The British Bombs Down Under
The legacy of a decade of British weapons testing in its vast central deserts has forced Australia into an uncomfortable reckoning with its nuclear past.
Australia
What Factor Has Most Shaped Australian History?
All national histories are contentious and partial. What are the defining themes in Australia’s story?
Drinking to Australian Democracy
The colony of New South Wales did not have its own parliament until 1856, but it did have a tradition of public dinners and politically charged toasts.
Victorian Science’s Duck-Billed Enigma
By the 19th century, standard classification systems were struggling with new species. Then the platypus arrived.
Wool Aliens of the British Empire
From imported plant species to water pollution, Britain’s 19th century wool trade transformed the world.
Rum and Reform: The Party on Norfolk Island
As convicts celebrated Queen Victoria’s birthday on remote Norfolk Island, debates raged over the purpose of punishment and the merits of Alexander Maconochie’s project of moral reform.
Jukurrpa
The sacred sites of Aboriginal art.
Captain Cook’s Contested Claim to Australia
Terra nullius has long been at the heart of why the British did not treat with Aboriginal people following James Cook’s arrival in Australia. But should it be?
The Multicultural Outback
Continental Australia has a surprising history of South Asian immigration.
A Separate Australia
Western Australia’s desire to secede as ‘Westralia’ in 1933 was undermined by a change in Britain’s attitude towards its Empire.