So, what's this blog going to be about? Well, history, I guess. My main area of interest at the moment is the American Revolution and its connection to Australia, and eighteenth century England from about 1750 but I'm also very interested in Australian Colonial History, 1787-1792, Aboriginal history and the history of Australia during World War 2. In fact, I've written a book on the last subject - The Brisbane Line Controversy. Its out of print now, but you can still buy it on line. I write occasional book reviews for the Review of Australian Studies, mainly on WW2 and Aboriginal history, but some cultural history as well.
I'm also into movies, books, especially history books and politics. I'm a leftie. In fact I'm a socialist, and a member of Socialist Alliance. So there'll probably be a few posts on politics from a left, and sometimes socialist perspective, as well.
I also comment regularly on Larvatus Prodeo.
So far, I'm not very good on linking stuff, but I'll get there.
I guess that's enough for starters.
See ya.
Update: Link to Remembering Aboriginal Heroes book review discussed below, - I hope.
Well done Paul. I've followed your progress from LP and watched you catch and pass me webwise. Just as a by-the-by my Aunty ran a boxing troup and employed Aboriginal fighters.
ReplyDeleteShe sold out to Jimmy Sharman in the late 40's.
The Aboriginal Commission wouldn't allow her to pay her fighters direct. However she had a great rapport with them and on long trips[she took them across the Nullabor to Perth the first to do so]she would see that they had all of the entertainment and comforts she could manage.
Wally Atkinson.
Thanks for commenting, Wally. Re the aboriginal stuff. Some time ago I reviewed a book on Aboriginal celebrities, one of whom was in Jimmy Sharman's boxing troop. I don't have the title as I gave it away to an Aboriginal mate of mine, whose relative was the same said boxer. But you can read a review of it on the Review of Ausatralian Studies website. Just put up Review of Australian Studies + Paul Burns.
ReplyDeleteSorry I can't link, but I'm not that good yet.
Thanks Paul will do.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the blogopshere. The history wars, like god, are not quite dead yet.
ReplyDeleteredbox,
ReplyDeleteMore the New Socialism of the Bolivarian Revolution. So, to the extent that that's pure Marxism, theoretically, yes. But that's not my approach to history. With history I take the empirical approach, and am probably a bit of a historicist, if you take historicism to mean trying to get one's head into the time that one is studying.Though I recognise the philosophical problems with historicism as outlined in Collingwood and Carr. Though at the same time I believe strongly in the Crocean dictum, All history is contemporary history, because its impossible to write history without being influenced by one's own times. The main influence on me in that regard is a healthy cynicism about authority figures, especially in regard to Australian political history. In regard to American Revolutionary politics with the reading I've done, (which is quite wide but not yet wide enough) I'm tending in the same direction, and my biggest influences in this regard would be I think Gary B. Nash and John Ferling.
Kevin Rennie,
Maybe I'm an optimist about the History Wars. But what I'd like to see in Australian history is a return/continuation of vigorous intellectual debate, rather than debate by smear. (Though admittedly I was hard on the ultra rights in my post on the Australian History Wars.)
Re the book on Aboriginal celebrities, any chance you're referring to 'Remembering Aboriginal Heroes' by John Ramsland and Christopher Mooney? Its staring at me from the bookshelf, recently returned to me from my mother. We have a signed copy as my husband works with one of the authors.
ReplyDeleteRayedish
raedical.
ReplyDeleteIt is. Here's the review I wrote:
http://www.nla.gov.au/openpublish/index.php/ras/article/view/614/685
Oh, well, maybe not. I'm not sure if the link works.
The link to the book review works now.
ReplyDeleteAnd I've put in as an update to the post.
ReplyDeleteGDay Paul - congrats on the blog and hope it goes well. I have enjoyed your posts at LP.
ReplyDelete(apologies for delay - it took me a while to get an account up on this thing :p)
Has there ever been a book on Aboriginal warriors and their exploits - thinking Pemulwuy, Windradyne, Yagan, Jandamarra, etc, I'm sure there's many more? And if not, why not :)
Dave,
ReplyDeletePemulway is covered reasonably well in Keith Willey's When The Sky Fell Down, Sydney, 1985.
Alan Atkinson's The Europeans in Australia Vols 1 and 2 treat Pemulway and Yagan respectively briefly.
And I think Connor's book on Aboriginal warfare probably covers all or most of them (the title escapes me as I borrowed it from a library, and I've only read the first 2 chapters, as my specialisation only goes up to 1792. The first chapter gives a very good analysis of the nature of Aboriginal warfare.)
David Collins mentions Pemulway in An Account of the Colony in New South Wales, Vol. I.
Dave,
ReplyDeleteWent away to look up some more books.
Pemulway is also covered in Keith Vincent Smith's Bennelong, Kangaroo Press, 2001.
The Connor reference is : John Connor, The Australian Frontier Wars, 1788-1838. Its a relatively recent publication.
It would probably be worthwhile also looking up Chapter 1 of Grey's Military History of Australia. But its so long since I read that, and then I was somewhat deeply into WW2, so I can't recall what was in it.
There may be a specific book, but if there is I haven't heard of it. As to why not, these warriors tend to be considered in the overall context of the historical narrative, and, if Pemulway is any indication, it may be that the sources are too sparse. The problem with a lot of this stuff, when trying to write from an Aboriginal perspective, is that most, if not all of the primary sources are European, and consequently limited, and Aboriginal oral history has difficulties of its own when one tries to marry it with the European perspective, when going right back to European origins. Witness the Captain Cook myths.
I know what you mean about trying to coment here. It took me years, literally, to work out how to use Google Account. On one or two other blogs where I had to use it I used to lose comment after comment, but I finally got the hang of it.
Hope all of the above is of some help.
Cheers,
PB.
Thanks so much for the sources, time to go a hunting :) - and apologies for taking a while to reply - still fumbling about with all the buttons :)
ReplyDeleteNo worries. Hope you enjoy the reading.
ReplyDeleteAnd Dave,
ReplyDeleteI should also have mentioned Inga Clendinnen's Dancing With Strangers. She has a couple of pages on Pemulway - overall though, its a bit romanticised I suspect. (Though I can be guilty of that myself.)