Part 1 What sort of history?: 1. Australia's absurd history -- 2. Distance - was it a tyrant? -- 3. Women and history -- 4. Australian history and European civilisation -- 5. How sorry can we be? -- Part 2 What sort of nation?: 6. Convict society -- 7. Transformation on the land -- 8. Colonial society -- 9. Egalitarianism -- 10. The pioneer legend -- 11. Federation: destiny and identity -- 12. Labor and conscription -- 13. The Gallipoli landing -- 14. The Communist threat -- 15. Who tugged the forelock? -- 16. Towards the republic -- 17. Five fallacies of Aboriginal policy -- 18. The distinctiveness of Australian democracy
Summary
Although a self-proclaimed conservative, Hirst's work has received high praise from historians ranging from Don Watson to Stuart MacIntyre. This book collects key pieces on convict society, the pioneer legend, Australian egalitarianism, the republican movement and more
