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Why We Love Footy: an Aussie Rules History in 50 Great Moments – Martin Blake
Allen & Unwin August 2026 ISBN:9781761472930 Publisher:Allen & Unwin Imprint:Allen & Unwin RRP: $34.99 I freely admit as always that I’m a league girl, always have been and always will be, but that’s not to say I’m entirely ignorant nor uninterested in the aerial ping-pong version [ok, so I had to get that in somewhere!].…
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The Cats of Australia – Jodie Stewart
Harper Collins Australia May 2026 This is one I’ve dipped in and out of, which was easy to do with distinctly different chapters like a mini-essay, and I have to say it’s been just a delight over the past few weeks to do so. Although I’ve happily owned both dogs and cats (not to mention…
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Gold Standard? Remembering the Hawke Government – Edited by Frank Biongiorno, Carolyn Holbrook & Joshua Black
NewSouth Books 9781761170522 / April 2026 / RRP $39.99 For a considerable chunk of my adult life I was completely apolitical and then along came Gough Whitlam and after the disgraceful dismissal, some 8 years later Robert James Lee Hawke, brash and breezy, blew into the top slot and completely changed the landscape of our country with economic…
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Our History: Hill End Gold – Sue Whiting
Walker Books Autralia June 2026 ISBN13:9781761601491 Australia RRP:$18.99 New Zealand RRP:$21.99 There’s absolutely no doubt that despite its long existence in the curriculum of every state [I mean to say, it was in the primary school syllabus when I went to school!] it is also always a popular topic with students. And one can never…
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Shakespeare in the Orchard – Danielle Binks
Hachette Australia Imprint: Lothian Children’s Books Jul 7, 2026 | 9780734421920 | RRP $17.99 It took me a while to get into this one as the first chapters seemed to move slowly but once it got going, I was thoroughly engaged with this fictionalised slice of history, hitherto unknown to me. That is to say, naturally I knew about…
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Ayaiga: Neighbour and Hero – Thomas Higgs with Colin Hall. Illustrated by Wally Wilfred.
New South Books Publisher: NLA 9781922507785 February 2026 AUD$24.99, NZD$29.99 What an amazing episode from history this is and certainly one I’ve not heard of previously. It makes me wonder how many other little-known Aboriginal heroes are in our history. And how wonderful it is that this book brings this particular story to the attention…
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Newcastle: the lives and times of a city – Scott Bevan
New South Publishing October 2025 9781742238043 RRP: $39.99 Why on earth would a Sydney girl ask to review a book about Newcastle? Growing up and all through school, I knew virtually nothing about Newcastle beyond ‘coal’ ‘dirty industry’ and of course, ‘worst of the worst convicts‘. But then, as an adult and somewhere around the…
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There’s a Prawn in Parliament House: The Kids’ Guide to Australia’s Amazing Democracy – Annabel Crabb
Allen & Unwin September 2025 A & U Children 9781760637750 $24.99 This is one from last year’s pile which was read at the time, thoroughly enjoyed but I ran out of time and space for the review before the break. And, frankly, maybe that’s a good thing. Because if there was ever a time this…
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Change the Date
It’s obviously disturbing to me, as the mother and grandmother of First Nations offspring, that for many the continued ‘celebration’ of 26th January as Australia Day is insensitive at best, offensive at worst. Each year the momentum for changing the date grows, although the upswell of racism we have seen of late can impact this.…
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