76 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 3.61 avg rating — 41 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
	Straya Day: The Unofficial History of Australia's National Day by Matt Murphy (Goodreads Author), Kaya Byrne (Narrator) 3.65 avg rating — 17 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

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Matt is Currently Reading

Matt Murphy is currently reading

1788: The Brutal Truth of the First Fleet

by David Hill

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Matt’s Recent Updates

Matt Murphy is currently reading 1788: The Brutal Truth of the First Fleet by David Hill	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
7 hours, 43 min ago · like
Matt Murphy liked Callan Syratt's review of Rum: A Distilled History of Colonial Australia: "Thoroughly enjoyed reading through this. I'm only just getting into reading up on this time period, so it was great for getting some broader strokes of the notable events (naturally framed around its relationship with rum/alcohol). An easy and inform" Read more of this review »
Aug 08, 2026 04:41AM · see review
Matt Murphy liked Jo B's review of Straya Day: The Unofficial History of Australia's National Day: "This is such a clever way to read history and reflect on what has shaped us as Aussies - the good, the bad, the curious and the very funny! Thank you Matt Murphy. A must read! "
Jul 03, 2026 07:29PM · see review
Matt Murphy and 1 other person liked Saturday's Child's review of Straya Day: The Unofficial History of Australia's National Day: "January 26th – Australia Day and what a divisive public holiday this is. As this book illustrates many other historical events have happened on or near to this date but it is the date itself (within Australia) that brings about many robust discussion" Read more of this review »
May 13, 2026 11:05PM · see review
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
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
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