The late 18th century saw Britain undertake an extraordinary social experiment in its new territories in the South Pacific. An entire colony was to be turned into one vast prison camp. Australia s first white settlers came ashore from the British prison fleet in Botany Bay in 1788. Those that survived the journey, and the others that came later, were often condemned to starvation, disease and horrifying brutality yet, eighty years later, Australia had become a promised land to many. Robert Hughes s magnificent account of ...
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The late 18th century saw Britain undertake an extraordinary social experiment in its new territories in the South Pacific. An entire colony was to be turned into one vast prison camp. Australia s first white settlers came ashore from the British prison fleet in Botany Bay in 1788. Those that survived the journey, and the others that came later, were often condemned to starvation, disease and horrifying brutality yet, eighty years later, Australia had become a promised land to many. Robert Hughes s magnificent account of the transportation system and the years that saw Australia s transition from prison camp to nation is history on an epic scale, told with immense passion, panache and colour. His story of life and death on Australia s fatal shore is the finest record yet written of how 160,000 men, women and children were shipped off the face of the known world and yet began a new nation.
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As luck would have it, I recently [2001] had the opportunity to make a brief business trip to Australia. I knew very little about Australia and thought the best way to get some brief but non-superficial background would be to learn something of its history. I opted to read Robert Hughes's book which tells the story of Australia's founding and of its convict past. The book is lengthy, even too lengthy to complete on the 14 hour flights from the West Coast of the United States to Sydney and back. But the story was fascinating, and the book was well worth the attention and effort.
Hughes tells the story of the discovery of Australia, the decision of Great Britain to "transport" its convicted to the continent, the various kinds of lives the convicts found there, the aboriginal settlers and their treatment by the newcomers, and the ultimate creation of a new society. There are harrowing accounts of the passage from Britain to Australia in the convict ships, and still shocking accounts of the secondary places of punishment created in Australia for repeat offenders -- places such as Norfolk Island, Port Aurthur, and Macquarrie Bay. Hughes describes these nineteenth century camps as precursors of the Gulag in our own time, and I am afraid he is correct. They reminded me to of Andersonville Prison in our own Civil War but on a much broader, more wicked scale. The description of the prisons and barbaric punishments were to me the most vivid portions of the book.
Besides the horror stories, there is a great deal of nuanced, thoughtful writing in the book about the settlement and building of Australia and of the dangers of facile over-generalization about how the convicts fared, or about virtually any other historical subject. Some were able to serve out their sentences and rise to prosperity and a new life. Others were shamefully abused. The history of the aboriginal peoples too is described and it is an unhappy subject, alas.
Hughes begins with the early days of the transport and concludes when the system was finally abolished in the 1850's as a result of protests and of the Australian gold rush.
After reading this book, I thought I had realized my goal of learning something of Australia. More importantly, I felt part of the land even though I hadn't seen it before and will likely never see it again. Places that I read about and that were only names took on character and importance.
I have read a substantial amount of United States history but hadn't read about Australia before. This book is well-documented, eloquently written and has a feel for the pulse of its subject. It is an outstanding work of history and is sure to broaden the human perspective of the reader.
Robin Friedman
maroubra
Nov 14, 2008
met expectations
Well written. I needed a dictionary next to me. A different perspective on English convict history. If you love to learn this is a wonderfully fulfilling book.
Gatortrapper
Oct 11, 2007
You'll Be Ready for an Australian History Test
I bought this book to read while I visited Australia and highly recommend it as explained below. This is indeed the preeminent work on the early history of Australia. Academic in style and presentation I recommend that a dictionary be at hand. Still, even though it is written by an academic the level of enlightening detail is so awesome that it is a must read if you want to know the real story of Australia. You will learn the political and social conditions in England that led to the transportation policy, first to the USA, and then after the Revolutionary War, to the far flung ?paradise? of Australia. It is incredible the amount of actual accounts from prisoners, free farmers (immigrants and prisoners whose sentences were completed) and the military and political representatives of the King that are included. Valuable data summaries and 80 plus pages of endnotes provide all the sources you will ever need. The description of the conditions of the various ?fleets? (the first few are merely referenced by number because they were so notorious), the theft of stores (food and clothing) by the shipping agents and ship crew, the inhumane conditions before and after being shipped of those transported. All this an much, much more. Again, a must read if you want to know about Australia.
CaptainFez
Apr 2, 2007
Australia's early brutality captured in full
Robert Hughes - better known to many as a respected art writer - tackles Australia's early history in The Fatal Shore. Being Australian, it is difficult to view this impartially, but it's a refreshing break from the often misguided painting of early migrants as all being hardworking, salt-of-the-earth people. There's bias and [quite possibly] factual error, but it presents a more fully-fleshed sense of the difficulties of birthing a colony - and a prison one at that. If you're looking for brutality, cannibalism and a good discussion of the problems found mapping gentility onto a place that was initially configured as an oubliette, this is your book. It's all told with Hughes' typical pugilistic erudition, and is as readily consuming as any airport fiction around.
