First Australians

Julie Goodwin was catapulted into our hearts as the first-ever winner of MasterChef Australia. In many ways her win was unlikely. As a child Julie adored music and art, but her career began in youth work, including in a juvenile detention centre housing troubled boys and a toxic all-male staff. After her three sons were born, she and her husband started an IT business. Then came MasterChef - a record-breaking juggernaut of a show. It was by all appearances, a successful, rewarding life. But under the surface relentless pressure from Julie's outer and inner worlds was taking its toll.

You might know that baby koalas spend time in their mother’s pouches, but there’s so much more to learn about these Australian marsupials! Discover why they spend 15 hours a day asleep, and how scientists use drones to monitor koala populations. Filled with simple science and plenty of animal facts, this book also explains why koalas love to munch eucalyptus leaves, and why they are most certainly not bears! It also looks at the conservation challenges these iconic animals face due to climate change and forest fires.

From one of Australia's leading Indigenous journalists comes a collection of fierce and powerful essays proving why the media need to believe Black witnesses and showcasing ways that journalism can be used to hold the powerful to account and make the world a more equitable place. Black Witness is the essential collection of First Nations journalism that we need right now – and always have.

The Ashes cricket series, played out between England and Australia, is the oldest and arguably the most keenly contested rivalry in international sport. Yet the majority of the first representative Australian cricket team to tour England in 1878 in fact regarded themselves as Englishmen. In May of that year, the SS City of Berlin docked at Liverpool, and the Australians stepped onto English ground to begin the inaugural first-class cricket tour of England by a representative overseas team.

Triumph, hardship, true grit…and one crazy dream. Grace Lucas knows from an early age that climbing onto a bucking animal and holding on is exactly what she wants. When Grace wins her first poddy ride at the age of twelve but is refused the first prize trophy because she’s a girl, it stirs a fierce streak that won’t rest — not until she’s allowed to compete in the sport she loves as an equal and be recognised for it. Erin Blackwater comes into Grace’s life many years after her bull riding days are over, at a time when she has questions and doubts about how her own life is ...

When 17-year-old Jonah arrives in a new town – Patience – with his dad and younger brothers, it feels like a foreign place. A new town means he needs to make new friends - which isn't always easy. Especially when he's wrestling with his body image, and his memories of his mother.

Why is it that children in a family can share the same gene pool, a similar socio-economic environment and experience similar parenting styles yet have fundamentally different personalities, interests and even different careers as adults? Birth order! The implications for parents, teachers and adults involved with children are many. First published in 2003 to great acclaim, this fully revised and updated edition seeks to increase the listener's understanding of birth order theory.

The first 12 weeks of a baby's life can be a challenge for any new parent. Tresillian's experienced, expert advice will guide you through with practical tips and real-life stories, set out in an accessible format for tired brains. With dedicated information for fathers and other caregivers, and key sections on coping with lockdowns and parenting in an age of social media, this is an audiobook packed with reassurance, guidance and ideas.

In 1841, Australia's first children's book was published, the anonymous writer known only as 'a lady long resident in New South Wales'. The identity of the author was one of the most puzzling literary mysteries until 1981, when she was finally given a name: Charlotte Waring Atkinson. Today, her great-great-great-great-granddaughters Kate Forsyth and Belinda Murrell are also celebrated authors. They grew up on stories about Charlotte's life of love, grief and violence - and her struggle to assert an independent spirit.

Ruthie Midona is 24 (going on 94), and fully committed to her job at a luxury retirement village. Keeping herself busy caring for the eccentric residents means that Ruthie can safely ignore her own life - what little there is of it. Teddy Prescott is practically allergic to a hard day's work. When he rocks up as the retirement village's newest employee, Ruthie is less than impressed. The last thing she needs is a distraction as irritating (and handsome) as this selfish, rich kid.

1913. War drums throb across the world. Greed and malice stalk the island. Despite people’s sneers, one woman stands up for the downtrodden. From childhood, Pansy has been an outsider. Her oddness makes her the butt of ridicule. Even her own family struggle to accept her. So, wouldn’t it be prudent to keep her nose out of the affairs of the family next door? Especially in 1913, when the islanders are more tense than ever. The world is lurching towards war. Some businessmen will do anything—even kill—to get rich by exploiting a special indigenous plant. Political debate rages over ...

Amy Holt's radio career just hit rock bottom. But navigating wormholes, Bigfoot interviews, and her sister's ex might be even worse. After a slip-up on air leaves Amy jobless and desperate, she seizes a chance at her dream job - even if it means working for her sister's charming ex. But when she discovers the radio station sits atop a wormhole, granting access to infinite realms, Amy's world gets even more chaotic. From interviewing mythical creatures to traversing apocalyptic wastelands, Amy's new gig is far from ordinary. But it's dodging the irresistible charm of her sister's ex, Ryan, ...

Knowing that he will soon die, Albert 'Poppy' Gondiwindi takes pen to paper. His life has been spent on the banks of the Murrumby River at Prosperous House, on Massacre Plains. Albert is determined to pass on the language of his people and everything that was ever remembered. He finds the words on the wind. August Gondiwindi has been living on the other side of the world for 10 years when she learns of her grandfather's death.

Katie has only one dream to be the best wilderness scout ever. And to win all ten badges available during their five-day camping trip to Kangaroo Island, and most important to beat all the other girls to the Camp Cup, the once-a-year prize for the best wilderness troop. With her four troop members in tow, she sets up camp in a remote location where a strange giant rock dominates the beach … Was that rock there last year? In the night, something is slaughtering the roos in the night… If the adults find out Katie and her troop will be sent home. The competition for the Camp Cup is heating...

Derick A couple of months ago I would’ve said my family was cursed with the knowledge to know their soulmate. I can now say I was a selfish, spoiled idiot, because I’ve been blessed with the most amazing woman who lived through hell and is still the sweetest, bravest person I’ve ever met. It’s just a pity she’s the daughter of the president of the Devil’s Queens biker gang that has terrorized my family, and I hate the gang with every fiber of my being. Ruby My life has never been sunshine and rainbows, but I was always a ‘glass half-full’ girl, even when a punishment for ...

Seven years after first contact, Providence Five launches. It is an enormous and deadly warship, built to protect humanity from its greatest ever threat. On board is a crew of just four-tasked with monitoring the ship and reporting the war's progress to a mesmerized global audience by way of social media. But while pursuing the enemy across space, Gilly, Talia, Anders and Jackson confront the unthinkable: their communications are cut, their ship decreasingly trustworthy and effective. To survive, they must win a fight that is suddenly and terrifyingly real.

As a teenage orphan in England in 1791, Mary Reibey was sentenced to death for stealing a horse. When police cornered her, she was dressed as a boy, and she maintained that disguise until she was unmasked at her trial. Due to her 'tender age', Reibey was spared the hangman's noose and sentenced to seven years' transportation to the colony of New South Wales. With the odds stacked against her, Reibey went on to become Australia's first female business tycoon and the richest woman in the colony, founding the Bank of New South Wales, now one of the nation's biggest financial institutions.

Australian Encounters is a collection of firsthand accounts by Robert Kremnizer, who is a highly respected lawyer, businessman, and writer who is based in Sydney, Australia, portraying his interactions with the Rebbe, both in his professional capacity and in his private life....

Evie Hudson should be grieving her dead husband, but since the car crash that claimed his life, she can't remember him at all. The only person who can help her piece her past together is her high-school best friend, Drew Kennedy. When snippets of her memory start falling into place, she wonders exactly how she ended up in a life that couldn't be further from the one she dreamed of. This time around, she's seeing all the things she missed . and the picture isn't pretty.

South Australia, 1914 When war against Germany erupts on the other side of the earth, a huge wave of suspicion, prejudice and persecution floods the community. There’s even a harsh concentration camp built for men branded as enemy aliens. Here in Adelaide, five diverse people are made vulnerable by the war. Elsie, gifted and ambitious child pianist, with German ancestry. Oskar, famous sportsman and businessman, also with German origins. Wilfred, a caring Anglican parish priest, opposed to the war. Pansy, an outsider by her very nature, but a fighter for justice to others. Little Neddy, a ...