About the Book
The Land Downunder is about the people who have made Australia the colourful, exuberant and modern nation it is. They are convicts, pioneers, explorers, adventurers, miners, overlanders, soliders, migrants, sports men and women, and - not least - the First Australians, the Aboriginal people. Many are women: throughout its history, women have been stalwarts of Australian life. The book, a 232 page lavishly illustrated paperback, starts with the story of the convicts sent from England's overcrowded gaols in the late 18th century and put to work in convict settlements at Port Jackson (Sydney) and around the south east of Australia. It concludes with chapters about more recent changes in the political and environmental landscapes of Australia, and its multicultural society. Many of the chapters are linked to songs about Australians written and sung by Ted Egan, and the lyrics are included. A double CD of these 29 songs has been simultaneously produced and is on sale separately or as a book/CD pack. The Land Downunder's twenty three chapters trace the social history of 'the world's greatest island' and its people.
A glossary of Australian terms, and a recommended reading list is included. The book includes over 60 classic pictures, many not published before in the UK. The early chapters tell the story of the convicts shipped from Britain's over-crowded gaols, their life in the penal colonies, and daring attempts at escape. The book charts the experiences of the First Australians, or Aboriginals, after the arrival of the white settlers, their fight for Land Rights, and the 'stolen generation' of half caste Aboriginals who were forcibly removed from their homes to white communities. The emigration to Australia of the first free settlers in the early to mid 19th century is covered, including Caroline Chisholm's 'god fearing' women who were recruited from poor families in England and Ireland to travel to Australia to 'civilise' the men. The stories of the early explorers of Australia's great interior are told, as well as those of the overlanders, shearers, women pioneers and the fortune seekers in the goldrushes of Victoria and Western Australia.
The Spirit of ANZAC is saluted in chapters which deal with the Australian contribution to wars fought by the British, especially at Gallipoli and on the Western Front. Australia's prowess in cricket, rugby, Aussie Rules and many other field and track sports is celebrated. The final chapters touch on contemporary environmental and political issues, and explain how Australia has transformed itself into a vibrant multi-cultural nation. The CD's tracks include some of Ted Egan's best known and loved songs: This Land Australia Jim Jones at Botany Bay Mary, the Girl from Botany Bay God's Police Rider in the Mirage Old Ned The Drover's Boy Granny A Song of Grace The Tiger and the Don
Table of Contents:
Preface by Rolf Harris Introduction Prologue 1. Back In the Old Dart 2. For the Terms of Their Natural Lives 3. Jim Jones & Others at Botany Bay 4. A Bunch of Damned Whores 5. Across the Seas to Freedom 6. Benelong & The White Sea Eagle 7. No Worse, There is None 8. The First Australians 9. Land Rights: The Gentle Persuader 10. The Stolen Generation 11. Free Settlers: God's Police 12. The Sleepy Growth of the Colonies 13. Explorers, Gold, Bushrangers, Eureka 14. Old Bluey & the Intrepid Scot 15. Overlanders, Drovers' Boys, & other women pioneers 16. Multi-cultural Australia? Are You Fair Dinkum? 17. Mining: Boom & Bust 18. The Spirit of ANZAC 19. Greater Love than This: The Man with the Donkey 20. We'll Shear the Union Way 21. The Tiger and the Don 22. Try to Understand 23. Not Alien, Australian Glossary of Terms Recommended Reading List
About the Author :
Ted Egan has lived most of his life in Australia's Northern Territory. In his early career with the Department of Aboriginal Affairs he was mainly in the bush, engaged in stock work and crocodile hunting while employed as a patrol officer and reserve superintendent. Later, he was a teacher at bush schools. Ted Egan has been writing and recording songs since 1969 and has produced 26 albums, strong, consistent sellers. He appears regularly at both folk and country music festivals. He was the presenter of the highly acclaimed Australian TV series, This Land Australia and The Great Outdoors. In the 1991 Honours List, Ted was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) for 'services to the Aboriginal people and for an ongoing contribution to the literary heritage of Australia through song and verse'. He was a member of the first National Reconciliation Council with the Aboriginal people. In November 2003, shortly after launching The Land Downunder in the UK and Australia, Ted Egan was appointed Administrator of the Northern Territory of Australia, in which capacity he is the Queen's representative and fulfils a range of official, administrative and charitable work. He lives with his wife Nerys at Government House, Darwin.
Review :
"I've known and admired Ted Egan for many years, in fact, since he suggested I should record a song he knew called two Little Boys. He is a marvellous man, a great entertainer with a gift for communication. Ted's knowledge of, and empathy for, the people who have shaped our land shines through in this book. It is 'everyman's' Australian history - one which will appeal to young and old alike. As if the words were not enough to bring the story to life, we have the pleasure of listening to his songs. More than 25 songs, written and recorded by Ted, mirror the stories of the men and women we read about. I commend the whole project to anyone who wants to know more about - and get under the skin of - the Land Downunder." Rolf Harris in his Preface to The Land Downunder ""Corny as the title may sound, it's a pithy social commentary on Australian history, from white settlement on, interspersed with many of Egan's favourite songs, including some by his wife, Nerys Evans." The Age, Melbourne, 27 September 2003 "Ted Egan, a legendary figure in his native land, launched The Land Downunder at Australia House in London and with it a double CD of his songs. It is the first time one of his books has been published in the UK but advance orders are already generating a huge response in Australia." Cornish Guardian, 4 September 2003-11-28 "Early contact with the Aborigines gave him deep insight into their ways... Ted went to the Northern Territory at 17, intending to spend three months in Darwin and then travel to South America. ... His big Norfolk challenge is to write a song in honour of the county while he is here and then perform it..." Keith Skipper, Eastern Daily Press, 9 July 2003 "He's known for his beer box drum and his yarns about Aussie life. But with a new album, a new book and a new job, it seems life begins at 71 for balladeer, Ted Egan. Ted's book, The Land Downunder challenges traditional Australian history, instead telling the stories of everyday men and women - from explorers and convicts to shearers, union workers, politicians and sporting heroes." Kathy Bedford, ABC Victoria, October 2003
