Australia & Oceania Audiobooks | History

Bulldozed: Scott Morrison’s fall and Anthony Albanese’s rise

Between 2013 and 2022, Tony Abbott begat Malcolm Turnbull, who begat Scott Morrison. For nine long years, Australia was governed by a succession of Coalition governments rocked by instability and bloodletting, and consumed with prosecuting climate and culture wars while neglecting policy. By the end, among his detractors-and there were plenty-Morrison was seen as the worst prime minister since Billy McMahon. Morrison failed to accept the mantle of national leadership, or to deal adequately with the challenges of natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic. He thought reform was a vanity project. He said he never wanted to leave a legacy. He got his wish. Niki Savva, Australia's renowned political commentator, author, and columnist, was there for all of it. In The Road to Ruin, she revealed the ruinous behavior of former prime minister Abbott. In Plots and Prayers, she told the inside story of the coup that overthrew Turnbull and installed his conniving successor, Morrison. Now she lays out the final unravelling of the Coalition at the hands of a resurgent Labor and the so-called teal independents that culminated in the historic 2022 election. With her typical access to key players, and her riveting accounts of what went on behind the scenes, Bulldozed is the unique final volume of an impeccably sourced political trilogy.

Niki Savva (Author), Corinne Davies (Narrator)

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The Australian Frontier Wars: The History of the Conflicts Between Indigenous Groups and Colonists a

A land of almost 3 million square miles has lain since time immemorial on the southern flank of the planet, so isolated that it remained entirely outside of European knowledge until 1770. However, the first human footprints on this vast territory were felt 70,000 years earlier, as people began to cross the periodic land bridges and the short sea crossings from Southeast Asia. The history of the indigenous inhabitants of Australia, known in contemporary anthropology as the “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia,” is a complex and continually evolving field of study, and it has been colored by politics. For generations after the arrival of whites in Australia, the Aboriginal people were disregarded and marginalized, largely because they offered little in the way of a labor resource, and they occupied land required for European settlement. At the same time, it is a misconception that indigenous Australians meekly accepted the invasion of their country by the British, for they did not. They certainly resisted, but as far as colonial wars during that era went, the frontier conflicts of Australia did not warrant a great deal of attention. Indigenous Australians were hardly a warlike people, and without central organization, or political cohesion beyond scattered family groups, they succumbed to the orchestrated advance of white settlement with passionate, but futile resistance. In many instances, aggressive clashes between the two groups simply gave the white colonists reasonable cause to inflict a style of genocide on the Aborigines that stood in the way of progress.

Charles River Editors (Author), Michelle Humphries (Narrator)

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Ḏamurruŋ'puy Mälk Saltwater Skin

Mary E Mccarthy (Author), Mary E Mccarthy (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Aceh War: The History of the Bloody Conflict that Imposed Dutch Rule Over Indonesia

During the 17th century, the Netherlands, despite having only 1.5 million people in 1600, became a global maritime and trading power. By contrast, France at the time had 20 million people, Spain had 8 million, and England had 5 million. Nevertheless, Amsterdam became one of the most important urban centers in the world and the location of the world’s first stock market, and Dutch merchant ships and pirates plied the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean. The Dutch acquired colonies in the East Indies, where they seized control of the spice trade from the Portuguese, and in the West Indies, they acquired a number of islands from the Spanish (several of which are still Dutch today). They became the only Westerners who were allowed to trade with Shogunate Japan from a small island next to Nagasaki, and they settled the town that ultimately became New York City. Naturally, all of this imperialism generated enormous amounts of wealth that flowed into the Netherlands. Naturally, not everybody welcomed the Europeans, and some of the fiercest opposition came from the Sultanate of Aceh. Aceh is now a part of Indonesia, but the people have stubbornly maintained a unique sense of self-identity based on a quite distinct and separate history. Once a major political and military power in the Indian Ocean, its power gradually declined over a period of several centuries, but Aceh successfully maintained its independence until 1873, when the Dutch invaded. The war between the Dutch and the Acehnese was the longest and bloodiest of the many Dutch military campaigns in Indonesia. Even after the Dutch technically subdued them, insurgency campaigns would last well into the 20th century, and sporadic fighting was still ongoing as the Japanese pushed across the Pacific in the 1930s and 1940s.

Charles River Editors (Author), Kc Wayman (Narrator)

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Nation Within: The History of the American Occupation of Hawai'i

In 1893 a small group of white planters and missionary descendants backed by the United States overthrew the Kingdom of Hawai'i and established a government modeled on the Jim Crow South. In Nation Within Tom Coffman tells the complex history of the unsuccessful efforts of deposed Hawaiian queen Lili'uokalani and her subjects to resist annexation, which eventually came in 1898. Coffman describes native Hawaiian political activism, the queen's visits to Washington, D.C., to lobby for independence, and her imprisonment, along with hundreds of others, after their aborted armed insurrection. Exposing the myths that fueled the narrative that native Hawaiians willingly relinquished their nation, Coffman shows how Americans such as Theodore Roosevelt conspired to extinguish Hawai'i's sovereignty in the service of expanding the United States' growing empire.

Tom Coffman (Author), Kaipo Schwab (Narrator)

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Foundations

In Foundations, Karin Speedy takes us on a whirlwind journey through time and space as she navigates intersecting personal, local, family and global histories, stories that help her reckon with who she is and where she stands in this complicated (post)colonial world. If colonialism, slavery, violence and heartbreak feature heavily in her memoir so too do friendship, love, poetry, books, music, laughter and resistance. Warm, funny, quirky yet also confronting and, at times, shockingly brutal, her childhood and young adult memories bring to life the scenes and sounds of 70s, 80s and 90s New Zealand. At university, Karin's unquenchable thirst for knowledge and social justice see her embark on her first research project, a decolonial study of Louisiana Creole, research that cements her future as an anti-racist, activist scholar. Forever questioning the master narratives, digging deeper and peeling back layers to expose what lies hidden beneath and behind, Karin reminds us that history and trauma are all around us, ingrained in our lives, etched into our landscapes and at the very foundations of our cities and infrastructure. When she begins to examine her own family stories, rooted in colonisation and working-class struggle and embedded in the national histories of Aotearoa and Australia, she uncovers astonishing inter-generational palimpsests and starts to grasp the importance of listening to her ghosts. About the Author Karin Speedy is an interdisciplinary academic whose research weaves together her expertise in history, literature, linguistics and translation. She has published extensively on colonial and decolonial Pacific and Francophone history and literature, as well as on Creole languages, slavery and African and Indian Ocean diasporas in the Pacific. In 2013, she was awarded the John Dunmore Medal for research, recognising her major contribution to knowledge of French language and culture in the Pacific.

Karin Speedy (Author), Karin Speedy (Narrator)

Audiobook

Māori History: A Captivating Guide to the History of the Indigenous Polynesian People of New Zealand

Have you ever asked yourself who exactly are the Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand? Find your answer in this guide about Māori history! Through this audiobook, you’ll follow the voyages of ancient Polynesians who arrived on the shores of New Zealand. These early Polynesian settlers eventually transformed into the unique Māori civilization. After falling into prolonged isolation, the Māori people developed their own distinctive culture and lifestyle, feeling they were the only humans in the whole universe. Yet, the solitude was slowly breached by European explorers, who were seeking new lands to trade with and conquer. What followed was a period of peaceful cooperation in which the Western visitors showed respect to the Māori. This guide will then lead you through the times of rising tensions, sparking conflicts between the European settlers and the Māori. However, their struggle wasn’t limited only to armed conflicts but also epidemics and cultural invasion, making their future ultimately uncertain. Despite that, the Māori miraculously managed to persevere through their stubbornness and adaptivity, using politics to preserve their civilization and future. Here are some of the captivating facts you’ll find in this audiobook: - The origins of the Māori people. - How the Māori civilization developed in seclusion from the rest of the world. - What Māori life was like before European contact. - How and when the Māori isolation period ended. - How the European presence changed the Māori civilization. - Why the Māori-European relations soured. - The Māori heroes in the struggles against the colonial settlers. - What happened during the New Zealand Wars. - How the Māori survived the European challenges. Scroll up and click the “add to cart” button to learn more about the Māori people and why it matters!

Captivating History (Author), Jason Zenobia (Narrator)

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Australian History For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Australian History For Dummies is your rough-and-ready tour guide through Australia's whirlwind past. We'll introduce you to the people and events that have shaped this 'Land Down Under' (and why it's called that). You'll see how Indigenous Australians lived in Australia for over 65,000 years. You'll be there as British colonists explore Australia's harsh terrain. You'll delve into the recent past, giving you insight into modern-day Australia and what's next. Australia is a place unlike any other place, and its wild history, with more ups and downs than you'll care to count, makes for a fascinating listen. Bushrangers, the gold rush, the first female prime minister-it's all inside. This new edition fills in the last ten years of history and covers issues faced in the twenty-first century. - Explore the history of indigenous Australia from the ancient past to the modern day - Watch Australia put itself on the map-learn about the intrepid explorers and the discovery of gold - Understand how and why the states were united and meet the major players who made it happen - Examine the social, economic, and political changes that made Australia what it is today

Alex Mcdermott (Author), Tim Garner (Narrator)

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Return to Uluru: The Hidden History of a Murder in Outback Australia

'THIS WEEK'S HOTTEST NEW RELEASES: Murder befouls the outback... [A] gripping work of true crime.' -USA TODAY Return to Uluru explores a cold case that strikes at the heart of white supremacy-the death of an Aboriginal man in 1934; the iconic life of a white, 'outback' police officer; and the continent's most sacred and mysterious landmark. Inside Cardboard Box 39 at the South Australian Museum's storage facility lies the forgotten skull of an Aboriginal man who died eighty-five years before. His misspelled name is etched on the crown, but the many bones in boxes around him remain unidentified. Who was Yokununna, and how did he die? His story reveals the layered, exploitative white Australian mindset that has long rendered Aboriginal reality all but invisible. When policeman Bill McKinnon's Aboriginal prisoners escape in 1934, he's determined to get them back. Tracking them across the so called 'dead heart' of the country, he finds the men at Uluru, a sacred rock formation. What exactly happened there remained a mystery, even after a Commonwealth inquiry. But Mark McKenna's research uncovers new evidence, getting closer to the truth, revealing glimpses of indigenous life, and demonstrating the importance of this case today. Using McKinnon's private journal entries, McKenna paints a picture of the police officer's life to better understand how white Australians treat the center of the country and its inhabitants. Return to Uluru dives deeply into one cold case. But it also provides a searing indictment of the historical white supremacy still present in Australia-and has fascinating, illuminating parallels to the growing racial justice movements in the United States.

Mark Mckenna (Author), David Linski (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Scrap Iron Flotilla: Five Valiant Destroyers and the Australian War in the Mediterranean

The British Admiralty's telegram arrived at Navy Office in Melbourne, the order to go to all-out war. It was coldly succinct: TOTAL GERMANY . The war at sea had begun. When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, the British asked Australia for help. With some misgivings, the Australian government sent five destroyers to beef up the British Royal Navy in the Mediterranean. HMAS Vendetta, Vampire, Voyager, Stuart and Waterhen were old ships, small with worn-out engines. Their crews used to joke they were held together by string and chewing gum; when the Nazi propaganda minister Josef Goebbels heard of them, he sneered that they were a load of scrap iron. Yet by the middle of 1940, these destroyers were valiantly escorting troop and supply convoys, successfully hunting for submarines and indefatigably bombarding enemy coasts. Sometimes the weather could be their worst enemy - from filthy sandstorms blowing off Africa to icy gales from Europe that whipped up mountainous seas and froze the guns. Conditions on board were terrible - no showers or proper washing facilities; cramped and stinking sleeping quarters; unpleasant meals of spam and tinned sausages, often served cold in a howling squall. And always the bombing, the bombing. And the fear of submarines. When Nazi Germany invaded Greece, the Allied armies - including Australian Divisions - reeled in retreat. The Australian ships were among those who had to rescue thousands of soldiers. Then came the Siege of Tobruk - Australian troops holding out in that small Libyan port city. The Australian destroyers ran 'the Tobruk Ferry' - bringing supplies of food, medicine and ammunition into the shattered port by night, and taking off wounded soldiers. Eventually, HMAS Waterhen - 'the Chook', they called her? - was sunk on the Tobruk run, the first Australian warship to be lost to enemy action in the war. Miraculously, there was only one casualty - a man in the galley who was hit in the head by a can of peaches. But the four destroyers now left were struggling, suffering from constant engine breakdowns, with crews beleaguered by two years of bombings, wild seas and the endless fear of being sunk. In late 1941 the ships were finally sent home, staggering back to Australia, proudly calling themselves the Scrap Iron Flotilla in defiance of the Goebbels' sneer. That flotilla is now an immortal part of Australian naval legend, and this is its story. When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, the British asked Australia for help. With some misgivings, the Australian government sent five destroyers to beef up the British Royal Navy in the Mediterranean. HMAS Vendetta, Vampire, Voyager, Stuart and Waterhen were old ships, small with worn-out engines. Their crews used to joke they were held together by string and chewing gum; when the Nazi propaganda minister Josef Goebbels heard of them, he sneered that they were a load of scrap iron. Yet by the middle of 1940, these destroyers were valiantly escorting troop and supply convoys, successfully hunting for submarines and indefatigably bombarding enemy coasts. Sometimes the weather could be their worst enemy - from filthy sandstorms blowing off Africa to icy gales from Europe that whipped up mountainous seas and froze the guns. Conditions on board were terrible - no showers or proper washing facilities; cramped and stinking sleeping quarters; unpleasant meals of spam and tinned sausages, often served cold in a howling squall. And always the bombing, the bombing. And the fear of submarines. When Nazi Germany invaded Greece, the Allied armies - including Australian Divisions - reeled in retreat. The Australian ships were among those who had to rescue thousands of soldiers. Then came the Siege of Tobruk - Australian troops holding out in that small Libyan port city. The Australian destroyers ran 'the Tobruk Ferry' - bringing supplies of food, medicine and ammunition into the shattered port by night, and taking off wounded soldiers. Eventually, HMAS Waterhen - 'the Chook', they called her? - was sunk on the Tobruk run, the first Australian warship to be lost to enemy action in the war. Miraculously, there was only one casualty - a man in the galley who was hit in the head by a can of peaches. But the four destroyers now left were struggling, suffering from constant engine breakdowns, with crews beleaguered by two years of bombings, wild seas and the endless fear of being sunk. In late 1941 the ships were finally sent home, staggering back to Australia, proudly calling themselves the Scrap Iron Flotilla in defiance of the Goebbels' sneer. That flotilla is now an immortal part of Australian naval legend, and this is its story.

Mike Carlton (Author), Mike Carlton (Narrator)

Audiobook

Nabbing Ned Kelly: The extraordinary true story of the men who brought Australia's notorious outlaw

David Dufty goes back to the records to uncover the real story of the police officers who pursued the Kelly Gang. This pacey account of the capture of the Kelly Gang reads like a detective story. He lurched through the gun smoke, his head encased in an iron helmet, and started shooting. To the weary police in the cordon around the Glenrowan hotel, he appeared like a monster, or a creature from hell. For over a century, the Ned Kelly legend has grown and grown. He's become Australia's Robin Hood, and leader of a colonial Irish resistance. How much of the legend is true? This is the real story of the hunt for the Kelly Gang over two long years. As gripping as any police procedural, it is an account of poorly trained officers unfamiliar with the terrain, in pursuit of the most dangerous men in the state. By recounting the story from the perspective of the law, David Dufty gets to the heart of the story and finds answers to many unresolved questions. Why was the gang always one step ahead of the police? Did law-abiding citizens really assist the outlaws? Did the barely literate Ned really write the impassioned Jerilderie Letter? Did the police really persecute the Kelly family?

David Dufty (Author), Grant Cartwright (Narrator)

Audiobook

Destination Buchenwald: The astonishing survival story of Australian and New Zealand airmen in a Naz

The harrowing story of the Allied airmen who experienced the true horrors of Nazism firsthand. It was the summer of 1944 as liberating Allied forces surged towards Paris following the D-Day landings. For a large group of downed airmen being held in that city's infamous Fresnes Prison, they were about to face evacuation into the blackest, bloody heart of Germany and experience the most acute evil of the war. Amid great secrecy, those 168 airmen – including several from Australia and New Zealand – were transported on a filthy, overcrowded nightmare train journey which ended at the notorious Buchenwald concentration camp, accompanied by orders for their execution. At Buchenwald they witnessed extreme depravity that would haunt them to the end of their days. Yet, on returning home, they were confronted by decades of denials from their own governments that they had ever been held in one of Hitler's most vile concentration camps. In conducting his original deep research for this book – now completely expanded and updated – Colin Burgess personally interviewed or corresponded with dozens of the surviving airmen from a number of nations, including their valorous leader, New Zealand Squadron Leader Phil Lamason. Destination Buchenwald tells a compelling story of extraordinary bravery, comradeship and endurance, when a group of otherwise ordinary servicemen were thrust into an unimaginable Nazi hell. 'This was the first book to provide an insight into our experiences as a group of captured allied airmen, betrayed to the Gestapo, tortured and deported to Buchenwald concentration camp. I consider it to be one of the best interpretations of the events as it reflects the voices of the survivors and their challenges to stay alive in such dehumanising circumstances.' Sqn Ldr Stanley Booker, RAF (Rtd.), MBE, Légion D'Honneur: Last surviving member of the Buchenwald airmen

Colin Burgess (Author), Steve Shanahan (Narrator)

Audiobook

Australia & Oceania Audiobooks in History