Showing titles in Australia, New Zealand & Oceania

Authored by Samuel Milner, this book delves into the critical campaign in Papua New Guinea, offering a detailed examination of the strategic battles, operational challenges, and the indomitable spirit of the Allied forces tasked with halting Japanese expansion in the Southwest Pacific. Through meticulous research and compelling narrative, Milner captures the harsh realities of jungle warfare, the strategic significance of the region, and the extraordinary efforts of the soldiers who fought there.

From the Aboriginal Dreamtime to the arrival of the First Fleet, from the gold rushes to the world wars, this audiobook is a magical tale full of wonder and enchantment. And with a narrative style that will transport you to another world, you'll feel like you're right there, watching history unfold before your very eyes.

Criminality, some say, is part of Australia's national identity, and in Great Australian Rascals, Rogues and Ratbags Jim Haynes profiles 15 larger-than-life Aussie rogues. These stories uncover the truth and expose the myths about characters ranging from the most despicable examples of humanity, to those whose courage has to be admired and whose so-called 'crimes' were unjustly punished. Told with Haynes's inimitable combination of history and humour, Great Australian Rascals, Rogues and Ratbags is packed with murders, mystery and miscreants.

This is the story of William McKenzie, whose tireless work as a Salvation Army chaplain among the Anzacs in World War I earned him the nickname 'Fighting Mac'. Though he spoke out against booze, brothels, betting, and bad language—favourite vices of the troops—he was much loved and respected.

Closely related to one of the world's wealthiest families, Mary left her seaside home in England in 1844 to follow her husband, Dr. Christopher Rawson Penfold, to South Australia. Mary and Christopher settled on a farm in the Adelaide Hills, and as Christopher made his rounds visiting patients on horseback, Mary tended grapevines and planted in the garden beside their stone cottage, The Grange. At first, the wines Mary made were used as tonics for patients, but at a time when women were often excluded from commerce, Mary transformed her cottage industry into an empire.

This book is an exposure of some of the difficulties that challenged the promoters, the legislature, and the settlers. It also records the enterprise and tenacity of the powerful community ethic that saved the settlement from total collapse. A core group of settlers at great cost to themselves by continuing to work when their wages defaulted, showed that notwithstanding a lack of financial capital, they could dedicate abundant social capital to the cause.

Like it or not, 26 January in Australia has become a significant day of both celebration and mourning. Most countries, if not all, have a national day. The reasons to celebrate a national day include independence from a colonial power, the signing of a treaty, or an act by a monarch, political leader or patron saint. Australia is the only country whose national day celebrates the colonisation of an already occupied territory. Controversially, it continues to do this despite most of its citizens both acknowledging this and the devastating impact upon its original inhabitants.

Like it or not, 26 January in Australia has become a significant day of both celebration and mourning. Most countries, if not all, have a national day. The reasons to celebrate a national day include independence from a colonial power, the signing of a treaty, or an act by a monarch, political leader or patron saint. Australia is the only country whose national day celebrates the colonisation of an already occupied territory. Controversially, it continues to do this despite most of its citizens both acknowledging this and the devastating impact upon its original inhabitants.

Brought to you by Penguin. An in-depth exploration of one of the little known battles of World War II. It began as a routine attempt by the US to take a small and negligibly strategic airstrip on a remote island in the Pacific and ended up as a blood-soaked battle of over two months which left...

In 1938 sculptor Karl Duldig, his wife Slawa Horowitz-Duldig—inventor of the modern foldable umbrella—and their baby daughter Eva, left their home in Vienna for an uncertain future. They found a brief refuge in Singapore before arriving in Sydney on 25 September 1940. Australia was at war: they were classified as enemy aliens and interned in an isolated camp in northern Victoria.

Nancy Wake was a brave woman. She risked her life behind enemy lines during the Nazi occupation of France in the Second World War. The Gestapo dubbed her “The White Mouse” for her uncanny ability to evade their traps. When it became too dangerous, she left France—not to flee—but to join the resistance. Before the war, Nancy lived a life of luxury with her husband, a wealthy French industrialist.

Mit einer Begrüßung hat er sich gar nicht erst aufgehalten. Schon als dieser scharfe, heiße Fremde behauptete, wir wären verlobt, wurde mir schwindlig. Dann hat er den Tyrannen in die Flucht geschlagen, der uns auf den Fersen war, und mich für die Nacht zu sich nach Hause geschleppt. Der helle Wahnsinn, oder? Falsch gedacht.Wenn du obdachlos und auf der Flucht bist und deinen kranken Vater in einem Truck transportierst, der so alt ist, dass er schon auf der Arche Noah gestanden haben muss, schluckst du deinen Stolz hinunter.

Australia has a unique place in the history of outlaw motorcycle gangs. From the clubs' beginnings in the swinging '60s, their entry into the amphetamine market in the 1970s, through to the 1984 Milperra Massacre that made world headlines, to the Sydney airport brawl between the Hell's Angels and Comancheros and the brutal murder of Anthony Zervas, Outlaw Bikers in Australia tells how these 'one per cent deviants' grew to dominate the recreational drug market and became major players in the international outlaw biker scene.

The Pursuit is Plan Z is the unlikely origin story of the intelligence coup that led to the largest naval battle in history, in World War II's Pacific Theater, resulting in the most crushing defeat the U.S. Navy has ever inflicted on an enemy force. In March 1944, the Japanese admiral in charge...

In 1931 Molly led her two sisters on an extraordinary 1600-kilometre walk across remote Western Australia. Aged eight, eleven and fourteen, they escaped the confinement of a government institution for Aboriginal children removed from their families. Barefoot, without provisions or maps, tracked by Native Police and search planes, the girls followed the rabbit-proof fence, knowing it would lead them home.

Se trata sin duda del arte más primitivo de nuestro tiempo y presenta serias semejanzas con los estilos más antiguos de nuestra historia, que todavía no puede explicar convincentemente la escasa evolución técnica y social de algunas partes de África y Oceanía. Esta escasa evolución...

Kamehameha the Great became the sovereign monarch during a time of rapid transition for his islands. His rivals were no longer limited to the kings of Hawaii, Maui, Oahu and Kauai. Ambitious men had arrived from America, England, France, Portugal and Spain, either offering their war material and service personnel to the highest bidder or staking a claim of the islands for themselves and their masters.

Darwin longgrassers have been living large since the beginning. They come from all over the Territory to camp in the public spaces around town, to catch up with family and friends, attend health and legal matters, holiday and shop, and drink. Especially drink. And the whitefellas don’t like it. They think they’re noisy and dirty and rude. So, they try to move them on. For 150 years they’ve been trying to move them on. But the longgrassers won’t go. Yet beneath this running battle between the settled and the free lurks an undeniable truth about colonisation that is almost Newtonian in style.

This synopsis is an invitation to see New Zealand’s history through an A.I. lens, unclouded by judgement, aiming to respect all perspectives. From the arrival of the Polynesians to the colonial era and beyond, this book delves into the rich heritage, significant events and key figures that have shaped the nation. Through an objective lens, listeners gain insight into the land’s Māori origins, European settlement, the Treaty of Waitangi, socio-economic developments and contemporary challenges.

Am frühen Morgen des 20. Januars 1988 hatte Faye Knowles mit ihren drei Söhnen eine Begegnung mit einem unbekannten Flugobjekt auf einer einsamen Wüstenstraße zwischen Madura und Mundrabilla in Westaustralien. In diesem Hörspiel gibt es eine ausführliche Zusammenfassung der Geschehnisse zu hören.