Freedom on the Fatal Shore: Australia's First Colony 1788-1884

by John Hirst

FREEDOM ON THE FATAL SHORE brings together John Hirst's two books on the early history of New South Wales. Both are classic accounts which have had a profound effect on the understanding of our history. This combined edition includes a new foreword by the author. Convicts with their own time , convicts with legal rights, convicts making money, convicts getting what sort of prison was this? Hirst describes how the convict colony actually worked and how Australian democracy came into being, despite the opposition of the most powerful. He 'This was not a society that had to become free; its freedoms were well established from the earliest times.'

Genres: History, Nonfiction

First published May 1, 2008

About the author

John Bradley Hirst, FASSA (9 July 1942 – 3 February 2016) was an Australian historian and social commentator. He taught at La Trobe University from 1968 until his retirement in 2006, edited Historical Studies—Australia's leading historical journal—from 1977 to 1980, and also served on the boards of Film Australia and the National Museum of Australia. He has been described as an "historian, public intellectual, and active citizen". He wrote widely on Australian history and society, publishing two well-received books about colonial New South Wales. Hirst also frequently published opinion pieces in the media.

Reviews

[Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good, very readable and entertaining review of our early history. And it shows early Australia to be very much a New World settlement, with local economic and political dynamics that beat into submission the Old World aspirations of some of the free settlers. These marked us out early on as a land of egalitarianism and opportunity, with a strange condescension to politicians, given how successful they were in peacefully achieving democratic government. The writing and tone is not as Wagnerian as The Fatal Shore, but this is an excellent companion and antidote to that also-excellent book.