Australia & Oceania Audiobooks | History

A Commonwealth of Thieves: The Improbable Birth of Australia

With the authority of a renowned historian and the narrative grace of a brilliant novelist, Thomas Keneally offers an insider's perspective into the dramatic saga of the birth of a vibrant society in an unfamiliar land. "A Commonwealth of Thieves" immerses us in the fledgling penal colony and conjures up colorful scenes of the joy and heartbreak, the thrills and hardships that characterized those first four improbable years. The result is a lively and engrossing work of history, as well as a tale of redemption for the thousands of convicts who started new lives thousands of miles from their homes..

Thomas Keneally (Author), Simon Vance (Narrator)

Audiobook

Error Australis

Australia is a proud country full of proud people, but exactly what are we proud of? Comedian and history buff Ben Pobjie delves deep into Australia's past and has a good old rummage amongst the nation's personal effects. With wit, perspicacity and a healthily elastic attitude to historical accuracy, the great saga of Australia is unravelled like an old woolly jumper. For anyone who snoozed through history class at school, this is the book to get you all caught up.

Ben Pobjie (Author), Jim Pike (Narrator)

Audiobook

Captain Cook’s Epic Voyage

In 1768 Captain James Cook and his crew set out on a small British naval vessel in search of a missing continent. 2020 marks the 250th anniversary of that voyage, and Cook's 'discovery' of Australia. Captain Cook's Epic Voyage reveals the hardships and adventure of this remarkable quest, and the euphoria of discovering new lands. Drawing from his previous book, Sea of Dangers, in Captain Cook's Epic Voyage Professor Geoffrey Blainey takes readers once again on a vivid journey through history, challenging accepted views and the intersection of myth, science and exploration.

Geoffrey Blainey (Author), John Gregg (Narrator)

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Voyagers of the Titanic: Passengers, Sailors, Shipbuilders, Aristocrats, and the Worlds They Came Fr

Late in the night of April 14, 1912, the mighty Titanic, a passenger liner traveling from Southampton, England, to New York City, struck an iceberg four hundred miles south of Newfoundland. Its sinking over the next two and a half hours brought the ship-mythological in name and size-one hundred years of infamy. Of the 2,240 people aboard the ship, 1,517 perished either by drowning or by freezing to death in the frigid North Atlantic waters. What followed the disaster was tantamount to a worldwide outpouring of grief: In New York, Paris, London, and other major cities, people lined the streets and crowded around the offices of the White Star Line, the Titanic's shipping company, to inquire for news of their loved ones and for details about the lives of some of the famous people of their time. While many accounts of the Titanic's voyage focus on the technical or mechanical aspects of why the ship sank, Voyagers of the Titanic follows the stories of the men, women, and children whose lives intersected on the vessel's fateful last day, covering the full range of first, second, and third class-from plutocrats and captains of industry to cobblers and tailors looking for a better life in America. Richard Davenport-Hines delves into the fascinating lives of those who ate, drank, reveled, dreamed, and died aboard the mythic ship: from John Jacob Astor IV, the wealthiest person on board, whose comportment that night was subject to speculation and gossip for years after the event, to Archibald Butt, the much-beloved military aide to Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft, who died helping others into the Titanic's few lifeboats. With magnificent prose, Voyagers of the Titanic also brings to life the untold stories of the ship's middle and third classes-clergymen, teachers, hoteliers, engineers, shopkeepers, counterjumpers, and clerks-each of whom had a story that not only illuminates the fascinating ship but also the times in which it sailed. In addition, Davenport-Hines explores the fascinating politics behind the Titanic's creation, which involved larger-than-life figures such as J. P. Morgan, the ship's owner, and Lord Pirrie, the ship's builder. The memory of this tragedy still remains a part of the American psyche and Voyagers of the Titanic brings that clear night back to us with all of its drama and pathos.

Richard Davenport-Hines (Author), Robin Sachs (Narrator)

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Mining Nickel at Yakabindie - the furious debate

We hear about the furious debate of mining nickel at a place called Yakabindie in the Western Desert of Australia and the protection of sacred sites by Indigenous Australians. Dominion mining company wanted to mine nickel in Jones creek at Yakabindie and a part of the Indigenous community wanted to protect Jones creek. There was a furious debate which involved a heated meeting between 2 groups of Indigenous Australians at Yakabindie. One group was saying that there were no sacred sites in Jones creek and the other group were saying that there were sacred sites in Jones creek which involved the Tjikuna Dreaming story. The Tjinkuna Dreaming story of how Jones creek was formed goes like this. A dragon fly was chasing 2 serpents through the desert landscape and jones creek was formed in the Dreamtime by the dragon fly chasing these 2 serpents. One of the serpents got away and the other serpent was caught by the dragon fly and eaten. We confront anthropologist, Rory O'Connor at Yakabindie about his report for Dominion mining company, as he states that the sacred sites were in the ranges west of Jones creek and that there were no sacred sites in Jones creek as part of the Tjinkuna story. He reads from his report that Indigenous people state that there are no sacred sites in Jones creek. We hear from an elderly lady, Dolly Walker from the Nghalia heritage council that there are sacred sites in Jones creek which involve the Tjikuna Dreaming story. She states that those Indigenous people who want the nickel mine to go ahead are just interested in money and are selling their souls by giving their culture away. She says that Christian people don't want to give their Church away so why should they give their Culture away by mining Jones creek. Anthropologist Phillip Moore says his report about Jones Creek having sacred sites in it, was never considered by the state government. A young man called Zar says he will now not go through Traditional Indigenous Law to become a man if Jones creek is mined, as part of the Tjikuna story will be gone forever. Traditional Law Man, Dusty Stevens says no to mining and people don't understand the Sacred Laws of Jones creek. We go to a press where the Minister for Indigenous affairs, Judith Watson and the Managing Director of Dominion mining, Peter Walker state that the nickel mine at Yakabindie has been given approval after considering the reports from both anthropologists. In the press conference both Judith Watson and Peter Walker make mistakes in their statements after questions are asked about the protection of sacred sites. Peter Walker admits that there are 2 sacred sites in Jones creek but are of little significance to Indigenous people. The Yakabindie nickel mine went ahead and Jones creek was dug up, but several years later Dominion mining went broke, as it collapsed and was delisted in Western Australia.

Dreamtime Audio Books (Author), Mysterious Dreamtime Man (Narrator)

Audiobook

Convict-era Port Arthur: Misery of the deepest dye

Detailing the development of the prison and its outlying stations, including its dreaded coal mines and providing an account of the changing views to convict rehabilitation, Convict-era Port Arthur focuses in on a number of individuals, telling the story through their eyes. Charles O'Hara Booth, a significant commandant of Port Arthur; Mark Jeffrey, a convict who became the grave digger on the Island of the Dead; and William Thompson, who arrived just as the new probation system started and who was forced to work in the treacherous coal mines. Convict-era Port Arthur will for the first time provide a comprehensive history of Port Arthur, its horrors and its changing role over a fifty-year period. In gripping detail, using the experiences and words of the convicts, soldiers and administrators who spent time there, David W. Cameron brings to life these deeply miserable days.

David W. Cameron (Author), Ant Neate (Narrator)

Audiobook

Nabbing Ned Kelly: The extraordinary true story of the men who brought Australia's notorious outlaw

David Dufty goes back to the records to uncover the real story of the police officers who pursued the Kelly Gang. This pacey account of the capture of the Kelly Gang reads like a detective story. He lurched through the gun smoke, his head encased in an iron helmet, and started shooting. To the weary police in the cordon around the Glenrowan hotel, he appeared like a monster, or a creature from hell. For over a century, the Ned Kelly legend has grown and grown. He's become Australia's Robin Hood, and leader of a colonial Irish resistance. How much of the legend is true? This is the real story of the hunt for the Kelly Gang over two long years. As gripping as any police procedural, it is an account of poorly trained officers unfamiliar with the terrain, in pursuit of the most dangerous men in the state. By recounting the story from the perspective of the law, David Dufty gets to the heart of the story and finds answers to many unresolved questions. Why was the gang always one step ahead of the police? Did law-abiding citizens really assist the outlaws? Did the barely literate Ned really write the impassioned Jerilderie Letter? Did the police really persecute the Kelly family?

David Dufty (Author), Grant Cartwright (Narrator)

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The Pacific: In the Wake of Captain Cook, with Sam Neill

A rich, complex and engaging account of Cook's voyages across the Pacific, from actor and raconteur Sam Neill, in which Sam Neill retraces Cook's footsteps, in the 250th anniversary year of Cook's first voyage. Captain James Cook first set sail to the Pacific in 1768 - 250 years ago. These vast waters, one third of the earth's surface, were uncharted - but not unknown. A rich diversity of people and cultures navigated, traded, lived and fought here for thousands of years. Before Cook, the Pacific was disconnected from the power and ideas of Europe, Asia and America. In the wake of Cook, everything changed. The Pacific with Sam Neill is the companion book to the Foxtel documentary series of the same name, in which actor and raconteur Sam Neill takes a deeply personal, present-day voyage to map his own understanding of James Cook, Europe's greatest navigator, and the immense Pacific Ocean itself. Voyaging on a wide variety on vessels, from container ships to fishing trawlers and sailing boats, Sam crosses the length and breadth of the largest ocean in the world to experience for himself a contemporary journey in Cook's footsteps, engaging the past and present in both modern and ancient cultural practice and peoples. Fascinating, engaging, fresh and vital - this is history - but not as you know it.

Meaghan Wilson Anastasios (Author), Alan King (Narrator)

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Eureka Rebellion, The: The History and Legacy of the Gold Miners’ Uprising against the British in Au

Although Australia was actually colonized by the forced dispossession of the indigenous Aboriginals, the Commonwealth of Australia came about by the free federation of six self-governing British colonies in 1901, which makes it one of just a handful of nations that can proudly claim this.[1] Thus, Australia is often imagined as a nation untouched by the pains that have accompanied the births of most other nations. While it is certainly true that the founding fathers of the Australian federation discussed the future of their nation without the fear of war, it is equally true that Australia’s history was shaped by violence. Along with the forced dispossession of indigenous populations across the continent, there were occasional uprisings among the transported convict population in early colonial times, notably the Castle Hill Convict Rebellion of 1804. In that conflict, 233 Irish convicts faced 97 British soldiers, resulting in the deaths of 15 prisoners. Then there was the so-called Rum Rebellion in 1808, when the New South Wales Corps led by Major George Johnston and the pastoralist John Macarthur deposed the Governor of New South Wales, William Bligh. This event was notable in being the only successful seizure of political power by force of arms in the history of colonial Australia.[2] To the list of politically violent deeds, many historians and commentators add the acts of some bushrangers, notably Ned Kelly (1854–1880), who is often regarded as a political revolutionary.[3] In the relatively short history of colonial Australia, one event stands apart, both for its revolutionary spirit and its impact: the Eureka Rebellion of December 3, 1854. This was the only time in Australian history when a government was resisted by free subjects of the Crown in a violent conflict. It only took place in one colony, Victoria, but it was an important event in the evolution of the democratic government in Australia as a whole.

Charles River Editors (Author), Gregory T. Luzitano (Narrator)

Audiobook

Semut: The Untold Story of a Secret Australian Operation in WWII Borneo

March 1945. A handful of very young Allied operatives are parachuted into the remote jungled heart of the Japanese-occupied island of Borneo, east of Singapore, there to recruit the island's indigenous Dayak peoples to fight the Japanese. Yet most speak next to no Borneo languages and know little about Dayaks, other than that they were once headhunters who might kill them on arrival. For their part, some Dayaks have never before seen a white face. This is the story of Operation Semut, an Australian secret military operation launched by the organisation popularly known as Z Special Unit in the final months of WWII. Anthropologist Christine Helliwell has called on her years of first-hand knowledge of Borneo, interviewed more than one hundred Dayak people and all the remaining Semut operatives, and consulted thousands of military and other documents to piece together this astonishing story. Focusing on two of Borneo's great rivers - the Baram and Rejang - the book provides a detailed military history of Semut II's and Semut III's brutal guerrilla campaign against the Japanese, and reveals the decisive but long-overlooked Dayak role in the operation. But this is no ordinary history. Helliwell captures vividly the terrors of the jungle environment into which the operatives are plunged. And she takes us into the lives and cavernous longhouses of the Dayaks on whom their survival depends. The result is a truly unique account of the meeting of two very different cultures amidst the savagery of the Pacific War.

Christine Helliwell (Author), Christine Helliwell, Dorje Swallow (Narrator)

Audiobook

War at the End of the World: Douglas MacArthur and the Forgotten Fight for New Guinea 1942-1945

One American soldier called it "a green hell on earth." Monsoon-soaked wilderness, debilitating heat, impassable mountains, torrential rivers, and disease-infested swamps-New Guinea was a battleground far more deadly than the most fanatical of enemy troops. Japanese forces numbering some 600,000 men began landing in January 1942, determined to seize the island as a cornerstone of the Empire's strategy to knock Australia out of the war. Allied commander-in-chief General Douglas MacArthur committed 340,000 Americans, as well as tens of thousands of Australian, Dutch, and New Guinean troops, to retake New Guinea at all costs. In this gripping narrative, historian James P. Duffy chronicles the most ruthless combat of the Pacific War, a fight complicated by rampant tropical disease, violent rainstorms, and unforgiving terrain that punished both Axis and Allied forces alike. Drawing on primary sources, War at the End of the World fills in a crucial gap in the history of World War II while offering listeners a narrative of the first rank.

James P. Duffy (Author), Joe Barrett (Narrator)

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The Devil's Work: Australia's Jack the Ripper and the serial murders that shocked the world.

He was a murderer, swindler, bigamist and suspect in the Jack the Ripper killings. Frederick Deeming was also the most hated man in the world. Claiming to be haunted by the ghost of his dead mother, Deeming had spent years roaming the planet under various aliases, preying on the innocent, the gullible and the desperate. But the discovery by Australian police in 1892 of the body of one of his wives in a shallow concrete grave triggered one of the greatest manhunts in history and exposed a further series of grisly murders - those of his first wife and four children - that stunned the Victorian era. The Devil's Work is a gothic journey into the twisted mind of a serial killer, set in the dying years of the 19th century when science and religion had collided and some of the world's most powerful and influential people believed in spirits and an afterlife. It reveals Deeming's crime spree across three continents, raising fresh questions about his role in the Jack the Ripper killings and culminating in his sensational trial where he was defended by a future Australian Prime Minister who believed he could also speak to the dead. Born bad or simply mad? It's time to meet Frederick Deeming, the man known and reviled throughout the United States, England and Australia as the Criminal of the Century.

Garry Linnell (Author), Peter Phelps (Narrator)

Audiobook

Australia & Oceania Audiobooks in History