A History of Victoria

by Geoffrey Blainey

In this lively book, Geoffrey Blainey, Victoria's best known historian, traces the history of Victoria from the time the Aboriginals could walk across Bass Strait to the State's fall from grace and the collapse of the Cain government.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2007

About the author

Geoffrey Blainey, one of Australia's most eminent historians, was appointed the foundation Chancellor of the University of Ballarat (UB) in 1993 after an illustrious career at the University of Melbourne. He was installed as UB Chancellor in December 1994 and continued until 1998. The Blainey Auditorium at the Mt Helen Campus of UB is named in his honour. Blainey, always a keen exponent of libraries and the acquisition of books, has donated part of his extensive book collection to the UB library. In 2002 the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters was conferred on Blainey in recognition of his contribution to the University of Ballarat and to the community in general.

Educated at Ballarat High School, Blainey won a scholarship to Wesley College, before attending Melbourne University where he studied history. He worked as a freelance historical author writing mainly business histories such as The Peaks of Lyall; Gold and Paper; a History of the National Bank of Australasia; and Mines in the Spinifex. Blainey accepted a position at the University of Melbourne in 1962 in the Faculty of Economics and Commerce. He held the positions of Professor of Economic History (1968-77); Senior Lecturer 1962; and from 1977-1988 he occupied the Ernest Scott Chair of History at Melbourne University. Professor Blainey also held the chair of Australian studies at Harvard University.

As an economic historian, Blainey challenged the conventional view, questioning accepted contemporary understandings of European settlement of Australia as a convict nation, Aboriginal land rights, and Asian immigration. He is described as a 'courageous public intellectual, a writer with rare grace and a master storyteller'. In a reassessment of the life of Blainey, 'The Fuss that Never Ended' considers his ideas, his role in Australian history, politics and public life, and the controversies that surrounded him.

He was always popular with students. According to the Melbourne University home page 'When Geoffrey Blainey spoke to final-year students in the Friends of the Baillieu Library HSC Lectures in the 1970s, the Public Lecture Theatre was packed to capacity and his audience carried copies of his books to be signed, a tribute to what Geoffrey Bolton characterised as his "skills in interpreting technological change in admirably lucid narratives that appealed to both specialist and non-specialist audiences".

Among his most popular works are the 'The Rush that Never Ended: A History of Australian Mining'; 'The Tyranny of Distance'; 'A Shorter History of Australia'; 'A Short History of the World'; and 'The Origins of Australian Football'.

In 2000 Professor Blainey was awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia for service to academia, research and scholarship, and as a leader of public debate at the forefront of fundamental social and economic issues confronting the wider community. At that time the University's Vice-Chancellor Professor Kerry Cox said 'Geoffrey Blainey guided the new and inexperienced university through its first four years with a benevolent but firm hand. This time was challenging as the university strove to make a place for itself in higher education, grappled with funding cuts and the eventual merger with neighbouring TAFE institutes. For those at the university fortunate enough to work with Geoffrey Blainey during his time as Chancellor, they witnessed first hand his humility, and we are proud of his role in our history.'

In 2002 the degree of Doctor of Letters was conferred on Professor Blainey in recognition of his contribution to the University of Ballarat and the community in general. The same year Blainey donated a collection of material to the University of Ballarat. Included in this collection are historical books, papers and other material relating to the early history of mining and the central Victorian goldfields. A second generous donation of material was received in 2005. 'The Geoffrey Blainey Mining Collection' is l

Reviews

[Suzannah Rowntree]

It's ridiculous that it's taken me this long to read anything at all by Australia's most eminent historian. Anyway I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this. Blainey's prose style is terrifically readable. He skims over a lot of interesting stuff rather than doing a deep dive, but a history like this is essential for telling you where to look next. I did sometimes find his tale somewhat dismissive of certain topics - for instance, his lordly proclamation that Chinese immigrants didn't actually face as much discrimination during the gold rush era as some of them claimed seemed both unsupported and arrogant - but overall I was impressed with how even-handed Blainey's account is.

Victoria is my own state and it was fascinating reading the explanations behind so many things that I've always taken for granted. From the proliferation of war memorials in every town to the financial hardships of the early 1990s, this book explains so much. I used to be uninterested in local history because I thought nothing interesting had ever happened here, but it has. We might never have had castles, knights, and reformations, but we HAVE had strong pioneering democratic and environmentalist traditions and a largely very comfortable and prosperous history founded on astonishing agricultural and mineral wealth. Australia used to be known as the Lucky Country, and reading this book really emphasises how true that still is.

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed and interesting look at Victoria's history from 20,000 years ago to 2006. Many interesting facts although, I felt it was a little Melbourne focused after the turn of the century (although this is understandable considering where the population is). Would recommend to anyone interested in finding out a bit more about our great state... certainly left me with more questions (which is positive in my books for non-fiction!)

[Saoirse Hickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learnt an incredible amount about the city that I live in and the state I grew up in. I wished it touched on more of a political history, alas, such is life. It also became pretty Melbourne centric towards the end, which makes sense given that the vast majority of people in Victoria live there. Overall, an emotional roller coaster. I found myself weeping with pride, joy and indeed heartache. I had to contain myself in public transport and not burst into a bubbling mess when reading about the droughts and bushfires. Dope read tho

[Julian Bu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy and useful read.

[June Ding · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good account of Victoria history that is easy to read.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gives a good 50,000 foot overview of the subject matter and is a very entertaining read. Blainey tells lots of little anecdotes that are very entertaining, with details on minor events that occurred throughout certain locations in Melbourne.

However, the author occasionally descends into a bit of a rant of particular matters. I think he glosses over a number of critical issues - such as the treatment of Aboriginals and environmental degradation. This is to be expected as Blainey is known to glorify lots of aspects of the past as he opposes the so-called "Black Armband" view of history.

[Bronwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came to this book hoping to gain a background to Victoria in the 1870s and was prepared for possibly a "dry" read. It is well written and surprisingly engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed it, as well as getting the contextual background I was seeking. A great informative introduction to Victoria' history.n