Australian Public Intellectual [API] Network

Network Scholars

German Australians in Rural Society 1914-1918

John McQuilton
In the literature devoted to the home front during the first world war there is a general acceptance that the German Australian had moved from being a model citizen in 1914 to the ‘enemy within’ by 1916. The pressures of war and government propaganda demonised the German Australian, creating an ugly social climate that allowed the suspension of civil rights, encouraged witch hunts and personal scores to be settled using ethnicity as an excuse. Michael McKernan has argued that this was deliberate government policy. 1 Australia was a long way from the battlefields of Europe and the ...
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Network Review of Books

A Map of the Gardens (2002)

Reviewed by Sue Bond in the October 2002 issue.
Many of the stories in this collection have the capacity to break the reader's heart. Even the ones I feel are less successful, like 'Le Moustiquaire', contain magic: a cobweb with 'a heart-shape on a string, as if the spider has been flying a festive kite in the night' (p 61) and a book hatching, when new wasps emerge from the nest made on the edges of the pages.'Bird O Circle' tells the story of Beth looking after her godmother Rona's apartment for eight weeks or so in Paris, and the lost way she drinks through all the alcohol she finds there. Beth goes to the Sunday bird markets with an ... read more.

Hot Iron Corrugated Sky: 100 Years of Queensland Writing (2002)

Reviewed by Geoff Parkes in the March 2003 issue.
Despite Queensland's vast geographic spread, it remains, for writers at least, a familiarly small place. One of Hot Iron Corrugated Sky's editors was my childhood librarian, the first who encouraged me to pick up the pen and, more importantly, to keep writing. I've read on several stages with some of the authors whose work is excerpted here, and other authors lectured my former partner at university. Still more, John Birmingham especially, have been easily approachable at festivals, and as an undergraduate student at UQ in the years of the great Demidenko-Darville bust, I wandered the halls of ... read more.

The White Ship: Searching for a Place to Call Home (2002)

Reviewed by Natasha Giardina in the January 2003 issue.
One of the most exciting aspects of children's literature has always been its ability to translate complex social issues into accessible and interesting formats for its young readers, and The White Ship, by Jackie French, is no exception. French's latest offering explores our current debate over refugees and illegal immigrants from a sensitive yet innovative perspective, using a blend of fantastic and historical elements to tell her story. The tale begins in 1572, with a young Huguenot boy, Michel, living on a small island off the French coast. When the prospect of religious persecution ... read more.

The Home Crowd (2002)

Reviewed by Loma Bridge in the June 2003 issue.
Will George Fielden, commercial lawyer and narrator of this book, choose the homey crowd in Yorkshire or the cappucino crowd in Fremantle for his final resting place? Torn between two women -- fiancee Vanessa in Fremantle and ex-girlfriend Kate in Soppstone, George manages to conflate his feelings for them with perceptions of place. An atavistic longing to sink into bad weather, England, ruins, small towns, cottages, the moors, Manchester United, and stone walls is set against the glaring light of Fremantle, a good job, an impending wedding, and an inheritance which would enable George and ... read more.

Under the Wintamarra Tree (2002)

Reviewed by Gillian Dooley in the May 2003 issue.
Under the Wintamarra Tree is the sequel to Doris Pilkington's Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence, which has of course achieved celebrity with Phillip Noyce's film. Under the Wintamarra Tree takes up the story of the author, daughter of Molly whose heroic trek was the subject of the earlier book. Once again, it illustrates vividly the damage which can be done by well-meaning interference and should serve as a cautionary tale for anyone who has kind intentions of improving the lives of those they believe are worse off in some way. This is especially true when cultural barriers prevent them from ... read more.

Your Dreaming: Poets, Pontificators and Expatriates (2002)

Reviewed by Katrina Gulliver in the March 2003 issue.
This is the book of Gillies' successful one-man show, co-scripted with Rundle. The title, Your Dreaming, is an echo of the characteristic Australian expression -- often directed at tall poppies -- 'You're dreaming'. It is equally a reference to the Aboriginal dreamtime, and a joke about the mythmaking of European Australians. The framework is a fantasy conference, 'Your Dreaming: The Prime Minister's Cultural Convention, a symposium on Australia'. A series of prominent Australians appear to discuss Australia's history and future. The Prime Minister introduces and closes the festival.The ... read more.

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