Publisher Description

A History of Queensland is the first single volume analysis of Queensland's past, stretching from the time of earliest human habitation up to the present. It encompasses pre-contact Aboriginal history, the years of convictism, free settlement and subsequent urban and rural growth. It takes the reader through the tumultuous frontier and Federation years, the World Wars, the Cold War, the controversial Bjelke-Petersen era and on, beyond the beginning of the new millennium. It reveals Queensland as a sprawling, harsh, diverse and conflictual place, where the struggles of race, ethnicity, class, generation and gender have been particularly pronounced, and political and environmental encounters have remained intense. It is a colourful, surprising and at times disturbing saga, a perplexing and diverting mixture of ferocity, endurance and optimism.

Notes

Queensland was one of the largest land mass areas in the British Empire. This general history covers from the millennia of Aboriginal occupation to the maritime explorers who prepared the way for the early use of Queensland as a severe convict outpost. Queensland has a most colourful labour history and has at times exhibited some of the worst features of authoritarian rule in Australia. This is the first history of Queensland to be written since the early 1980s and is the only succinct general volume on the market.

Author Biography

Raymond Evans is an Adjunct Professor with the Centre for Public Culture and Ideas, School of Humanities at Griffith University, and Honorary Reader with the Australian Studies Centre and the School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics at the University of Queensland.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments; 1. Millennia; 2. Confinement, 1820–40; 3. Blueprint, 1841–59; 4. Consolidation, 1860–79; 5. Statehood, 1880–1905; 6. Battle, 1906–39; 7. Crucible, 1940–67; 8. Hubris, 1968–89; 9. Aftermath, 1990–2005.

Promotional

A History of Queensland explores from the time of earliest human habitation up to the present.

Prizes

Short-listed for Prime Minister's Literary Awards (Australia): Non-Fiction 2008

Promotional "Headline"

A History of Queensland explores from the time of earliest human habitation up to the present.

Description for Bookstore

A History of Queensland is the first single volume analysis of Queensland's past, stretching from the time of earliest human habitation up to the present. This is the first history of Queensland to be written since the early 1980s and is the only succinct general volume on the market.

Description for Library

A History of Queensland is the first single volume analysis of Queensland's past, stretching from the time of earliest human habitation up to the present. This is the first history of Queensland to be written since the early 1980s and is the only succinct general volume on the market.

Details