Australians All: A History of Growing Up from the Ice Age to the Apology
Illustrated by Ken Searle
Allen & Unwin, 2013
Australians All encompasses the history of our continent from the Ice Age to the Apology, from the arrival of the First Fleet to the Mabo Judgement.
While the chronological narrative takes in the significant events of our national story, accounts of the lives of real young Australians invite readers to engage with it in a unique and personal way.
In this lavishly illustrated volume, new artwork by Ken Searle flows seamlessly between reproductions of historical photographs and cartoons and paintings by Aboriginal and colonial artists.
Meticulously researched, beautifully written and highly readable, Australians All helps us understand who we are, and how we belong to the land we all share. It also shows us who we might be.
Selected Reviews
“In Australian histories there is a particular group whose tales and presence and concerns are rarely narrated. These are the children and adolescents … Their stories are our stories too, and their stories are our history, and Nadia Wheatley, that great writer, tells that wide-ranging story in a way so imaginative and colourful that it would attract any young person, and make young readers feel that many of their personal struggles have been faced before, by children of the past and present. Nadia has performed an essential service to history and the young.”
“Nadia Wheatley combines her skills as a historian with her ability as a writer to hold readers by subtly drawing them into her narrative whilst challenging them both intellectually and emotionally. This is a groundbreaking publication in that Nadia provides a lens that allows Australians to view their history through fresh insights that will render run of the mill history books obsolete.”
“Wheatley confronts major issues such as immigration, climate change and national identity, asking difficult questions and challenging her readers to examine their ideas in the light of our past. Her simple, free-flowing, direct style is warm and accessible, and Searle’s design and illustrations make every chapter opening appealing.”
