Only a stone’s throw from central Sydney, the northern arm of Port Jackson, otherwise known as Middle Harbour, has a mystique all of its own. Unlike most Australian city environs, Middle Harbour was almost entirely neglected during the first two centuries of European settlement. As such, it still contains regions of virtually untouched bushland, and a surprising history to match. Times & Tides by acclaimed historian Gavin Souter is an exploration of this unique – and precious – part of Australia. In prose that is lucid and informed, Souter trawls back and forth in time to create an evocative and multi-layered narrative encompassing Aboriginal life, European arrival, modern suburbs and the natural history of bays, creeks and the bush. Fascinating and insightful, Times & Tides is also a very personal account by someone who has lived within sight of Middle Harbour for almost fifty years. First published in 2004, and rereleased now for the first time digitally, Times & Tides won the North Shore Historical Society’s Isabella Brierley Prize.
When Sydney Observed was first published in 1965 (under the title Sydney), and illustrated throughout with the striking photographs of Quintin F. Davis, it won instant and rapturous praise from reviewers across Australia and beyond. Within the space of a few years it came to be regarded as the best single piece ever written about the city. ‘Write the text of a new book about Sydney?’ a distinguished writer asked his publisher. ‘But after Souter, what’s left to say?’ A second hardback edition featuring the iconic illustrations of talented fellow Sydneysider, George Molnar, was released in 1968. It is this edition we proudly reproduce digitally here for the very first time. In prose that is measured, astute, wry and always entertaining, Gavin Souter has captured the Emerald City’s fortunes, foibles, past and future. He has produced a work that is as timely, relevant and lucid today as it was when first published. Sydney Observed, illustrated by George Molnar, is a small masterpiece – a book for giving, keeping, reading and re-reading. Reviews of Sydney Observed ‘Here, for once, is a description of Sydney which is unblinking but good-mannered, appreciative but unsentimental, factual but not a tourists’ guide, opinionated but never eccentric … a brilliant mosaic.’ The Sydney Morning Herald ‘Brilliantly successful.’ The Times Literary Supplement ‘Unfalteringly entertaining.’ The Age
The northern Sydney suburb of Mosman, a verdant peninsula between Port Jackson and Middle Harbour, has historically been known for its whaling and careening, pleasure grounds, artists’ and bohemians’ camps, and army fortifications. To the present day it is distinguished from other communities by a continuing military presence, the world famous Taronga Zoo, its scenic bush beaches, ferry travel and sailing. Acclaimed historian Gavin Souter traces a two-centuries’ course of change from Aboriginal habitation to convict farming, wharfage, residential subdivision, quarrying, and eventually what Henry Lawson called Mosman’s ‘red-tiled roofs of comfort’. The story begins with the Borogegal, a clan first encountered by Europeans in 1788, and ends with the centenary of Mosman Council, controversies about environmental planning, and the rampage of a serial murderer. Mosman deals with all the essentials of its subject (politics, schools, churches, sports, crime rates, garbage and sewerage), but more importantly it offers an illuminating case study from the wide-spread but sparsely documented social class of which Mosman is a microcosm. This life story of a remarkable suburb is notable for its extensive research, vivid detail and engrossing narrative – a combination not always encountered in the genre of local history. First published in 1994, Xoum is proud to release for the first time digitally the definitive history of the Sydney suburb of Mosman.
In 1893 almost 500 Australians set out by ship to plant a communist utopia in the heart of Paraguay. Led by socialist journalist and activist, William Lane, their aim was to realise the cherished Australian principles of equality and mateship. It was not to be. Expulsions and secessions began early; in mid-1894 Lane himself seceded with a loyal minority and founded Cosme, some forty-five miles south of the original settlement, but two years later the new colony had deteriorated and dwindled. Acclaimed historian Gavin Souter unravels the history of the New Australia movement, exploring the motivations and motives of its members, its organisation, the conflicts and dissension and the final disillusionment. He suggests a number of factors contributing to the venture’s failure, not the least being William Lane’s contradictory personality. Meticulously researched and based on countless interviews with descendants of the original settlers, A Peculiar People is a work of literary as well as historical value. Winner of the Foundation of Australian Literary Studies award, it brings the fascinating story of idealism, courage and human fallibility to vivid life. Reviews of A Peculiar People ‘The most complete, objective and altogether satisfying account – by turns ironic, sardonic, compassionate, frequently evocative and finally haunting.’ Australian Book Review ‘An excellent book, lively in its narrative and judicious in its interpretations.’ The Age ‘Souter … writes with admirable clarity and can make a story, period and cast of people come alive – exciting, absurd and gallant by turns.’ The Bulletin
Leon Maxwell Gellert was born in 1892 in Walkerville, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. After an education at Adelaide High School, he embarked on a teaching career; first at Unley High School then later at the University of Adelaide’s Teacher Training College. Gellert enlisted with the AIF’s 10th Battalion within weeks of the outbreak of the World War I and sailed for Cairo in October 1914. He landed at Ari Burnu Beach, Gallipoli, in April 1915, but was wounded and repatriated as medically unfit just over a year later. He attempted to re-enlist but was soon found out. Back home in Adelaide, he returned to teaching. During the War Gellert had begun to write poetry and his first collection, Songs of a Campaign, was published in 1917 and favourably reviewed by the Bulletin. Angus & Robertson were suitably impressed and soon released a new edition, illustrated by Norman Lindsay. Gellert moved to Sydney where he taught English at Cleveland Street Intermediate High School until 1922. He then took to journalism and joined the staff at tabloid newspaper Smith’s Weekly. There he was introduced to the circle that included Sydney Ure Smith and Bertram Stevens. Gellert was appointed editor of Ure Smith’s Home magazine and co-editor of the quarterly Art in Australia which he took over following Stevens’ death in 1922. Gellert continued editing Home until 1942 when it ceased publication. He then became literary editor of the Sydney Morning Herald, writing the ‘Something Personal’ column in the Saturday issue as well as humorous columns for the Sunday Herald and the Sunday Telegraph. He returned to Adelaide after the death of his wife Kathleen in 1969, living in the suburb of Hazelwood Park. Leon Gellert died in 1977. Gavin Souter’s biography of Leon Gellert, A Torrent of Words, was first published in 1996 and is released here digitally for the very first time.
Lion & Kangaroo is one of Australia’s great works of history, a rich chronicle of the nation’s coming-of-age. With intelligence, wisdom and wit, acclaimed historian Gavin Souter captures all the milestones of Australia’s first decades, from the constitutional conventions of the nineteenth century to the turbulent years that followed World War I. Painting unforgettable portraits of scores of the most fascinating participants, he traces a national character in evolution. First published in 1976 and rereleased digitally by Xoum for the first time, Lion & Kangaroo is both profound and insightful. It is impossible to comprehend contemporary Australia without first reading it. Reviews of Lion & Kangaroo ‘Souter is a writer of great distinction … This book is the work of a man who can impose on the chaos of the past an order that lifts the work into the realms of art without doing violence to the events or sacrificing the standards of scholarship as defined by the academics. It is a great achievement.’ Manning Clark ‘A superb evocation of Australian life in the years between federation and the First World War, showing how imperial sentiment dominated our lives and left a vacuum in Australia’s national identity … Souter’s book is beautifully written, lucid, witty and compelling.’ Gough Whitlam ‘Souter has written a masterpiece … The book, assiduously researched for its making, is materially explosive … Souter lets the material do its own erupting, then shapes it to his magnificent control. A mighty work of history.’ The Courier-Mail
Lion and Kangaroo is one of Australia's great works of history, an extraordinarily rich chronicle of the nation's coming-of-age. With sparkling wit Gavin Souter captures all the milestones of Australia's first decades, from the constitutional conventions of the nineteenth century to the turbulent years that followed the Great War. Painting unforgettable portraits of scores of the most fascinating participants, he traces a national character in evolution. It is impossible to comprehend contemporary Australia without this book.
Lion & Kangaroo is one of Australia’s great works of history, a rich chronicle of the nation’s coming-of-age. With intelligence, wisdom and wit, acclaimed historian Gavin Souter captures all the milestones of Australia’s first decades, from the constitutional conventions of the nineteenth century to the turbulent years that followed World War I. Painting unforgettable portraits of scores of the most fascinating participants, he traces a national character in evolution. First published in 1976 and rereleased digitally by Xoum for the first time, Lion & Kangaroo is both profound and insightful. It is impossible to comprehend contemporary Australia without first reading it. Reviews of Lion & Kangaroo ‘Souter is a writer of great distinction … This book is the work of a man who can impose on the chaos of the past an order that lifts the work into the realms of art without doing violence to the events or sacrificing the standards of scholarship as defined by the academics. It is a great achievement.’ Manning Clark ‘A superb evocation of Australian life in the years between federation and the First World War, showing how imperial sentiment dominated our lives and left a vacuum in Australia’s national identity … Souter’s book is beautifully written, lucid, witty and compelling.’ Gough Whitlam ‘Souter has written a masterpiece … The book, assiduously researched for its making, is materially explosive … Souter lets the material do its own erupting, then shapes it to his magnificent control. A mighty work of history.’ The Courier-Mail
Only a stone’s throw from central Sydney, the northern arm of Port Jackson, otherwise known as Middle Harbour, has a mystique all of its own. Unlike most Australian city environs, Middle Harbour was almost entirely neglected during the first two centuries of European settlement. As such, it still contains regions of virtually untouched bushland, and a surprising history to match. Times & Tides by acclaimed historian Gavin Souter is an exploration of this unique – and precious – part of Australia. In prose that is lucid and informed, Souter trawls back and forth in time to create an evocative and multi-layered narrative encompassing Aboriginal life, European arrival, modern suburbs and the natural history of bays, creeks and the bush. Fascinating and insightful, Times & Tides is also a very personal account by someone who has lived within sight of Middle Harbour for almost fifty years. First published in 2004, and rereleased now for the first time digitally, Times & Tides won the North Shore Historical Society’s Isabella Brierley Prize.
The northern Sydney suburb of Mosman, a verdant peninsula between Port Jackson and Middle Harbour, has historically been known for its whaling and careening, pleasure grounds, artists’ and bohemians’ camps, and army fortifications. To the present day it is distinguished from other communities by a continuing military presence, the world famous Taronga Zoo, its scenic bush beaches, ferry travel and sailing. Acclaimed historian Gavin Souter traces a two-centuries’ course of change from Aboriginal habitation to convict farming, wharfage, residential subdivision, quarrying, and eventually what Henry Lawson called Mosman’s ‘red-tiled roofs of comfort’. The story begins with the Borogegal, a clan first encountered by Europeans in 1788, and ends with the centenary of Mosman Council, controversies about environmental planning, and the rampage of a serial murderer. Mosman deals with all the essentials of its subject (politics, schools, churches, sports, crime rates, garbage and sewerage), but more importantly it offers an illuminating case study from the wide-spread but sparsely documented social class of which Mosman is a microcosm. This life story of a remarkable suburb is notable for its extensive research, vivid detail and engrossing narrative – a combination not always encountered in the genre of local history. First published in 1994, Xoum is proud to release for the first time digitally the definitive history of the Sydney suburb of Mosman.
“The story of the Lucky Iron Fish is a great example of how business can be a force for good.”— MICHELE ROMANOW, Dragons’ Den host and CEO, Clearbanc Research into iron deficiency and entrepreneurial determination brought the Lucky Iron Fish to cooking pots around the world. When Canadian researcher Dr. Christopher Charles was studying the devastation caused by iron deficiency in impoverished populations in Southeast Asia, he discovered an innovative way to help people get iron into their diets: place an iron ingot right into their cooking pots. Dr. Gavin Armstrong, a biomedical scientist and entrepreneur, built upon Charles’s findings to develop, manufacture, and distribute that ingot, which became the Lucky Iron Fish, a cost-effective solution to iron deficiency. The business thrived and the product was recognized around the world by NGOs and organizations such as World Vision, CARE International, Catholic Relief Services, and GlobalMedic. While sustaining growth through the pandemic was a challenge, Lucky Iron Fish met it head-on and now looks ahead to a bright future.
This important book draws together, for the first time, a vastwealth of information on all major aspects of the farming of Arcticcharr, a highly prized and commercially valuable salmonid. Theauthor, Gavin Johnston who has many years' experience of farmingArctic charr, teaching about and researching the species, hasproduced a book that is a landmark publication and an essentialpurchase for all those involved with the species. The book is broadly divided into three sections. The firstsection covers Arctic charr interactions with humans and thecharr's biological requirements for culture. Section two is apractical guide to the art and science of early-rearing Arcticcharr; a hands on application of current knowledge in Arctic charraquaculture. The final section of the book focuses on thecommercial production of Arctic charr, providing cutting-edgeinformation for all those involved in the exploitation of thisvaluable species. Arctic Charr Aquaculture is an essential purchase foranyone involved in, or considering involvement in farming of thisspecies. Farm managers and other personnel in fish farms andexperimental aquaculture units, fish and aquatic biologists willfind a huge amount of useful data in this book. Libraries in alluniversity departments and research establishments whereaquaculture, fisheries and fish biology are studies and taughtshould have copies of this book on their shelves. This book bringstogether for the first time the knowledge needed to farm and marketArctic Charr. Part One is an overview of Arctic Charr aquaculturebeginning with the history and development of Charr aquaculture,the biological attributes of Arctic Charr, the physicalrequirements for growth and commercial production requirements.Other chapters are devoted to Charr health, nutrition and feeding.Part Two is a practical guide for the producer operating an ArcticCharr farm either as a vertically integrated operation or asdiscrete hatcheries and grow out farms. Part Three is devoted tothe business of commercially producing Arctic Charr, and althoughit deals specifically with Charr it also covers many businessaspects of farming relevant to any fish species under cold watercultivation. It covers farm business management, the economics andfinance of Arctic Charr farming, marketing Charr products and aclosing section on how to avoid the pitfalls which others includingthe author have experienced.
First published in 1991 this paperback edition has been updated to include the latest chapter in the rise and fall of the Fairfax media dynasty, the proprietorship of Conrad Black and the Tourang syndicate. The book won the A A Phillips Prize for Australian Studies in the 1991 Victorian Premier's Awards. The author, a former journalist on the 'Sydney Morning Herald' and company historian of the John Fairfax Group, has also written an earlier history of the group, TCompany of Heralds'.
In 1893 almost 500 Australians set out by ship to plant a communist utopia in the heart of Paraguay. Led by socialist journalist and activist, William Lane, their aim was to realise the cherished Australian principles of equality and mateship. It was not to be. Expulsions and secessions began early; in mid-1894 Lane himself seceded with a loyal minority and founded Cosme, some forty-five miles south of the original settlement, but two years later the new colony had deteriorated and dwindled. Acclaimed historian Gavin Souter unravels the history of the New Australia movement, exploring the motivations and motives of its members, its organisation, the conflicts and dissension and the final disillusionment. He suggests a number of factors contributing to the venture’s failure, not the least being William Lane’s contradictory personality. Meticulously researched and based on countless interviews with descendants of the original settlers, A Peculiar People is a work of literary as well as historical value. Winner of the Foundation of Australian Literary Studies award, it brings the fascinating story of idealism, courage and human fallibility to vivid life. Reviews of A Peculiar People ‘The most complete, objective and altogether satisfying account – by turns ironic, sardonic, compassionate, frequently evocative and finally haunting.’ Australian Book Review ‘An excellent book, lively in its narrative and judicious in its interpretations.’ The Age ‘Souter … writes with admirable clarity and can make a story, period and cast of people come alive – exciting, absurd and gallant by turns.’ The Bulletin
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