Books

In 1999, a Parliamentary (Senate) Inquiry in Australia had found that "a strong case can be made that the Kormoran's underwater torpedo played a major role in the defeat of the Sydney", whereas in 2009 the Commission of Inquiry had found that "the Sydney had been struck by a torpedo from the above-water tubes of the raider Kormoran while both vessels were sailing along at close quarters at a speed of some 14 knots". These diverse rulings mean one or both are not correct. In fact, the latest inquiry has been eroded by more [read more...]

Sydney 1986, and Devlin's life is music, madness and a vivid dream of another life. Another place. A place he's seen and can't forget. A place of heat and dust and silence, and endless blue. Time to think. And to kill. And forgive. A place he calls Warkon. Warkon is part psychological, part bildungsroman, part crime mystery fiction, helped largely by the clever interweaving of storylines and the author's fine feel for language and tone that is quintessentially Australian. It manages to blend stark existential horror with [read more...]

Leaving Macquarie Island and the 1979 expeditioners was a mixed bag of emotions. I witnessed the grieving of some of the expeditioners from losing one of their mates, a biologist. I felt for them and wondered what wintering on the Island was going to be like for them. I was pleased to finally go home Aboard the Danish ice breaker, Thala Dan. 15 Months was a long time away from home on an isolated Australian Scientific Research Station. I boarded the ship after she serviced the other Australian Stations in Antarctica. Seeing [read more...]

Growing up in the harsh climate of Central Western Qld, the N.T. and top end of W.A., author Lynn Moodie must have endured sun damage for a good deal of her life. Later, living on the coast but still in the harmful sunny areas with high UV ratings at Mackay and Townsville she has no longer been able to keep the killer away that will end her life.

Gardening is often expressed as art, harmoniously in their environment, as well as being a science, encompassing all the principles and techniques of plant cultivation. Through the eyes of a gardener, here is a journey of growing food from the stone age to modern times. The story of sowing, and harvesting throughout the evolution of humankind and how this knowledge has cumulated into what we know today. Robin is passionate about gardens, as can be seen in his practical down-to-earth approach to the methodology of sowing and [read more...]

This book is about a life lived under control and restraint making it difficult to survive and be considered as a normal human being. The stories of surviving such an ordeal are now out there for young people to grapple with and understand what can go wrong in personal and private circumstances to what projects to the outside world as being a normal type of life. Always be aware of these existences and stop and think about the traits of jealousy and narcissism.

Adventure Treachery Love And Vision Arthur Albury unexpectantly inherits the family estate in County Tipperary Ireland, abandoning a promising army career. Overwhelmed by his new responsibilities, a chance meeting on his journey home gives him the vision long lain dormant of his family's destiny, which he must strive to fulfill. When a nephew is transported to the penal colony of New South Wales Arthur sees the opportunity for the family to make a new beginning in this new land, however, treachery, hatred and violence await the [read more...]

Fairweather was the Bark Endeavour's cat. A trusted member of the crew and personal assistant to Captain Cook himself. He emersed himself into the ship's daily life and wrote his own diary of the great journey of discovery to find Australia. From ferocious storms to balmy beaches, all of the moments of this feline's fate have been found and can explain so many missing details from the start of Fairweather's boarding in a duffle bag to the return of the ship 3 years later laden with discoveries and the untold stories of life at sea on [read more...]

A memoir of the life's journey of a migrant child which began long before the migration itself. At its core the book is an unflattering but heartfelt account of life. A family of seven children struggling to survive in a place at a time when peace and serenity came at great sacrifice. Reward for that sacrifice was realised, in Cowra,a small rural town in New South Wales Australia. The original intention of the publication was to record a family history for the children of the writer's marriage, who struggled to remember their [read more...]

I don't want a compass, Swayed by other powerful forces I want a lighthouse steady alert ready to weather any storm I want to know I'm coming home miles before I've reached it Seventeen is a collection of poems detailing the ups and downs of adolescence, and how it's important to talk about the good, the bad and the ugly. In her first collection of poetry, Paige Jenkins aims to shed light on some of her own struggles with anxiety and depression during this formative time in the hopes that it might encourage others to [read more...]