The Making of Australia: A Concise History

by Robert Alexander Murray

In The Making of Australia, historian Robert Murray draws on a lifetime's fascination with Australian history, giving a clear, concise history of the country. From the coming of the first Aborigines perhaps 60,000 years ago, to the election of the Abbott government in 2013, Murray traces the forces that have shaped the nation. In Murray's mainly chronological account, the main periods and events in the Australian story are presented. The content is political, social, and economic, showing how these strands of Australian life interacted in eras of exploration, in boom periods and depressions, in droughts, and in a number of wars. The transition from a convict society to a free one is traced, as is development of a representative government and of Federation, the growth of cities, and the careers and influence of key politicians. A notable feature is the systematic treatment given to Aboriginal-settler relations and how they have evolved over more than two centuries. In doing this, Murray briefly presents both sides of the controversies that have led to heated disputes in recent times. This is done in a way that allows the reader to continue to follow developments and modern debates. He is similarly even-handed in his consideration of the White Australia Policy, and the reforms and scandals of the Whitlam era and the Dismissal, and still unresolved questions relating to climate and to refugee policy. Another strength of the book is the manner in which Murray puts developments in a broad international context, as Australians negotiate their heritage and their geographical location. The book's illustrations include many cartoons from the periods covered, which give added insights into contemporary attitudes. *** "...superb reference and resource, ideal for personal edification, classroom study, or college and public library collections." - Midwest Book Review, Library Bookwatch: June 2015, The World History Shelf [Subject: History, Australian Studies]

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Australia, Politics

320 pages, Paperback

First published April 10, 2014

Reviews

[Jan Bos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice and concise. Author does a poor job on hiding his views on a number of controversial issues. For example, racism seems to be dismissed with "(a)ctivists in the Aboriginal cause were voluble and like many other sensitive minority representatives were prone to seeing prejudice or racism when it was unintended or minor". I would expect a less superficial treatment from a historian.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a well-written history! Too often, history books are written in a tedious, dry way - although history itself is fascinating. The other common problem, currently, is how biased most people writing about history are - perhaps especially Australian history. This is not at all that way - it's an even-handed, fair, objective account which gives just the right amount of detail with its overview. It's a 'concise history', but it doesn't gloss over anything. It's also interestingly, well-written. I learnt a few facts I didn't know before, and deepened my understanding of many events and periods - as well as gaining a fairer perspective on some contentious issues.
Definitely a book I'd recommend to anyone wanting to get a good overview of Australian history, in a very non-dry, non-boring, and non-subjective/biased/politically-coloured way.
(The comment below saying that it glosses over racism in a few sentences is either from someone who hasn't read the book, or thinks that racism is the major problem in our history. The author treats the subject of Aboriginal interaction with British colonisation in two detailed chapters, along with other analyses throughout. I think he gives a very fair and wisely-considered treatment to this, and makes it interesting and reflective, rather than contentious and emotionally-charged).

[hughungrybear · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an immigrant to Australia, I thought that it is only prudent to know the history of the country I moved in. Though this book is informative, it also tend to romanticise the British colonisation of the country – so much so, that I have to stop reading so often because, coming from a country that has also been colonised (and eventually enslaved) by a European country, the author's tone of writing is mildly irritating.

[Rebecca]

Unfortunately, I ended up abandoning this book. It did not hold my interest well enough at this time.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Murray has written a succinct, dispassionate overview of Australia. I thoroughly enjoyed the book which did an excellent job of being both entertaining and informative. Not having listened in high school history, I found a great deal of this book new to me and what I did know was enriched by Mr. Murray's distanced analysis. The book, chronological for the most part, overviews all of the major events in Australian history but also manages to include a number of interesting tidbits, which while superfluous, are engaging. Murray has made a concerted effort to emphasise indigenous relations in the book, which informed me of how conflicted and controversial this part of Australian history is. It's safe to say that Australian history is not the most intriguing of topics but I still gained much from this account. The story of the fortuitous tale of Merino sheep demonstrates the 'lucky' country side of our history, while, more solemnly, the immense loss of Australian soldiers during WWI (60,000 dead) is a poignant reminder of the sacrifice and heroism made by my fellow countrymen. Murray's book fulfilled it's purpose. My (woeful) knowledge of Australia has been improved and the book is a great starting point for more detailed reading (I think a Captain Cook bio is next, the man's a marvel).