Australia's Empire [Hardcover]

This is the first major collaborative reappraisal of Australia's experience of empire since the end of the British Empire itself.

The volume examines the meaning and importance of empire in Australia across a broad spectrum of historical issues-ranging from the disinheritance of the Aborigines to the foundations of a new democratic state. The overriding theme is the distinctive Australian perspective on empire. The country's adherence to imperial ideals and aspirations involved not merely the building of a 'new Britannia' but also the forging of a distinctive new culture and society. It was Australian interests and aspirations which ultimately shaped Australia's Empire .

While modern Australians have often played down the significance of their British imperial past, the contributors to this book argue that the legacies of empire continue to influence the temper and texture of Australian society today.

Introduction: What Became of Australia's Empire?,Deryck M. Schreuder and Stuart Ward
Part I Contact: The projection of empire
1. The Saga of Captain Cook,Hobbles Danaiyarri
2. Conquest,Alan Atkinson
3. Settling the Land: The Making of Rural Australia,Richard Waterhouse
4. Indigenous Subjects,Ann Curthoys
5. New Visions from Old: Art and the Environment,Anne Gray
Part II Dynamics: The instruments of empire
6. Empire, State, Nation,John Hirst
7. Migrations: The Career of White British Australia,Eric Richards
8. Religion and Identity,Hilary M. Carey
9. Money: Trade, Investment and Australian Nationalism,Geoffrey Bolton
10. Security: Defending Australia's Empire,Stuart Ward
Part III Cultures: An imagined empire
11. Monarchy: From Reverence to Indifference,Mark McKenna
12. War and Commemoration: The Responsibility of Empire,Joy Damousi