| Original copies of the Aldine histories of New South Wales, Queensland and
South Australia are extremely hard to come by. They really are an historian's
goldmine of information, and present a comprehensive and beautifully illustrated
record of the history of each colony together with its prominent inhabitants.
Written by W. Frederic Morrison over a three year period, these multi-volume
books are an essential reference work if researching in Queensland, New South
Wales or South Australia. Authoritative, not only in the narrative history, but
with the many thousands of biographies included of early personalities and noted
identities for each region. They also include beautiful photographs and sketches
of scenes and buildings illustrating life and places as they were in the past.
New South Wales - 1365 pages
The first volume comprises the history of New South Wales, and includes
topics such as the early explorers, geography, aborigines, flora and fauna,
governors of New South Wales as well as the Constitution. Volume two has
another four chapters which complete the history section. The fascinating
part of this set of books (apart from the hundreds of superb illustrations
throughout), is the large biographical section which consists of nearly half
of the whole set. The biographies of noted identities cover not only those
from Sydney city, but also from the suburbs and regional areas. Each are
grouped by town and have at least a paragraph on each person, though some
are quite extensive. Includes all known variant editions.
Queensland - 1083 pages
Written as a 'celebration of the centennial year of the settlement of
Australia' it includes chapters on Australian and Queensland history from
the exploration of Australia through to the different districts of the
colony of Queensland in 1888. It contains information on the different
governors, the national constitution, interior exploration, resources,
religious work, education, recreation, and a large biographical section. It
also includes over 500 illustrations of people and places along with several
maps. The really fascinating part of this set of books (apart from the
gorgeous illustrations throughout), is the large Appendix section which
consists of over 320 pages of biographies and photographs of Queensland's
noted people. The biographies have been grouped by towns. Includes two of
the three known editions.
South Australia - 1089 pages
The first volume is divided into thirty-two chapters and covers topics
including the early explorers, geography, aborigines, flora and fauna,
education, religion, recreation, as well as primary and secondary resources,
governors of South Australia and the Constitution. Volume two has one more
chapter which concludes the history section. This is then followed by about
400 pages of biographies of early South Australians. These include
biographies of many in Adelaide as well as 71 country regions around the
state. There are 143 illustrations, many in colour of people and scenes
around South Australia. The biographies often include information such as
name, year born, place born, if and when they emigrated, and usually their
working life, and other interesting tidbits.
Now on fully-searchable CD-ROM accessing the valuable information contained
in the Aldine's Histories has never been so easy. The history and illustrations
are a wonderful record, and the biographies are an invaluable source of
information. |