Australian and local history books

[Ramjet]

Hope I put this in the appropriate section

Thought I'd start a list of good books on history.
Not always about prospecting.
Just assumed that some who love to hunt for old coins or relics would be history lovers too.
Ok a couple to start with!..........

Kidman the forgotten king. Or any book on Sir Sidney Kidman. (At one time owned 3% of Oz)

Down under by Bill Bryson. A most entertaining, amusing and informative book by a great wordsmith. ( Also called... In a sunburnt Country)

Books by Tom Cole. A pom Who came to Oz at 19 and became a horse breaker, Crocodile and buffalo hunter among many other things. Hell, West and crooked is the 1st of his books.

Bar Dangerous. A history of shipping in Newcastle. Awesome book. The follow on was Bar Safe. ( Bar Dangerous was a sephamore signal from Nobbys ... Bar dangerous, Do not enter)

Nyngan on the Bogan . History of my home town.

Archaeology of the dreamtime . Fascinating history of the 1st Australians for anyone interested in aboriginal history. (At Maitland library)

That's all that comes to mind at the minute. I'll add more as i look thru my library

 

[silver]

Six months on Roger Me. Is there nobody here that reads real books, how about ( Lot 48 Darling Street Balmain, An archaeological enquiry. ) That's a good real read from the past !

 

[Teemore]

Good historical stuff in BATAVIA ..... jeez they were a bloodthirsty bunch (about the shipwreck in WA pre Cook)
"Mawson" and "A Simpler Time" also by Peter FitsSimons ..... about growing up in NSW
3 by Kate Grenville that form a trilogy, The Lieutenant, The Secret River and Dark Places. Follows the fortunes of a convict from his interment in Sydney to how they developed their own place ... a great insight into early association with our aboriginies.
Cheers Tom

meant to add the Grenville books are fiction but great insight

 

[dwt]

My long awaited book rocked up today paid a fortune for it quite some time ago and its been out on loan not sure what its worth now but its a good read its a bit hard to see but the date says 1869 and nothing about 2nd or 3rd edition so im guessing its a 1st ed......any clarification would be great cheers.....dwt 8)

.

 

[trashmagnet]

g'day dwt
going by the cover that's the 1979 version, there were a small amount printed in 1869 and then the government did 1000 copy's in 1979.
mine is the same as yours,
there is a copy of the 1869 version in the book museum in Melbourne(you can google it and see the cover)
not sure why the 1979 version is not called 2nd edition.
I tried to find out how many were printed in 1869 and the best answer I could find is "not very many"

all that aside the info in that book is fantastic.
regards tm

 

[dwt]

g'day dwt
going by the cover that's the 1979 version, there were a small amount printed in 1869 and then the government did 1000 copy's in 1979.
mine is the same as yours,
there is a copy of the 1869 version in the book museum in Melbourne(you can google it and see the cover)
not sure why the 1979 version is not called 2nd edition.
I tried to find out how many were printed in 1869 and the best answer I could find is "not very many"

all that aside the info in that book is fantastic.
regards tm

thanks TM i guess it really dosnt matter what i paid for it.. now.. it has a personal insciption on the inside of the cover and from what i can make out it looks like the old pound sign and next to that the number 900,any ideas? 8)

 

[trashmagnet]

hi mate
nah no idea about the number 900, the pound sign sounds interesting, that makes it sound older than 1979.
even the later version is not cheap, the cheapest I have seen one being sold for is $125 for a crappy condition one, and $450 for a good condition one but there worth it I think.
a 1869 one was being sold for $1800 awhile back and it was in crappy condition.
I have only looked at mine twice as it's in mint condition and I'd like to keep it that way, by the looks of it, i think someone bought it new then put it in a dark room and left it there.
out of curiosity i'll grab it out tomorrow and see what is in the cover in the way of numbers, perhaps they numbered the 1000 books the government did
regards tm

 

[dwt]

hi mate
nah no idea about the number 900, the pound sign sounds interesting, that makes it sound older than 1979.
even the later version is not cheap, the cheapest I have seen one being sold for is $125 for a crappy condition one, and $450 for a good condition one but there worth it I think.
a 1869 one was being sold for $1800 awhile back and it was in crappy condition.
I have only looked at mine twice as it's in mint condition and I'd like to keep it that way, by the looks of it, i think someone bought it new then put it in a dark room and left it there.
out of curiosity i'll grab it out tomorrow and see what is in the cover in the way of numbers, perhaps they numbered the 1000 books the government did
regards tm

i have no idea TM will get in contact with the guy i purchased it off he's a close mate and he sold it to me for $600 had it advertised for 1000....interesting though!!!

 

[trashmagnet]

dwt if that is a 1869 version you got a bargain for sure, and I'm sure the Melbourne book museum would offer you a lot more than that for it as there copy is in bad condition.
all the 1869 ones I have seen have a dark coloured cover but hopefully I'm wrong and you have one. that would be great to have a part of history like that.
have a look inside the front cover and see if any pages have been removed as the later version is an exact copy of the first one apart from a couple of pages in the front before the page you took a pic of with the 1869 date on it, maybe someone removed them to sell it to your mate as an original copy cause with out these pages it would look like an old one apart from the colour of the cover. hope you got an original one mate that would be great.
I had a look at mine and it has 1/1000 written in grey lead inside the front hard cover.
regards tm

 

[dwt]

it has one red colored page than one blank page than a page with an illustration on it that says "rush near Navaree" and shows some old fellows standing on top of mullok dumps using a couple of windlasses then the page that has the date on it .................kinda sounding like the copy you have!! 8)

 

[dwt]

I have to say though, page 27 where it shows the old fella standing at the base of a fallen tree is very impressive ....and for those that havnt seen this book,part of the page states 8) "Mr. George W. Robinson ascertained, in the back ranges of Berwick, the circumfrence of a tree of ECUALYPTUS AMYGDDALINA to be 81 feet at a distance of four feet from the ground, and supposes this eucalypt, towards the sources of the Yarra and La Trobe Rivers, to attain a height of half a thousand feet".........thats pretty bloody amazing if you ask me....just imagine being around in that era, gold lying on the surface to the extent place's were nicknamed "the potatoe fields because the gold was laying aroundon the surface and was the size of a (very tasty) spud and them coming across trees like one of these......must of been truly amazing.....................then cut the bastard down and make a ships mast out of her....

 

[Teemore]

Can't guarantee it but would say that's an original 1st edition IF, note the big IF the photo you provided does NOT have any of the pages I mention below..
Alas mine is just a second printing of the 1979 facsimile edition but has the same info.
The facsimile editions will/should show the printing date, mine clearly shows 1980. The 'copies' should also make mention of the original edition as a preface which is in the pages BEFORE the actual 'guts' of the reprint., 1869 will be shown in the title page at the start of what was the original book with no pages preceding it.
If it's an original ... go and buy a copy and keep the original safe (usually around $750 +).
Cheers Tom