Since its early history, Australia has seen the Pacific as a vast, empty region where foreign powers threatened its security. This focus has undermined our effectiveness in the region.
The river wasn’t merely a physical entity – it was a symbol of spiritual and cultural significance, serving as the the life force which flows through Country.
Australians could once claim compensation for injuries arising from a broken engagement. Today, the responsibility for romantic injury has been individualised and feminised, its pain trivialised.
The heated debate around the Voice referendum demonstrated Australian history is still up for grabs. So Kate Fullagar’s new book, Bennelong and Phillip, is both critical and timely.