Black Kettle and Full Moon : Daily Life in a Vanished Australia

by Geoffrey Blainey

In the bestselling Black Kettle and Full Moon , master storyteller Geoffrey Blainey takes us on another absorbing journey – a guided tour of a vanished Australia. Covering the years from the first gold rush to World War I. Blainey paints a fascinating picture of how our forebears lived – in the outback, in towns and cities, at sea and on land. He looks at all aspects of daily life, from billycans to brass bands, from ice-making to etiquette, from pipes to pubs. The engaging text is further brought alive by an evocative selection of contemporary illustrations by artists such as Julian Ashton.This is Geoffrey Blainey doing what he does best bringing to life for the modern reader the sighs and sounds and smells of another time.

Genres: History, Australia, Nonfiction, Cooking, Society

484 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Geoffrey Blainey, one of Australia's most eminent historians, was appointed the foundation Chancellor of the University of Ballarat (UB) in 1993 after an illustrious career at the University of Melbourne. He was installed as UB Chancellor in December 1994 and continued until 1998. The Blainey Auditorium at the Mt Helen Campus of UB is named in his honour. Blainey, always a keen exponent of libraries and the acquisition of books, has donated part of his extensive book collection to the UB library. In 2002 the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters was conferred on Blainey in recognition of his contribution to the University of Ballarat and to the community in general.

Educated at Ballarat High School, Blainey won a scholarship to Wesley College, before attending Melbourne University where he studied history. He worked as a freelance historical author writing mainly business histories such as The Peaks of Lyall; Gold and Paper; a History of the National Bank of Australasia; and Mines in the Spinifex. Blainey accepted a position at the University of Melbourne in 1962 in the Faculty of Economics and Commerce. He held the positions of Professor of Economic History (1968-77); Senior Lecturer 1962; and from 1977-1988 he occupied the Ernest Scott Chair of History at Melbourne University. Professor Blainey also held the chair of Australian studies at Harvard University.

As an economic historian, Blainey challenged the conventional view, questioning accepted contemporary understandings of European settlement of Australia as a convict nation, Aboriginal land rights, and Asian immigration. He is described as a 'courageous public intellectual, a writer with rare grace and a master storyteller'. In a reassessment of the life of Blainey, 'The Fuss that Never Ended' considers his ideas, his role in Australian history, politics and public life, and the controversies that surrounded him.

He was always popular with students. According to the Melbourne University home page 'When Geoffrey Blainey spoke to final-year students in the Friends of the Baillieu Library HSC Lectures in the 1970s, the Public Lecture Theatre was packed to capacity and his audience carried copies of his books to be signed, a tribute to what Geoffrey Bolton characterised as his "skills in interpreting technological change in admirably lucid narratives that appealed to both specialist and non-specialist audiences".

Among his most popular works are the 'The Rush that Never Ended: A History of Australian Mining'; 'The Tyranny of Distance'; 'A Shorter History of Australia'; 'A Short History of the World'; and 'The Origins of Australian Football'.

In 2000 Professor Blainey was awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia for service to academia, research and scholarship, and as a leader of public debate at the forefront of fundamental social and economic issues confronting the wider community. At that time the University's Vice-Chancellor Professor Kerry Cox said 'Geoffrey Blainey guided the new and inexperienced university through its first four years with a benevolent but firm hand. This time was challenging as the university strove to make a place for itself in higher education, grappled with funding cuts and the eventual merger with neighbouring TAFE institutes. For those at the university fortunate enough to work with Geoffrey Blainey during his time as Chancellor, they witnessed first hand his humility, and we are proud of his role in our history.'

In 2002 the degree of Doctor of Letters was conferred on Professor Blainey in recognition of his contribution to the University of Ballarat and the community in general. The same year Blainey donated a collection of material to the University of Ballarat. Included in this collection are historical books, papers and other material relating to the early history of mining and the central Victorian goldfields. A second generous donation of material was received in 2005. 'The Geoffrey Blainey Mining Collection' is l

Reviews

[Luke Devenish · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning book. Blainey's such an ENTERTAINING historian, but never so much so that you feel you're reading something glib or dumbed down. His wealth of detail is always extraordinary in all that he writes and never more so than here. The big surprise is how moving this book is in places. To read about ordinary 19th Century Australians, as Blainey describes them, is not to feel as if they're lost in the mists of time. Rather, the experience is exactly like peering down a telescope only to encounter a mirror. This is OURSELVES in this book; 150 years or so mean nothing. These people and their lives are recognisably, undeniably Australian. I read 'Black Kettle' as research for a new fiction project but I could have easily read it for sheer pleasure. Wonderful.

[Robert Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read about Australian daily life prior to the First World War. How people actually live, eat, work etc. is always interesting and the Author is an excellent storyteller. I have great respect for the pioneers who settled Canada and Australia and really made them the Countries they are today. The Australians had to deal with heat which in light of one of the longest coldest winters here in Canada, sure looks good. We call Billycans here Billypots and i like to think they were invented in Canada although i am sure Australians will argue on that one.

[SteveDave · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book did for Australia what Bill Bryson's 'At Home' set out to do for England - provide a history of daily life for ordinary people in the nineteenth century.

However, unlike Bryson's book (which seemed to be one big detour across a thousand tenuously related topics) this one actually stuck to that aim and set out in simple chapters exactly how people lived. They ate this, they cooked in this way, they communicated in these ways, they used these types of measures, etc.

It may not be everyone's cup of tea - I can see how people may find it boring, but if you are interested in knowing what life was like in early Australia, you probably can't go past this book.

[Jane Routley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully enjoyable history book about what people are and what they cooked on, how they made light and how they travelled and dozens of derails about daily life in the period between the Gold rushes and WW1. Though it’s about Australia it’s very useful for a fantasy writer to be remind of for instance how hard it was to light a fire before the invention of matches. Worth reading for the mind boggling description of savory banana and vegetable stew on page 279.

[Catherine Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

An invaluable account of ordinary daily life in Australia from 1850 - 1914. It includes detail about lighting, transport, money, and what Australians ate, drank and smoked - an absorbing read.

[Joan Garvan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was among the books waiting for me to read for some time and I'm so glad that I've got back to it and now have finished. This isn't like a 'history' book with dates, names and places, but reading it gives some insight into what it was like to live in nineteenth century Australia. The reliance on the full moon for gatherings before electricity, the need for bundles of candles, the use of bread and dripping for those who couldn't afford better and the surprising fact that boatloads of ice were brought out to Australia from the USA before there was refrigeration. So many of these observations that demonstrate the massive how different life is today.

[Ian Kloester · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very easy read full of fascinating details about that time in Australia’s history. It’s presented in a very matter of fact way. If you’re trying to imagine the minutia of life for that period it’s a handy reference. I raced through it grateful that someone as accomplished as Geoffrey had done the work and all I had to do was enjoy the ride. That said, that’s all it is. A reference. A very good one. But it’s not a book that will make you belly laugh or cry in amazement at the realities of the day. It’s more utilitarian. And now you know.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Less a history and more a compendium of trivia. The illustrations are phenomenal and there are more details of daily life than you can shake a billy at, but it's a bizarrely dry and impersonal tract. The few times Blainey tries to present a mini narrative fall flat. Recommended only if you want to know the little details. 2/5

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A readable and real history of domestic Australian life. As the title says- a vanished Australia. It's an interesting and thought-provoking book. If you are interested in how everyday people used to live, this is a great read.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at daily life in Australia in the 19th Century, right up until the Great War. From steak for breakfast, to imported Boston Ice and to the synchronisation of time during Federation, this work offers a window to the past of the ordinary "Australian".

[AskHistorians]

This is a fantastic little book that looks at the everyday life of Australian colonists and settlers. Very absorbing, Blainey does a really good job of bringing 'daily life in a vanished Australia' to life.

[Ian Carmichael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvellous history of common life.

[Ruth Bonetti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating information about the way of life of everyday Australians through the past 150 years.

[Fiona Ottley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite interesting. It's a bit like having your great, great, grandparent doing the "In MY day...." thing.

[Philip]

Well worth a read, even if you have no interest in history.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loads of social history factoids for Australia before WWI. I read this as background to family history research.

[Dulcie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Highly Brysonesque in detail, sadly not in narrative quality. Fascinating but dreadfully lacking in humanity.