The Making of Australia
By David Hill
Published by William Heinemann (Random House)
RRP $34.99 in paperback
ISBN 9781742757667

This is a bit of a diversion from the usual subject matter of books on my blog – but I do make a few exceptions – this time for Australian history.

In his latest book, David Hill traces our nation from the first European landing through to Federation. He notes that the research for this book was vast, ‘more than was the case for all four of my previous books’, which is not surprising, given its scope.

He does not gloss over, as earlier historians might have, the adverse impact of European settlement on the indigenous population. Of his earlier books, 1788 was a terrific read – and I think this latest work will engage readers keen to be re-familiarised with 19^th century Australian history, without having to read a book of encyclopedic proportions.