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A Short History of Australia
This is an alternate cover image edition - ISBN 0140247475
In 1688 William Dampier found the aboriginal inhabitants on the west coast of New Holland "the miserablest people in the world… setting aside their human shape, they differ but little from brutes". More than a hundred years later the British convict settlements on the east coast were still marked by misery: the harshness of a prison society, where “excessive tyranny each day prevails”. Material growth was bought slowly and painfully by the forced labour of prisoners whose defiance might be punished by a thousand lashes. What lies between these beginnings and the wellfed Australian surfriders who gaze proudly into the 1970s? Manning Clark sees in the story of Australia not only the surface of progress, but also the debates and struggles which lie behind the smiling compromises of Australian society today. He discusses the decision to send Australian troops to Vietnam, and the British government’s intended withdrawal from SouthEast Asia. And
he celebrates the recent achievement of Australian artists such as Sidney Nolan, Judith Wright and Patrick White.
In 1688 William Dampier found the aboriginal inhabitants on the west coast of New Holland "the miserablest people in the world… setting aside their human shape, they differ but little from brutes". More than a hundred years later the British convict settlements on the east coast were still marked by misery: the harshness of a prison society, where “excessive tyranny each day prevails”. Material growth was bought slowly and painfully by the forced labour of prisoners whose defiance might be punished by a thousand lashes. What lies between these beginnings and the wellfed Australian surfriders who gaze proudly into the 1970s? Manning Clark sees in the story of Australia not only the surface of progress, but also the debates and struggles which lie behind the smiling compromises of Australian society today. He discusses the decision to send Australian troops to Vietnam, and the British government’s intended withdrawal from SouthEast Asia. And
he celebrates the recent achievement of Australian artists such as Sidney Nolan, Judith Wright and Patrick White.
354 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
60 people are currently reading
271 people want to read
About the author
Manning Clark
71 books13 followersBorn to a working-class Anglican priest and a mother from a well-off background, Charles Manning Hope Clark was a quiet, academically minded child who went to school in Melbourne, and excelled at literature, Greek, and Latin (as well as exhibiting a great love of cricket). Clark earned a scholarship to Oxford, where he studied from 1938, but returned to Australia in 1940 (he was exempt from serving in WWII due to mild epilepsy) and took up life as a highschool history teacher.
Growing up in a time of war, Clark flirted with a variety of political views, ultimately settling into moderate socialism - although always with a healthy separation from anything serious (he was seen by some as conservative, but tended to have more ties to left-wing historians and thinkers). During his middle years, Clark would be a subject of surveillance from Australia's intelligence forces, like many other intellectuals, for his perceived destabilising thoughts and writings. After the war, Clark - now married to the historian Dymphna Clark and gradually fathering six children - established himself as a lecturer in history at Melbourne University, moving to their Canberra branch which gradually became the separate Australian National University, where he would live most of his professional life.
Clark's first significant publication was "Select Documents in Australian History" (2 volumes, 1950-55) which provided a significant examination of primary sources of the birth and development of modern Australia. In 1956, he began serious research on a lengthy History of Australia, which rapidly expanded from his concept of a two-volume work to a series of six. Published between 1962 and 1987, the History is his major work, spanning Australia's early history through to its colonisation by the British in 1788, to the 1930s, where his story comes to an end. Throughout, Clark explores the relationships of Catholics, Protestants, and Enlightenment thinkers, the delicate balance of European values and the world of the Australian continent, and the tragedy of Australia's Indigenous population. The earned its acolytes and its detractors, for reasons both political and literary, and remains controversial in the 21st century.
In 1974, Clark formally retired from lecturing at the ANU, and retained the title of Emeritus Professor until his death. In his later years, Clark's disdain for the upper and upper middle classes of Anglo-Australia (which had caused a fractious relationship with his mother all his life) became more evident, particularly in his campaigning for Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, and his outrage when Whitlam was dismissed by the Queen's representative, the Governor-General of Australia, in 1975.
Manning Clark was awarded the Australian Literature Society Gold Medal in 1970, and was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1975. He was named Australian of the Year in 1980 and, in Australia's bicentenary year of 1988, his History of Australia was adapted by others (including Prime Minister Paul Keating's future speechwriter Don Watson) as a musical, which ran for a short period in Melbourne.
In his last years, Clark was seen as something of an Australian icon, with a recognisable image (a classic Aussie bush hat, a goatee, and a walking stick), and was routinely published in journals and newspapers around the country. His last volumes were not highly regarded by contemporary historians, especially in the patriotic years of the 1980s, both because he was seen as left-wing and because he was seen as an old man whose pessimism and repetition had overwhelmed his natural gifts. Others regarded Clark as an iconic figure who urged Australians to question and reconsider some of the longstanding myths of Anglo-Australian culture, a debate which would escalate rapidly in the decades after the Australian bicentenary and the author's death. In 1989 and 1990, Clark published two volumes of autobiography. H
Growing up in a time of war, Clark flirted with a variety of political views, ultimately settling into moderate socialism - although always with a healthy separation from anything serious (he was seen by some as conservative, but tended to have more ties to left-wing historians and thinkers). During his middle years, Clark would be a subject of surveillance from Australia's intelligence forces, like many other intellectuals, for his perceived destabilising thoughts and writings. After the war, Clark - now married to the historian Dymphna Clark and gradually fathering six children - established himself as a lecturer in history at Melbourne University, moving to their Canberra branch which gradually became the separate Australian National University, where he would live most of his professional life.
Clark's first significant publication was "Select Documents in Australian History" (2 volumes, 1950-55) which provided a significant examination of primary sources of the birth and development of modern Australia. In 1956, he began serious research on a lengthy History of Australia, which rapidly expanded from his concept of a two-volume work to a series of six. Published between 1962 and 1987, the History is his major work, spanning Australia's early history through to its colonisation by the British in 1788, to the 1930s, where his story comes to an end. Throughout, Clark explores the relationships of Catholics, Protestants, and Enlightenment thinkers, the delicate balance of European values and the world of the Australian continent, and the tragedy of Australia's Indigenous population. The earned its acolytes and its detractors, for reasons both political and literary, and remains controversial in the 21st century.
In 1974, Clark formally retired from lecturing at the ANU, and retained the title of Emeritus Professor until his death. In his later years, Clark's disdain for the upper and upper middle classes of Anglo-Australia (which had caused a fractious relationship with his mother all his life) became more evident, particularly in his campaigning for Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, and his outrage when Whitlam was dismissed by the Queen's representative, the Governor-General of Australia, in 1975.
Manning Clark was awarded the Australian Literature Society Gold Medal in 1970, and was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1975. He was named Australian of the Year in 1980 and, in Australia's bicentenary year of 1988, his History of Australia was adapted by others (including Prime Minister Paul Keating's future speechwriter Don Watson) as a musical, which ran for a short period in Melbourne.
In his last years, Clark was seen as something of an Australian icon, with a recognisable image (a classic Aussie bush hat, a goatee, and a walking stick), and was routinely published in journals and newspapers around the country. His last volumes were not highly regarded by contemporary historians, especially in the patriotic years of the 1980s, both because he was seen as left-wing and because he was seen as an old man whose pessimism and repetition had overwhelmed his natural gifts. Others regarded Clark as an iconic figure who urged Australians to question and reconsider some of the longstanding myths of Anglo-Australian culture, a debate which would escalate rapidly in the decades after the Australian bicentenary and the author's death. In 1989 and 1990, Clark published two volumes of autobiography. H
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
April 20, 2010
I read this because it was the only Australian history book I could get my hands on at the time. It's...a history. It gives you facts and data and if you want to know something about Australia's past and don't have other resources, it gets the job done. But if you want a GOOD history of Australia (read: interesting), try The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia's Founding. Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country is also sprinkled with fascinating, often humorous, bits of Australian history.
October 27, 2020
Clark gives a fairly exhaustive account of the arguments which built and tore down Australia. His flowering prose elaborates the rather furious divisions of religious sects, political parties, classes, and races: "The Asians and Pacific Islanders, it was argued, were doomed for the wall, while the Europeans must avoid the fate of Humpty Dumpty." If you thought North America's culture wars of race, religion, and capitalism have been nasty, Clark delivers a lofty verdict on such foolishness in Australia. The book ends about 1985, and it does so on an unapologetically grouchy note. For example: "Mammon had won: Mammon had infected the ancient continent of Australia. The dreams of humanity had ended in an age of ruins." It takes a grand old man to spew it out like that.
December 6, 2020
Manning 'The Mystic' Clark condenses 200 years of Australian History into a series of edifying myths about the colonies and the political confrontations since federation. Propelled by Clark's Dostoevskyian impulse to mythologise Australia's political greats by artfully imagining their inner turmoil, 'A Short History's inclination toward the cosmic cannot slough off the trappings of 20th century scholarship. It is a professedly political history that ignores radical politics. Women are completely absent, migrant stories are mentioned as a statistic but never investigated, and the cause of Indigenous Australians is treated with exceptional cruelty. Clark reduces these issues to the structure of Australia's society of 'ruthless men', rather than a problem his scholarship acknowledges but never attempts to overcome.
February 21, 2013
Too heavy on political details. I wanted something with a sociological bent. A few good moments nevertheless but skipped the dreary bits.
I'd sooner recommend the documentary TV series 'The First Australians' produced by SBS in 2008.
I'd sooner recommend the documentary TV series 'The First Australians' produced by SBS in 2008.
December 28, 2023
When I was travelling in Britain in 2023 I picked up a strong sense of national identity, emanating from the cobblestones. I am only second generation Australian, of British stock, and I started to feel a sense of cultural emptiness/inferiority as an Australian. Us Australians who are of British stock are in a weird position of exile, in a culture with behaviours influenced by British traditions but its sentiments with a distinct anti-British twist (this followed the Bairstow stumping incident if memory serves!)… our true people, if we go by bloodlines, are Brits; our true homeland Britain. I actually got quite down about the fact I lived away and apart from what makes me who I am, my race, my ancestry, a sort of “second-rate European” as Manning would put it.
Later in the trip my instinct towards self preservation kicked in and I started to knuckle down and take pride in being Aussie — and I sought out books that would help me feel proud to be Australian. Clark is talked of as a historian who recognises grand themes in Australia’s history and I can see why. In this history he shows how the major international conflicts of Catholic/Protestant, capitalist/communist, Labor/Liberal, upper/lower classes have been driving forces of Australia’s history, many times applying them in unexpected or fascinating ways. Just one example being that before this read I had not connected the dots and realised the significance of Ned Kelly’s Irishness.
The book touches on the major historical events you would expect of a history, from the rum rebellion, gold rush, eureka stockade, the world wars, the federation, and so on. The more pedestrian but less pretentious summary of the decades that occurs at the end and which has been added since original publication of the book, penned by Manning’s son, was interesting but seemed like an unnecessary addendum. This will never be a textbook history and doesn’t set out to be.
Clark has a flair for the dramatic so this is no bland retelling. He tends to focus less on the everyday people who make up our history and more on the major historical figures, and among these, most intensively on the politicians — he has a habit of talking of the traits that nature ‘endowed’ them with and interpreting their trajectories (and therefore the nation’s fate) as a product of their character flaws (the Greek tragedian in Clark shining through). So politics is the focus, sometimes in granular detail, such as the structure of government. Sport and the experience of the average Aussie on the street are largely left out.
His continually negative tone also accounts for this four star rating… he seems to enamoured with the element of the tragic in our history, that he unwittingly makes it out like a trainwreck. I was not around in the 1970s and 1980s to know just how grim things were but it seems dramatic for Clark to title the chapter ‘an Age in Ruins’. Just one example of many.
The scathing analysis can lead to vivid and exhilarating moments of insight (like his spiel on Lawson’s experiences and how they shaped his writing), a bit like a watered down version of say, Bernhard or Roth, while at other times making Clark seem a bit smug and like he always knows everyone better than they know themselves. But I continually loved the elegance of his theories and interpretations, which were psychologically sharp, and seemed to express something broader about human nature than the historical detail being described.
In talking of politicians he likes to blithely say that they defined themselves by what they stood against, not for, and says they often had no agenda at all — in a concise history this sort of quickfire glossing over of complexity is necessary but to me it beggared belief that so many politicians on both sides did not at least present a vision of a future Australia (particularly when elsewhere Clark had given examples of this vision).
This history is markedly different from Blainey’s much more pragmatically focused Tyranny of Distance, which focuses on technology, transport, etc. as the deterministic force in our history and character, more so than Clark’s, where I would say the character of individuals is given a larger role.
In summary this was definitely a flawed history but totally worth a read and if read with some skepticism and distance, then a really interesting introduction to our history and some key historical moments. It was great to see an element of greatness invested into a history that is often merely recited.
.
Later in the trip my instinct towards self preservation kicked in and I started to knuckle down and take pride in being Aussie — and I sought out books that would help me feel proud to be Australian. Clark is talked of as a historian who recognises grand themes in Australia’s history and I can see why. In this history he shows how the major international conflicts of Catholic/Protestant, capitalist/communist, Labor/Liberal, upper/lower classes have been driving forces of Australia’s history, many times applying them in unexpected or fascinating ways. Just one example being that before this read I had not connected the dots and realised the significance of Ned Kelly’s Irishness.
The book touches on the major historical events you would expect of a history, from the rum rebellion, gold rush, eureka stockade, the world wars, the federation, and so on. The more pedestrian but less pretentious summary of the decades that occurs at the end and which has been added since original publication of the book, penned by Manning’s son, was interesting but seemed like an unnecessary addendum. This will never be a textbook history and doesn’t set out to be.
Clark has a flair for the dramatic so this is no bland retelling. He tends to focus less on the everyday people who make up our history and more on the major historical figures, and among these, most intensively on the politicians — he has a habit of talking of the traits that nature ‘endowed’ them with and interpreting their trajectories (and therefore the nation’s fate) as a product of their character flaws (the Greek tragedian in Clark shining through). So politics is the focus, sometimes in granular detail, such as the structure of government. Sport and the experience of the average Aussie on the street are largely left out.
His continually negative tone also accounts for this four star rating… he seems to enamoured with the element of the tragic in our history, that he unwittingly makes it out like a trainwreck. I was not around in the 1970s and 1980s to know just how grim things were but it seems dramatic for Clark to title the chapter ‘an Age in Ruins’. Just one example of many.
The scathing analysis can lead to vivid and exhilarating moments of insight (like his spiel on Lawson’s experiences and how they shaped his writing), a bit like a watered down version of say, Bernhard or Roth, while at other times making Clark seem a bit smug and like he always knows everyone better than they know themselves. But I continually loved the elegance of his theories and interpretations, which were psychologically sharp, and seemed to express something broader about human nature than the historical detail being described.
In talking of politicians he likes to blithely say that they defined themselves by what they stood against, not for, and says they often had no agenda at all — in a concise history this sort of quickfire glossing over of complexity is necessary but to me it beggared belief that so many politicians on both sides did not at least present a vision of a future Australia (particularly when elsewhere Clark had given examples of this vision).
This history is markedly different from Blainey’s much more pragmatically focused Tyranny of Distance, which focuses on technology, transport, etc. as the deterministic force in our history and character, more so than Clark’s, where I would say the character of individuals is given a larger role.
In summary this was definitely a flawed history but totally worth a read and if read with some skepticism and distance, then a really interesting introduction to our history and some key historical moments. It was great to see an element of greatness invested into a history that is often merely recited.
.
August 19, 2010
He has been described as "Australia's most famous historian," but his work has been the target of much criticism, particularly from conservative and classical liberal academics and philosophers.
This is not really a novel, more like crib notes for high school ~ useful but not much depth.
This is not really a novel, more like crib notes for high school ~ useful but not much depth.
September 8, 2018
It took me a while to read this book as I had so many other books I was reading plus my initial interest had waned somewhat along the way of time.
I really liked how the book flowed with ease not slowing it's pace down too much or losing rhythm when certain political details or events were needed attention. For me it kept up a nice pace and didn't feel that much 'old style' having been published in 1969. Actually, I rather enjoyed his style.
There is a lot crammed in these pages, but from what I can gather, the intent was to give accurate information on the formation of Australia to his present writing at the time. It's focus is on the political and economics but is quite digestible. Names are introduced with brief background or in some cases, no background, perhaps for the space and effect of pace. If you're not familiar with Australian history, in some case you may find it helpful to check up on some names to get a better context, but otherwise, biography is not the point to the book, neither does it seem necessary when you are reading to get the understanding of how the nation formed and developed it's own uniqueness, distinct from Britain.
I really liked how the book flowed with ease not slowing it's pace down too much or losing rhythm when certain political details or events were needed attention. For me it kept up a nice pace and didn't feel that much 'old style' having been published in 1969. Actually, I rather enjoyed his style.
There is a lot crammed in these pages, but from what I can gather, the intent was to give accurate information on the formation of Australia to his present writing at the time. It's focus is on the political and economics but is quite digestible. Names are introduced with brief background or in some cases, no background, perhaps for the space and effect of pace. If you're not familiar with Australian history, in some case you may find it helpful to check up on some names to get a better context, but otherwise, biography is not the point to the book, neither does it seem necessary when you are reading to get the understanding of how the nation formed and developed it's own uniqueness, distinct from Britain.
December 19, 2023
DNF, only because I was reading this mainly as research for an alt-history steampunk story I've been developing, and I didn't need to read far into the twentieth century for that.
Clark's Short History proved quite helpful for my purposes, focusing as it does not simply on events but on the history of influential ideas in the UK and AU and their impact on social movements, politics, policy and law, and economic enterprise. I knew very little about Australian history going in, so I'm perhaps inclined to find this work more helpful than it really is; but the writing was good and the commentary felt neither "too neutral" nor lopsided in its criticism. It is, in word choice and in certain attitudes toward race, a product of Clark's day and generation; but even there, he must have been considered progressive and controversial for all that he falls short of perspectives we'd consider acceptable today.
Clark's Short History proved quite helpful for my purposes, focusing as it does not simply on events but on the history of influential ideas in the UK and AU and their impact on social movements, politics, policy and law, and economic enterprise. I knew very little about Australian history going in, so I'm perhaps inclined to find this work more helpful than it really is; but the writing was good and the commentary felt neither "too neutral" nor lopsided in its criticism. It is, in word choice and in certain attitudes toward race, a product of Clark's day and generation; but even there, he must have been considered progressive and controversial for all that he falls short of perspectives we'd consider acceptable today.
October 19, 2025
Finished it! Finally!
Heavy on males, politics and religion, this book gives a sweeping overview of the general social history of Australia since explorers from Europe came up to the noughties.
It wasn't easy to read, but if you want to know who's who at the zoo, this is a book that describes each of the main players at different points of Australia's history.
Heavy on males, politics and religion, this book gives a sweeping overview of the general social history of Australia since explorers from Europe came up to the noughties.
It wasn't easy to read, but if you want to know who's who at the zoo, this is a book that describes each of the main players at different points of Australia's history.
August 4, 2023
This book was a very hard read, very dense and confusing wording that, for example, will introduce three subjects but only go in depth on one. It is also incomplete to no fault of the author as it is a dated book but as the first comprehensive read of Australian History it served its purpose.
June 27, 2018
Fatal Shore this is not.
January 9, 2025
A hard slog to read. I almost finished it.
July 29, 2007
This book was almost impossible to read as Mr Clark felt it necessary to tell the story of Australia's history in a poetry that has no place in a history book. Half the time the facts were convoluted in the words and the other half it seemed that one needed to already know the history of Australia. Nothing was explained and nothing seemed important (although, when Aussies saw what I was reading the most common response was, "We have a history?"). I just wanted to know what formed the present country that I live in without having to say, "What the hell are you talking about?" or look up the events that he brushes on. Also, the addendum, written by his son for a reprinting, was also poorly written and filled with bias. Now I have to find another book on Australian history because this one was a waste of time.
April 30, 2012
The book is definitely worth reading for anyone concerned with Australian history. There is some useful class analysis, however from what I felt was quite a conservative perspective. Most of the history is told on the basis of what formed the political dialogue of the times.
As an overview it's a worthwhile book, but to fully understand the historical development of the state, the country's ruling class and the divisions in Australian society, much greater in depth study will be needed.
As an overview it's a worthwhile book, but to fully understand the historical development of the state, the country's ruling class and the divisions in Australian society, much greater in depth study will be needed.
December 17, 2015
This book on the political / economic development of Australia was written for Aussies as the target audience.
It is straight forward, simply written and informative narrative.
If you know nothing about Australia, and are interested, this book will teach you a lot. If you know some about Australia, you may conclude that the book " is for Dummies".
The 4 is for exceptionally flowing narrative and for solid historical info....,,,
It is straight forward, simply written and informative narrative.
If you know nothing about Australia, and are interested, this book will teach you a lot. If you know some about Australia, you may conclude that the book " is for Dummies".
The 4 is for exceptionally flowing narrative and for solid historical info....,,,
August 13, 2016
If you like history of politics this is a great book - it made me want to read and learn more about Australia and the Aussies' worldview (weltanschauung), which is quite unknown to Europeans e.g. the Australian defense policies and involvement in different wars. This book tells the story of White Australia - and thus must be complemented with other sources, if you're into the history of the Aboriginal Australians.
March 9, 2020
A detailed history of Australia
This book is by Australian historian Sir Ernest Scott, who was a professor of history at the University of Melbourne from 1913 to 1936. Though titled A Short History of Australia, this is a very comprehensive description of the continent, right from the time no one even imagined a place like Australia down in the southern hemisphere.
There are lots of interesting nuggets of information in this book.
This book is by Australian historian Sir Ernest Scott, who was a professor of history at the University of Melbourne from 1913 to 1936. Though titled A Short History of Australia, this is a very comprehensive description of the continent, right from the time no one even imagined a place like Australia down in the southern hemisphere.
There are lots of interesting nuggets of information in this book.
November 30, 2009
It is what it says, a short history of Australia. I wanted to know more about the country, for personal reasons. Mr. Clark does a good job of explaining a lot about Australia and Australians. A good jumping off place to books about more specific subjects. (The First Fleet, Gallipoli, etc.) Not a great book, but a good one.
September 2, 2015
Took me ages to get through this book as I'd put it down and wouldn't feel like picking it up again.
This should be called "A political history..". Too much dry politics for my liking. Towards the end I just skimmed the book, noticing how often politicians' names or political parties were mentioned.
I would prefer a social history of Australia.
This should be called "A political history..". Too much dry politics for my liking. Towards the end I just skimmed the book, noticing how often politicians' names or political parties were mentioned.
I would prefer a social history of Australia.
May 29, 2007
If you're desperate for a short history of Australia and can get past Clark's smarmy writing style, this one's for you.
January 11, 2008
Says it was published in 95, but I read it at Uni in 75 - great book, I think it might be based on a true story.
January 31, 2008
Having not read any other histories of Australia, I'm not sure how evenhanded or accurate this is, but I found it extremely informative and eye-opening.
December 2, 2009
a very short history, telling the story of the last two hundred years from the view of a bluff white australian man.
March 30, 2011
Brief overview, good intro but not a lot of depth.
January 22, 2018
A neatly written political history of australia from the British-Non native australian perspective.
May 17, 2024
Even better the second time around!
March 29, 2017
An admirably engaged and passionate walk through Australia's history, for the non-Australian reader the book could desperately use some maps and photos.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews