Distance Did I[?]
p. 98 · Read in the full issue
In “The Tyranny Of
DISTANCE ” 6y Geoffrey Blainey, Reader in Economic > History at the University ol Melbourne, we get a fascinating study of the impact and results. . that distance have had on Aus tralian history. It was distance j — 12,000 miles of it—that per suaded Britain to send the first convict settlers to Botany Bayi in 1788; it was distance from markets that inspired the first export industries — wool, gold and whaling. It was distance that allowed Australia to develop its largely masculine society in relative peace.
It may be distance—parti cularly distance from Britain— says the author, that will see. the rise of Australia in a new, role in the Antipodes.
This is not just a study of\ Australian history against a background of isolation and the means of overcoming it—trans portation. It is also a study of\ people—of the sailors, sealers „ whalers, aviators, camel-drivers K bullockies, railwaymen and truck\ drivers—who have had a vital role in defeating distance. Ai Sun Books original. $1.95.