The Copybook: Readings in history and literature

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By Francis Wheatley (?-1801), via the National Portrait Gallery and Wikimedia Commons.

The First Fleet by John Patience Chard

Having brought hundreds of convicts to New South Wales, Arthur Phillip then had to conjure order out of their chaos.

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1

By John Rae (1813-1900), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

A Perpetual Summer transcribed by Caroline Chisholm

A transported convict writes home to England urging his wife to join him as soon as possible.

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2

Everyone Has His Part by William Dampier

William Dampier describes the hand-to-mouth existence of the aborigines of northwest Australia, and reveals a people far advanced in charity.

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3

An Ideal Location by Sir Ernest Scott

Many of Australia’s first cities were planned by British bureaucrats who had never been there, which may explain why they put them in the wrong places.

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4

One Man and his Dog by Edmund Lockyer

English explorer Major Edmund Lockyer tries to buy a puppy in Queensland, but ends up paying the owner to keep him.

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5

By Tom Roberts (1856-1931), via the Royal Collection and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Crimson Thread by Sir Henry Parkes

In 1890, Sir Henry Parkes reminded Australians that they had a natural kinship and declared them ready to manage their own affairs.

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6

Mischievous Interference by The Council of New South Wales

In 1852 the Council of New South Wales sent a strongly-worded petition to London, demanding the right of self-government.

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History of Australia