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The Commonwealth Of Thieves
A brilliant recreation of the first four years of white settlement in Australia by Booker Prize-winning author Tom Keneally.
In 1787, Britain banished its unwanted citizens - uneducated petty thieves, streetwalkers, orphan chimneysweeps and dashing highwaymen - to the fringes of the known world. So remote was Botany Bay - the destination to which the overcrowded, disease-ridden convict ships were bound - that only one European expedition had ever before anchored there.
Yet the rejects of Britain, accompanied only by a flimsy complement of soldiers, marines and officers, were expected to start a settlement and flourish. It was an audacious social experiment, unparalleled before or since.
To the indigenous inhabitants, the white men came as ghosts through cracks in the cosmos, rudely seizing the bounty of land and sea. On the swampy shores of Botany Bay, and by the sandstone coves of Sydney Harbour, the clash of civilisations was ineviteable, intense and often tragic. From this improbable beginning, through famine, drought, escapes and floggings, the glory of modern Sydney was born. Britain's penal experiment succeeded against all odds.
Impeccably researched and told in the inimitable Keneally style, The Commonwealth of Thieves is the compelling tale of a nation's beginning, its unforgettable people and their quest for identity.
In 1787, Britain banished its unwanted citizens - uneducated petty thieves, streetwalkers, orphan chimneysweeps and dashing highwaymen - to the fringes of the known world. So remote was Botany Bay - the destination to which the overcrowded, disease-ridden convict ships were bound - that only one European expedition had ever before anchored there.
Yet the rejects of Britain, accompanied only by a flimsy complement of soldiers, marines and officers, were expected to start a settlement and flourish. It was an audacious social experiment, unparalleled before or since.
To the indigenous inhabitants, the white men came as ghosts through cracks in the cosmos, rudely seizing the bounty of land and sea. On the swampy shores of Botany Bay, and by the sandstone coves of Sydney Harbour, the clash of civilisations was ineviteable, intense and often tragic. From this improbable beginning, through famine, drought, escapes and floggings, the glory of modern Sydney was born. Britain's penal experiment succeeded against all odds.
Impeccably researched and told in the inimitable Keneally style, The Commonwealth of Thieves is the compelling tale of a nation's beginning, its unforgettable people and their quest for identity.
394 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2005
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About the author
Tom Keneally
33 books70 followersSee Thomas Keneally
Thomas Keneally was born in 1935 and his first novel was published in 1964. Since then he has written a considerable number of novels and non-fiction works. His novels include The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Schindler's List and The People's Train. He has won the Miles Franklin Award, the Booker Prize, the Los Angeles Times Prize, the Mondello International Prize and has been made a Literary Lion of the New York Public Library, a Fellow of the American Academy, recipient of the University of California gold medal, and is now the subject of a 55 cent Australian stamp.
He has held various academic posts in the United States, but lives in Sydney.
Thomas Keneally was born in 1935 and his first novel was published in 1964. Since then he has written a considerable number of novels and non-fiction works. His novels include The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Schindler's List and The People's Train. He has won the Miles Franklin Award, the Booker Prize, the Los Angeles Times Prize, the Mondello International Prize and has been made a Literary Lion of the New York Public Library, a Fellow of the American Academy, recipient of the University of California gold medal, and is now the subject of a 55 cent Australian stamp.
He has held various academic posts in the United States, but lives in Sydney.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 181 reviews
July 5, 2015
I found this book to be something of a disappointment. No because of anything this book is, but because of what I thought it was going to be. This might (probably is) be a bit unfair, but it did colour my final impressions of the book so it's worth discussing what exactly this book is.
This book is a history of the initial settlement of Australia, covering the conditions in England that caused the settlement, the abortive landing at Botany Bay, the eventual removal of the expedition to Port Jackson (now better known as Sydney Harbour) and the early days of the settlement itself, its initial relationships with the native aboriginal tribes, the settlement and Norfolk island, and the hardships they all suffered - up until the departure of the first Governor, Phillip, from the still tenuous colony.
That's what it covers, and _only_ that. In a book that covers the birth of Australia, I expected more. For instance, the least I had expected would be covered was the establishment of the second Australia penal colony in Van Deimen's Land which was in many ways more successful (no convicts ever escaped Van Diemen's land, something which could not be said for Sydney... escaped from the prisons occasionally, but even the infamous Cash never made it over Bass Strait). I grew up on stories of the convict days of Port Arthur - mainly because I grew up a few hours drive _from_ Port Arthur and have visited the site many times - and am myself a descendant of First Fleet convicts, so I was really looking forward to hearing more about those early days.
Whilst I understand wanting to constrain scope in a book of this kind, the fact that a second colony was planted was not even mentioned in this book. Van Diemen's Land was only ever mentioned in the briefest of passing, as a waypoint on a sea journey bound for elsewhere, or to note that it's name was later changed to reflect the name of one of the early explorers to discover it (to Tasmania).
Perhaps I will just have to hope that Thomas Keneally writes another book, in which we will hear about other topics not discussed, such as Port Arthur and the Rum Rebellion - in which the New South Wales Corp rose up against the governor, one infamous William Bligh.
Keneally does approach this subject with rigour, and with a sympathetic unromantic view of both the early settlers, the natives of the time, and the relationship between them. Few topics are as explosive in Australian culture as this one, on a par with discussions of slavery in American history, and too often it is either glossed over entirely, or painted with a tragic or romantic vision of a utopian native society that exists no-where outside of the imagination of overactive white guilt, and actually does a disservice to a fascinating and fast disappearing culture. Keneally avoids both extremes, and provides quite an insightful modern look and analysis not only of what the natives likely thought and tried to do when these "ghosts" came to their shores and stayed, but also of the misapprehensions of the immigrant English led to initial misunderstandings and set the stage for what would be a long history of intermittent conflict and peaceful existence between the two groups.
This book could almost be a partial biography of the first governor of New South Wales, Phillip, ending as it does as he walks off the Australian stage, and indeed it would be difficult to overstate the effect this intelligent, empathetic and compassionate man had both on the initial colony and the nation as a whole right through to today. Keneally paints him as a complicated figure, and though he hasn't been mythologised in Australian culture the way that American founding fathers have, perhaps through his careful planning, his constant outreach and attempts to brook understanding between the native tribes and the settlers, and his fair treatment of the people under his charge, his focus on hard and honest work, he may well have set in place the structure for everything that is good about our own national character.
Through his tireless efforts, Phillip laid the groundwork for a nation of larrikans, ockers and laughter to arise from the initial commonwealth of thieves.
For what it is, excellently done and well narrated. I wanted more, but that doesn't take away from the excellence of what is there.
This book is a history of the initial settlement of Australia, covering the conditions in England that caused the settlement, the abortive landing at Botany Bay, the eventual removal of the expedition to Port Jackson (now better known as Sydney Harbour) and the early days of the settlement itself, its initial relationships with the native aboriginal tribes, the settlement and Norfolk island, and the hardships they all suffered - up until the departure of the first Governor, Phillip, from the still tenuous colony.
That's what it covers, and _only_ that. In a book that covers the birth of Australia, I expected more. For instance, the least I had expected would be covered was the establishment of the second Australia penal colony in Van Deimen's Land which was in many ways more successful (no convicts ever escaped Van Diemen's land, something which could not be said for Sydney... escaped from the prisons occasionally, but even the infamous Cash never made it over Bass Strait). I grew up on stories of the convict days of Port Arthur - mainly because I grew up a few hours drive _from_ Port Arthur and have visited the site many times - and am myself a descendant of First Fleet convicts, so I was really looking forward to hearing more about those early days.
Whilst I understand wanting to constrain scope in a book of this kind, the fact that a second colony was planted was not even mentioned in this book. Van Diemen's Land was only ever mentioned in the briefest of passing, as a waypoint on a sea journey bound for elsewhere, or to note that it's name was later changed to reflect the name of one of the early explorers to discover it (to Tasmania).
Perhaps I will just have to hope that Thomas Keneally writes another book, in which we will hear about other topics not discussed, such as Port Arthur and the Rum Rebellion - in which the New South Wales Corp rose up against the governor, one infamous William Bligh.
Keneally does approach this subject with rigour, and with a sympathetic unromantic view of both the early settlers, the natives of the time, and the relationship between them. Few topics are as explosive in Australian culture as this one, on a par with discussions of slavery in American history, and too often it is either glossed over entirely, or painted with a tragic or romantic vision of a utopian native society that exists no-where outside of the imagination of overactive white guilt, and actually does a disservice to a fascinating and fast disappearing culture. Keneally avoids both extremes, and provides quite an insightful modern look and analysis not only of what the natives likely thought and tried to do when these "ghosts" came to their shores and stayed, but also of the misapprehensions of the immigrant English led to initial misunderstandings and set the stage for what would be a long history of intermittent conflict and peaceful existence between the two groups.
This book could almost be a partial biography of the first governor of New South Wales, Phillip, ending as it does as he walks off the Australian stage, and indeed it would be difficult to overstate the effect this intelligent, empathetic and compassionate man had both on the initial colony and the nation as a whole right through to today. Keneally paints him as a complicated figure, and though he hasn't been mythologised in Australian culture the way that American founding fathers have, perhaps through his careful planning, his constant outreach and attempts to brook understanding between the native tribes and the settlers, and his fair treatment of the people under his charge, his focus on hard and honest work, he may well have set in place the structure for everything that is good about our own national character.
Through his tireless efforts, Phillip laid the groundwork for a nation of larrikans, ockers and laughter to arise from the initial commonwealth of thieves.
For what it is, excellently done and well narrated. I wanted more, but that doesn't take away from the excellence of what is there.
October 29, 2008
This was a great read--so well-researched that Kenneally isable to skillfully characterize the diarists he used, and this brought the history to life. I loved the way he switched perspectives from the Europeans to the Eora/Aboriginal peoples. I felt he represented the latter's view intelligently and compassionately without painting the Europeans as complete or constant villains. More of a tragedy.
My main criticism of the book is that it doesn't have a decisive conclusion. The colony limps along, people are starving, it's hard to grow crops, people are starving... and then... tada! The End, Epilogue, Look what happened to these Europeans' descendants! I didn't feel I understood what happened or why to make the colony a success, when at so many points, they were months or weeks away from a pile of bleached bones and some ruined buildings on the shore.
My main criticism of the book is that it doesn't have a decisive conclusion. The colony limps along, people are starving, it's hard to grow crops, people are starving... and then... tada! The End, Epilogue, Look what happened to these Europeans' descendants! I didn't feel I understood what happened or why to make the colony a success, when at so many points, they were months or weeks away from a pile of bleached bones and some ruined buildings on the shore.
October 27, 2020
This is a highly personal, intimate kind of history book, concerned very heavily with the stories of many real individuals. These people's crimes, sufferings, hopes, tragedies and victories are given with honest sympathy and impressive detail. There is equal regard for the female and male prisoners, the officers, the Aboriginals, the children and the sailors. It's a moving account of a time when savage punishments were deemed an inescapable necessity, and it could seem miraculous that mercy found a way.
June 19, 2012
Zzzzzzzz...zzzzzz... Oh, what? No, I'm sorry Mr. Keneally, but I didn't hear a word you said after 'the'. You put me right to sleep. I know I'm not supposed to sleep in class. I'm not trying to be funny. Now wait just a minute, sir. Don't blame me for your tone and monotonous droning. I won't tolerate it. I love history, always have, always will. It's not the history to which I'm opposed- its you. Had you decided to make this introductory lesson entertaining I could have kept my eyes open. Had you written it in a scholarly manner I would have eaten it up with a spoon and most likely had arguments with you in my head about whether or not your hypothesis and conjecture were correct or warranted. You did neither of these things. Please, please, please Mr. Keneally do not interrupt me, I'm speaking. You wanted to know why this was such a tremendous bore and now I'm telling you. There is no life here. Popular histories are popular because of the life their authors breathe into them with anecdotes and amusements and all sorts of devilishly delicious factoids that can be seen a funny or irreverent or scandalous or joyful. This was nothing more than a rote account of facts. It sounded to me like an elongated chapter in a high school World History textbook. Rubbish. Just absolute rubbish. There is no information here we couldn't have gathered ourselves in a week and put into a PowerPoint presentation that would have been over in 10 minutes tops. And I could understand the lack of juicy bits had you this been a scholarly work that focused on a simple thesis and extrapolated data and present us with primary and secondary documents, but this was not the case either. Instead we get a list of names, a list of dates, a few dry anecdotal histories and a handful of facts that read like a wiki. Now I'm going to go back to napping. You may have done your research, dear man, but you don't know how to present the facts worth a damn.
May 11, 2019
Even a history lover and someone interested in Australia must stretch to complete this well-researched book by Thomas Keneally. There is much minutiae concerning the state of England's prisons and the charges that sent people there to die for what seems minor offenses. I think most people know that New South Wales (Australia) was used as a way to lesson the prison populations. What I didn't know is that the same thing was done earlier in the colonies. I have heard of "indentured" people, but I didn't know that some of such indentured servants in what was to become the U.S. were from English prisons as well. When that was no longer possible, the British government began looking to other places to unload the excess prison population. It is not surprising given that those in prison were poorly cared for, no more care was taken for the transport of hundreds of people who were considered the dregs of society. The trip was long, and when many of them arrived, they didn't live long. Add to the unscrupulous companies that shorted on food, clothing, and other needs the fact that there was no established culture known to those who landed (as in America), it is surprising that the establishment of a society was achieved. I think that this occurred is owed primarily to the first governor, Arthur Phillip. He tried to be fair in his dealings with convicts and military men. And he tried to understand the native population they found and to learn their language, and they learn English. I don't know how many people died either during the voyage or after landing due to poor planning and provision. But eventually a viable society was established. This book only covers the first four years or so of the peopling and history of Australia.
August 22, 2025
From the author of the acclaimed chef d’oeuvre Schindler’s Ark, Thomas Keneally...another splendid work – A Commonwealth of Thieves
10 out of 10
The world has been horrified by what it has seen in The Schindler’s List, as adapted from the original master work by Thomas Keneally, though there is of course the towering figure of Oskar Schindler, the one who had saved so many Jews, the Holocaust is at the center of the story with its unbelievable mirror that it puts in front of humanity…the film has popularized the novel and that in turn made the author of the acclaimed opus a famous figure, who has given the world another great book, A Commonwealth of Thieves…
The under signed has been mesmerized by Australians – incidentally, they cause furor with their athletic prowess, now on display at the Olympics, where they may very well be the most successful nation, if we look at it in terms of medals versus population…no, I have to edit that, in terms of Bermuda and maybe Kosovo, the former now has its first gold medal and the latter has two and that given the few people that live in these states makes their achievement spectacular – when he has encountered them…
When young, as in about seven years ago (if we make an effort to joke and Imagine the Best Possible Future and Past, as an exercise of happiness invented by myself just now) I have been working in what today is called The Hospitality Business – though incorporated in a commie state, people were not hospitable and I have stories with the Securitate coming to tell me to shut the fuck up, when the clients complained over the lack of hot water, and the agent told me that I am part of the glorious communist state and here to serve country and people, not disgusting capitalist…something along these familiar lines.
In that ‘capacity’ I welcomed at one point a group of Aussies, coming down on their own bus (well, rented really) and crossing Romania on their way to what was then Soviet Union and is now Moldova, after travelling through an impressive number of lands, all the way from India, Pakistan, covering an immense itinerary, and being escorted by yours truly in our space…they started every single day on the bus with ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’ and their attitude was sublime, optimistic, dashing, serene…
Which sits in such a stark contrast with the notion that Aussies are in fact descending from a group of Thieves, Convicts sent to the end of the world to spend long terms, in some cases a life time, in a penal colony that was supposed to alleviate the pain, stress caused by the large number of prisoners for which the British government was looking to find solutions…given that the former American colonies were not a way out of the quandary anymore, would be Governor Arthur Phillip is sent with a number of ships to create what is now known and admired in quite a few ways as Australia – there is a way of life there that looks enticing, though they do have this rebarbative attitude towards those trying to come on ships as illegal immigrants, who are kept on other islands, there is that massive coal industry that pollutes the world…
First there would be considerations on what had happened to those who would become the first colonists in Australia – the land in the South Austral… - and the incredibly small sums for which many, probably most would be sentenced to die – though statistics show that a good proportion of death sentences would not be carried out, it is still cruel – and in some cases they would be changed to ‘transportation for a number of years or forever’
The American colonies were considered as destination – indeed, once on the ship with the destination the other side of the world, some prisoners would contemplate rebellion and then fleeing to the American liberated territory, where they hoped they would have a new life and escape their punishment
They have had animals on board, the greyhounds of captain-and then- governor Arthur Philip and all sorts of poultry, goats (or am I inventing this)…the greyhounds will have very little, disgusting food to eat when in Australia, but then humans would have serious problems with getting their food on the southernmost continent, except Antarctica…there was separation and even chains for some women, but still, there would be pregnancies and intimacy, could not be prevented, women looking for the men and most of those, vice versa…
The Portuguese had employed Arthur Phillip, when they had had a conflict between Brazil and Argentina over some disputed territory, when the Portuguese asked for support from the British and Arthur Philip would be recommended…he would have nice words from them and some decoration he would wear...
Women tried to avoid pregnancies on board ships by all means, coitus interuptus…protection was for men, and mainly to avoid diseases, such as syphilis…Governor Philip was quite fair and very loyal to the monarchy, against the discredited prince supported by a Catholic faction (if I have this right)…there were Very severe punishments with the cat o’nine tails, many lashes administered to the convicts for what look like minor transgressions
The aborigines – from Latin, meaning the original inhabitants, there from the beginning – are evidently an important part of the story, nay, the most important and there are efforts now to try and change names, abolish discrimination, but the history of Australia is one of Thieves in the beginning, and not so much the people convicted of most often minor misdemeanors or at times they had been victims of just plain false sentencing , as in the Grand Theft of the land from the aborigines, similar to the taking of territory from the Native Americans by the white men…the natives told the intruders to go
Women were offered to these pale strangers, but ostensibly in an effort to make them go away and their attitude towards sex and so many other aspects of life was a very relaxed one, liberal perhaps we should say…the intruders were fishing and the aborigines took some of the catch because they knew the land is theirs, but the invaders saw it as stealing...
10 out of 10
The world has been horrified by what it has seen in The Schindler’s List, as adapted from the original master work by Thomas Keneally, though there is of course the towering figure of Oskar Schindler, the one who had saved so many Jews, the Holocaust is at the center of the story with its unbelievable mirror that it puts in front of humanity…the film has popularized the novel and that in turn made the author of the acclaimed opus a famous figure, who has given the world another great book, A Commonwealth of Thieves…
The under signed has been mesmerized by Australians – incidentally, they cause furor with their athletic prowess, now on display at the Olympics, where they may very well be the most successful nation, if we look at it in terms of medals versus population…no, I have to edit that, in terms of Bermuda and maybe Kosovo, the former now has its first gold medal and the latter has two and that given the few people that live in these states makes their achievement spectacular – when he has encountered them…
When young, as in about seven years ago (if we make an effort to joke and Imagine the Best Possible Future and Past, as an exercise of happiness invented by myself just now) I have been working in what today is called The Hospitality Business – though incorporated in a commie state, people were not hospitable and I have stories with the Securitate coming to tell me to shut the fuck up, when the clients complained over the lack of hot water, and the agent told me that I am part of the glorious communist state and here to serve country and people, not disgusting capitalist…something along these familiar lines.
In that ‘capacity’ I welcomed at one point a group of Aussies, coming down on their own bus (well, rented really) and crossing Romania on their way to what was then Soviet Union and is now Moldova, after travelling through an impressive number of lands, all the way from India, Pakistan, covering an immense itinerary, and being escorted by yours truly in our space…they started every single day on the bus with ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’ and their attitude was sublime, optimistic, dashing, serene…
Which sits in such a stark contrast with the notion that Aussies are in fact descending from a group of Thieves, Convicts sent to the end of the world to spend long terms, in some cases a life time, in a penal colony that was supposed to alleviate the pain, stress caused by the large number of prisoners for which the British government was looking to find solutions…given that the former American colonies were not a way out of the quandary anymore, would be Governor Arthur Phillip is sent with a number of ships to create what is now known and admired in quite a few ways as Australia – there is a way of life there that looks enticing, though they do have this rebarbative attitude towards those trying to come on ships as illegal immigrants, who are kept on other islands, there is that massive coal industry that pollutes the world…
First there would be considerations on what had happened to those who would become the first colonists in Australia – the land in the South Austral… - and the incredibly small sums for which many, probably most would be sentenced to die – though statistics show that a good proportion of death sentences would not be carried out, it is still cruel – and in some cases they would be changed to ‘transportation for a number of years or forever’
The American colonies were considered as destination – indeed, once on the ship with the destination the other side of the world, some prisoners would contemplate rebellion and then fleeing to the American liberated territory, where they hoped they would have a new life and escape their punishment
They have had animals on board, the greyhounds of captain-and then- governor Arthur Philip and all sorts of poultry, goats (or am I inventing this)…the greyhounds will have very little, disgusting food to eat when in Australia, but then humans would have serious problems with getting their food on the southernmost continent, except Antarctica…there was separation and even chains for some women, but still, there would be pregnancies and intimacy, could not be prevented, women looking for the men and most of those, vice versa…
The Portuguese had employed Arthur Phillip, when they had had a conflict between Brazil and Argentina over some disputed territory, when the Portuguese asked for support from the British and Arthur Philip would be recommended…he would have nice words from them and some decoration he would wear...
Women tried to avoid pregnancies on board ships by all means, coitus interuptus…protection was for men, and mainly to avoid diseases, such as syphilis…Governor Philip was quite fair and very loyal to the monarchy, against the discredited prince supported by a Catholic faction (if I have this right)…there were Very severe punishments with the cat o’nine tails, many lashes administered to the convicts for what look like minor transgressions
The aborigines – from Latin, meaning the original inhabitants, there from the beginning – are evidently an important part of the story, nay, the most important and there are efforts now to try and change names, abolish discrimination, but the history of Australia is one of Thieves in the beginning, and not so much the people convicted of most often minor misdemeanors or at times they had been victims of just plain false sentencing , as in the Grand Theft of the land from the aborigines, similar to the taking of territory from the Native Americans by the white men…the natives told the intruders to go
Women were offered to these pale strangers, but ostensibly in an effort to make them go away and their attitude towards sex and so many other aspects of life was a very relaxed one, liberal perhaps we should say…the intruders were fishing and the aborigines took some of the catch because they knew the land is theirs, but the invaders saw it as stealing...
March 23, 2021
If you're looking for a broad overview of Australia's early history - this is not it. It's certainly well-researched, and the author definitely knows his stuff. But this is what sometimes felt like a real-time description of the first four years or so of the British penal colony in Australia. There isn't really a structure to this book - it just starts, and then it just ends. It's not that this was dry - I don't mind dry or scholarly works - but this often felt lifeless. It does its job in conveying information, but not much else.
April 15, 2008
This book, albeit somewhat awkwardly written (see examples below), is a chronicle of the first four years of Georgian Britain's Australian settlement -- the establishment of convicts at Sydney Cove. (Thanks, Lord Sydney!) The selection of period comes across as a bit arbitrary. It covers the term of Sydney's founding Governor (Arthur Phillip), but doesn't use Phillip as a focus for the narrative. The ebb and flow of the book (which after all only follows chronology) is fairly repetitive: convict settlers and marines arrive, are assigned tasks, suffer gradual reductions in rations as stores are depleted, and just before real starvation kicks in and deprivation-inspired chaos ensues, receive temporary respite in the guise of a new shipment of settlers with additional rations. It's a bit hard to follow the actual timeline (until near the end of the book, I didn't even realize that the covered span was a mere 4 years), but the book gains inordinately from including and sympathizing with the perspective of imminently-displaced aborigines as well as some fascinating anecdotes (such as the one about the poor Third Fleet Irish who tragically wander off on foot in a misbegotten search for China using pencil-drawn compasses as a navigational aid).
I'll cite two typical examples of the text to provide a flavor of what makes Keneally's prose so ungainly. The first is a paragraph whose premise is never substantiated, the other, two paragraphs that appear grafted together from separately-prepared content.
From pp. 324-325: 'The case of Private William Dempsey, one of the marines who in October 1791 decided to remain in New South Wales as a settler, is interesting in the light of comments that those who remained were chiefly influenced by attachments to unsatisfactory women convicts. Dempsey had been the victim of an attack by marine Private Joseph Hunt in 1788, in the famous court-martial that split the officer corps. At Norfolk Island, farming sixteen acres at Cascade Stream, Phillipsburg, he was by 1794 selling grain to the public stores, and the same year married a young Lady Juliana convict, Jane Tyler. She had been seventeen when sentenced to death at the Old Bailey in April 1787 for stealing money from her master, a Gray's Inn Lane victualler, and was one of the seven women who caused a sensation by refusing the King's offer of pardon on condition of transportation for life. "I will never accept of it to go abroad," she had declared.' The next paragraph goes on to tell us that the couple moved to Van Diemen's Land (an island off southwestern Australia), adopted a child, and eventually died. All of this may be moderately interesting as trivia about a character who fails to register as even tangential to the narrative (you be the judge), but surely not for the reason cited?
And from p. 99: 'The last couple to bespeak Parson Johnson that day were as exceptional as the Kables. They already had a child between them. Or at least Mary Braund or Broad, a handsome Cornish girl in her early twenties had given birth to a daughter whom she named Charlotte, the same name at the transport she and her new husband, Will Bryant travelled on, and it was presumed Charlotte was Will's child. Mary had been guilty... of ambushing a Plymouth spinster and robbing her... [and:] sentenced to hang. [Her sentence was:] reduced to seven years transportation. On the Dunkirk hulk, Mary had met Will Bryant, a Cornish fisherman about twenty-seven years of age, convicted exactly two years earlier than Mary....' The 'Mary had met Will Bryant' construction forgets that we've already been introduced to Master Will mere sentences before. Never mind the fact that the circumstances which make the Kables so remarkable aren't introduced until p. 130 (and there only implied) and those that make the Bryants fascinating characters not taken up until p. 251 (and then sporadically thereafter). In each instance, the principal characters that populate the book are introduced as though new and their personal stories are subordinated to the indifferent chronological sweep of events affecting the entire colony. This significantly dilutes their impact and dulls the overall read.
That said, the book did leave me with sufficient enthusiasm for the period and the people to encourage me to pick up Colleen McCullough's Morgan's Run. Further and apropos of nothing, fans of "Sweeney Todd" might also be thus intrigued... Benjamin Barker was after all a transportee who escaped and returned under an assumed name (a story that doesn't fit in with the Australian chronicle, so perhaps Sweeney was rescued by Anthony en route to somewhere else). However, (and this bears no real relation to Keneally, but should rather be read in connection with my in-process review of the too long-winded McCullough), it is telling that Sweeney's entire backstory of wrongful conviction (for "foolishness") is subsumed in a single song. So you see that if only in terms of compression, Sondheim and Keneally have it all over McCullough.
I'll cite two typical examples of the text to provide a flavor of what makes Keneally's prose so ungainly. The first is a paragraph whose premise is never substantiated, the other, two paragraphs that appear grafted together from separately-prepared content.
From pp. 324-325: 'The case of Private William Dempsey, one of the marines who in October 1791 decided to remain in New South Wales as a settler, is interesting in the light of comments that those who remained were chiefly influenced by attachments to unsatisfactory women convicts. Dempsey had been the victim of an attack by marine Private Joseph Hunt in 1788, in the famous court-martial that split the officer corps. At Norfolk Island, farming sixteen acres at Cascade Stream, Phillipsburg, he was by 1794 selling grain to the public stores, and the same year married a young Lady Juliana convict, Jane Tyler. She had been seventeen when sentenced to death at the Old Bailey in April 1787 for stealing money from her master, a Gray's Inn Lane victualler, and was one of the seven women who caused a sensation by refusing the King's offer of pardon on condition of transportation for life. "I will never accept of it to go abroad," she had declared.' The next paragraph goes on to tell us that the couple moved to Van Diemen's Land (an island off southwestern Australia), adopted a child, and eventually died. All of this may be moderately interesting as trivia about a character who fails to register as even tangential to the narrative (you be the judge), but surely not for the reason cited?
And from p. 99: 'The last couple to bespeak Parson Johnson that day were as exceptional as the Kables. They already had a child between them. Or at least Mary Braund or Broad, a handsome Cornish girl in her early twenties had given birth to a daughter whom she named Charlotte, the same name at the transport she and her new husband, Will Bryant travelled on, and it was presumed Charlotte was Will's child. Mary had been guilty... of ambushing a Plymouth spinster and robbing her... [and:] sentenced to hang. [Her sentence was:] reduced to seven years transportation. On the Dunkirk hulk, Mary had met Will Bryant, a Cornish fisherman about twenty-seven years of age, convicted exactly two years earlier than Mary....' The 'Mary had met Will Bryant' construction forgets that we've already been introduced to Master Will mere sentences before. Never mind the fact that the circumstances which make the Kables so remarkable aren't introduced until p. 130 (and there only implied) and those that make the Bryants fascinating characters not taken up until p. 251 (and then sporadically thereafter). In each instance, the principal characters that populate the book are introduced as though new and their personal stories are subordinated to the indifferent chronological sweep of events affecting the entire colony. This significantly dilutes their impact and dulls the overall read.
That said, the book did leave me with sufficient enthusiasm for the period and the people to encourage me to pick up Colleen McCullough's Morgan's Run. Further and apropos of nothing, fans of "Sweeney Todd" might also be thus intrigued... Benjamin Barker was after all a transportee who escaped and returned under an assumed name (a story that doesn't fit in with the Australian chronicle, so perhaps Sweeney was rescued by Anthony en route to somewhere else). However, (and this bears no real relation to Keneally, but should rather be read in connection with my in-process review of the too long-winded McCullough), it is telling that Sweeney's entire backstory of wrongful conviction (for "foolishness") is subsumed in a single song. So you see that if only in terms of compression, Sondheim and Keneally have it all over McCullough.
August 15, 2017
Keneally's command of the subject matter, steady humor, and masterful text combine to make what could be dry a wondrous reading experience. All is tied in with global events, yet quotidian details of life in the new colony of convicts is attended well. For those who haven't read before about Australia's founding ( as this reviewer) it was a discovery of continental proportions.
This nonfiction could also serve to show parallels to those who think US history is somehow uniquely shameful, as the aborigines suffered with new diseases and hordes of whites chopping up the land and ecosystems for farming, forestry, roads, and the usual. At a time when the African slave trade was being squelched in the UK, British ( and subject Irish) white convicts were made slaves by transportation to Australia.
This nonfiction could also serve to show parallels to those who think US history is somehow uniquely shameful, as the aborigines suffered with new diseases and hordes of whites chopping up the land and ecosystems for farming, forestry, roads, and the usual. At a time when the African slave trade was being squelched in the UK, British ( and subject Irish) white convicts were made slaves by transportation to Australia.
August 29, 2014
So excited to finally finish this book!! The history was fascinating but sooo very dense! So I could only read this in small chunks. But I did love the historical facts and hearing stories of all the convicts and first settlers. So good to read how our great nation was founded!
March 16, 2024
DNF’d well before finishing. While informative for a while, it’s lacking much picture of the Aboriginees, and there’s just such a constant stream of tales of all the immorality among the convicts that it isn’t worth it.
June 28, 2024
The book recounted how it was the success of the American Revolution that helped seal Australia’s fate. Since the early 1600’s, Britain had been keeping its prison population under control by sending convicts across the Atlantic, where they were sold to settlers for plantation work.
But rebellion in the North American colonies shut this down, which left the UK government with more prisoners than it had prisons to hold them. Hundreds of inmates were moved offshore, to the hulks of old warships, while officials scoured the globe for a more permanent solution. Finally, in 1786, the UK chose its colony in Australia.
Keneally does try to balance the Euro-centric view of the settlers with that of the local population. The book follows the original landing party, led by colonial governor Arthur Phillip, through their first seasons of drought, hunger, disease, rebellion, and growth, with an epilogue tracing the lineage of some of Australia’s first political and economic leaders.
The catastrophic impact on the local population is portrayed. Although Governor Philip tried to engage and understand the residents, it was through the lens of a colonial master.
Based on journals kept by sailors, convicts, and settlers and supplemented with extracts from UK historical archives, this book is a fascinating read. There are notes and a bibliography for readers wanting more details.
But rebellion in the North American colonies shut this down, which left the UK government with more prisoners than it had prisons to hold them. Hundreds of inmates were moved offshore, to the hulks of old warships, while officials scoured the globe for a more permanent solution. Finally, in 1786, the UK chose its colony in Australia.
Keneally does try to balance the Euro-centric view of the settlers with that of the local population. The book follows the original landing party, led by colonial governor Arthur Phillip, through their first seasons of drought, hunger, disease, rebellion, and growth, with an epilogue tracing the lineage of some of Australia’s first political and economic leaders.
The catastrophic impact on the local population is portrayed. Although Governor Philip tried to engage and understand the residents, it was through the lens of a colonial master.
Based on journals kept by sailors, convicts, and settlers and supplemented with extracts from UK historical archives, this book is a fascinating read. There are notes and a bibliography for readers wanting more details.
October 30, 2012
I thought of buying this book as research for colonial history - topic of my next book - but so glad I borrowed it from the library instead. I had to renew it as it was such a struggle to plough through, it's taken two months, the last hundred of pages skin-reading. Much of that was the search for his longest sentence; I think the record is 82 words on page 62. Not surprisingly, one has to reread such convoluted passive voice mazes several times to get the drift, but soon gives up on such efforts.
Apparently Keneally is blessed with excellent research assistants who gathered masses of information and he's strung that together. He made an effort with his first sentence though its 64 words are harbingers of what is to come. The first paragraph takes up all but two lines of the first page; similar transgressions would see slush pile manuscripts rejected on that first page. But no, Keneally has track record and is above other authors' multiple rewrites. So the opening chapters plod along, as if this is material that must be covered. I tossed the book aside several times. Sometimes he throws out teasers that we are too weary to wait around for answers: 'Mary would come to pay such a phenomenal price of loyalty to her spouse...' But we really don't get to know any characters enough to care.
Note the word 'would.' Possibly this is Keneally's most overworked word, sprinkled through his clunky tenses: 'She would be one of the women who would face the lash in the colony then in prospect (?), but had she known about it, she would have shrugged it off in defiance.' (p.93)
Passive voice reigns. 'As Ayres had been taking the spear in his back...' (p. 174).
As the fleet nears Australia Keneally emerges from his own ennui to look at the horizon in Chapter 6. But surely this tautology could have been edited out: 'They were close now, on 16 January in the New Year.'
Yes, there's interesting information about aboriginal life. But there is little real tension for all that. Structure seems ragged, it does not keep the reader - or this one - turning pages.
Sure, borrow it from your library. Don't encourage Keneally by buying it.
Apparently Keneally is blessed with excellent research assistants who gathered masses of information and he's strung that together. He made an effort with his first sentence though its 64 words are harbingers of what is to come. The first paragraph takes up all but two lines of the first page; similar transgressions would see slush pile manuscripts rejected on that first page. But no, Keneally has track record and is above other authors' multiple rewrites. So the opening chapters plod along, as if this is material that must be covered. I tossed the book aside several times. Sometimes he throws out teasers that we are too weary to wait around for answers: 'Mary would come to pay such a phenomenal price of loyalty to her spouse...' But we really don't get to know any characters enough to care.
Note the word 'would.' Possibly this is Keneally's most overworked word, sprinkled through his clunky tenses: 'She would be one of the women who would face the lash in the colony then in prospect (?), but had she known about it, she would have shrugged it off in defiance.' (p.93)
Passive voice reigns. 'As Ayres had been taking the spear in his back...' (p. 174).
As the fleet nears Australia Keneally emerges from his own ennui to look at the horizon in Chapter 6. But surely this tautology could have been edited out: 'They were close now, on 16 January in the New Year.'
Yes, there's interesting information about aboriginal life. But there is little real tension for all that. Structure seems ragged, it does not keep the reader - or this one - turning pages.
Sure, borrow it from your library. Don't encourage Keneally by buying it.
January 21, 2019
There has been extensive research gone into the publication of this book. If your knowledge of the first years of white settlement/invasion of Australia are scant then this book will give you a vivid picture of what life was like for the Europeans and the indigenous people from 1788 till 1800. For someone like me who had dipped into the story irregularly throughout his life the writings confirmed and expanded knowledge of this time. I particularly liked the use of so many real people and the what, where, why about their lives.
The English gaols were full and after some suggesting and prodding by Sir Joseph Banks it was decided to set up a penal settlement in the antipodes. The early years were harsh and hunger was rampant.
Some of the new arrivals, led by Governor Phillip tried to befriend and live peacefully with the Aboriginal people. This was with mixed success. The cultural differences were huge and the Europeans brought diseases that soon killed hundreds of the natives.
Death was common place, especially in child birth, for both mother and child. Sexual relationships were an important part of the lives of the early settlers.
Keneally describes and retells the lives of Bennelong and his partner Barangaroo in some detail.
Place names that I have known for years gained new meaning. One can imagine what the land on either side of the Tank Stream looked like.
I finished this book in mid-January when the perennial issue of Australia Day became a much discussed story. Those who write ���get over it” to those who support choosing another day to celebrate Australia as a nation should read this book. But from my experience those who use this argument don’t read much at all.
This is a story told with great feeling and gusto. Mr Keneally contributes so much to his country.
The English gaols were full and after some suggesting and prodding by Sir Joseph Banks it was decided to set up a penal settlement in the antipodes. The early years were harsh and hunger was rampant.
Some of the new arrivals, led by Governor Phillip tried to befriend and live peacefully with the Aboriginal people. This was with mixed success. The cultural differences were huge and the Europeans brought diseases that soon killed hundreds of the natives.
Death was common place, especially in child birth, for both mother and child. Sexual relationships were an important part of the lives of the early settlers.
Keneally describes and retells the lives of Bennelong and his partner Barangaroo in some detail.
Place names that I have known for years gained new meaning. One can imagine what the land on either side of the Tank Stream looked like.
I finished this book in mid-January when the perennial issue of Australia Day became a much discussed story. Those who write ���get over it” to those who support choosing another day to celebrate Australia as a nation should read this book. But from my experience those who use this argument don’t read much at all.
This is a story told with great feeling and gusto. Mr Keneally contributes so much to his country.
August 22, 2024
The author frames the settling of Australia as a much messier (but more human and maybe even "humane") than Bentham's "Panopticon" answer to jail overcrowding in England.
I thought that he did a pretty good job of humanizing the natives without defaulting to the modern assumption that they were always right and could do no wrong.
Other than the epilogue, the narrative hews pretty close to the years of Captain Phillip's governorship of "New South Wales."
One small gripe (that could be indicative of other, systematic failings in his storytelling) is the fact that he seems to've greatly over-sold the concepts of the supposed oaths of fealty that the British underclass swore to the "Tawny Prince." He paints all of the criminals as adhering to a tightly defined subculture akin to the masons. Doing a little google-sleuthing took me to a reddit board where the general conclusion was he dolled up those details a little bit to make for a better story. Hopefully that was not endemic to the rest of the book.
I thought that he did a pretty good job of humanizing the natives without defaulting to the modern assumption that they were always right and could do no wrong.
Other than the epilogue, the narrative hews pretty close to the years of Captain Phillip's governorship of "New South Wales."
One small gripe (that could be indicative of other, systematic failings in his storytelling) is the fact that he seems to've greatly over-sold the concepts of the supposed oaths of fealty that the British underclass swore to the "Tawny Prince." He paints all of the criminals as adhering to a tightly defined subculture akin to the masons. Doing a little google-sleuthing took me to a reddit board where the general conclusion was he dolled up those details a little bit to make for a better story. Hopefully that was not endemic to the rest of the book.
Read
April 22, 2025If you want a book that tells the story of the beginning of modern Australia, and specifically the convict settlement of Sydney, this book is full of interesting history and anecdotes. Keneally makes a few seemingly uninformed guesses now and then which seem indulgent but his worst crime is subjecting the reader to some of the most tortuous sentences ever published. For example:
“Though on the day of the spearing one convict amongst the victims of the Second Fleet, a man of 24 named Samuel Allen, former buckle-maker, former gentleman's gentleman, former drummer to an Irish brigade in the French army and now a declared silverware thief, was brought from the morgue at the hospital and buried in Sydney's earth, this decrease by death did nothing in numbers to produce a visible crisis in the camp of the whites…”
There are hundreds of examples of these almost non-sensical or poorly-composed sentences.
“Though on the day of the spearing one convict amongst the victims of the Second Fleet, a man of 24 named Samuel Allen, former buckle-maker, former gentleman's gentleman, former drummer to an Irish brigade in the French army and now a declared silverware thief, was brought from the morgue at the hospital and buried in Sydney's earth, this decrease by death did nothing in numbers to produce a visible crisis in the camp of the whites…”
There are hundreds of examples of these almost non-sensical or poorly-composed sentences.
August 2, 2023
Well researched and interesting account of the earliest Europeans to call Australia home. The concept of “transportation” as a criminal punishment (and the “crimes” they were being punished for) were wild. The book really gave you a feel for those times.
December 30, 2022
Really readable, detailed account of European settlement in Warrane (Sydney Cove) using Governor Philip’s time in Australia as a roadmap. Colonial history is not currently the topic du jour, but I need more of it it is very enjoyable and helps me to contextualise myself as a white Australian and Sydneysider with convict ancestry.
June 7, 2024
A good read, a great insight into the establishment of Sydney. Well researched and very informative.
February 25, 2014
Imagine a newly-discovered land on the other side of the world. Thus far only the crew of a single vessel, Captain Cook's "Endevour", has ever laid eyes on this distant land*. What use would you put it to?
His Majesty's government decided it would be a splendid idea to use it as a dump for the overflow of the British penal system. So it was that in 1787, an expedition of eleven ships, their three hundred crew, two hundred and fifty marines, and eight hundred prisoners, ventured forth from Britain to establish a penal colony in New South Wales.
Don't be mislead by my feeble introduction. This is not a dry books of numbers and dates. Mr Keneally has put together a fascinating portrayal of the people who were involved, what their lives were like, and the challenges they had to overcome in merely surviving in a foreign land, so very far from home.
Every Aussie school kid knows the name Captain Cook, but they'd do well to thank Arthur Phillip, the colony's first governor. His scrupulous attention to detail, foresight, and sense of fairness, allowed the seed of a prison camp in Port Jackson to flower into nation which would later become Australia.
This is also an interesting read in a more modern context, as we gaze upon the planet Mars, and whisper the word 'colonization'. Calculating the payload weights and fuel needed to get them there is trivial but it's the personalities and disposition of our own, modern, first fleet which would spell success or failure for the fledgling colony. One wonders if perhaps the best course would be to offer a bunch of prisoners a wise governor, and a second chance upon a distant, sunburnt land.
After all, it worked once.
* Fine! If you want to be really pedantic, there were some locals who just beat him there (by about 30,000 years) but, as they were already living there, they were apparently disqualified from 'discovering' the place. And there were a few dutch ships who got there earlier. And another pommie ship captained by a bloke named Dampier who also just beat Cook (by a hundred or so years). Are you satisfied now?
His Majesty's government decided it would be a splendid idea to use it as a dump for the overflow of the British penal system. So it was that in 1787, an expedition of eleven ships, their three hundred crew, two hundred and fifty marines, and eight hundred prisoners, ventured forth from Britain to establish a penal colony in New South Wales.
Don't be mislead by my feeble introduction. This is not a dry books of numbers and dates. Mr Keneally has put together a fascinating portrayal of the people who were involved, what their lives were like, and the challenges they had to overcome in merely surviving in a foreign land, so very far from home.
Every Aussie school kid knows the name Captain Cook, but they'd do well to thank Arthur Phillip, the colony's first governor. His scrupulous attention to detail, foresight, and sense of fairness, allowed the seed of a prison camp in Port Jackson to flower into nation which would later become Australia.
This is also an interesting read in a more modern context, as we gaze upon the planet Mars, and whisper the word 'colonization'. Calculating the payload weights and fuel needed to get them there is trivial but it's the personalities and disposition of our own, modern, first fleet which would spell success or failure for the fledgling colony. One wonders if perhaps the best course would be to offer a bunch of prisoners a wise governor, and a second chance upon a distant, sunburnt land.
After all, it worked once.
* Fine! If you want to be really pedantic, there were some locals who just beat him there (by about 30,000 years) but, as they were already living there, they were apparently disqualified from 'discovering' the place. And there were a few dutch ships who got there earlier. And another pommie ship captained by a bloke named Dampier who also just beat Cook (by a hundred or so years). Are you satisfied now?
November 6, 2017
I chose this book because I was about to start a world trip, Sydney being one of the stops. I'm also a history buff, particularly British. It's where I live. I thoroughly enjoyed the book which covers the first four years of the fledgling birth of the nation (I think aborigines might argue that one) starting in 1786 just a few years after James Cook had first come across it. Brits (or poms) all know that that the we sent a load of unwanted male & female convicts to Botany Bay rather than inflict capital punishment if they chose to stay in the UK. Not much of a choice.
The book deals goes into great detail to describe what happened from all sides involved, such as naval personnel, the convicts, the indigenous natives and other associated persons. Many convicts died during transport due to horrendous condition on board and/or from the treacherous seas. Some ship's officers showed a little mercy, some didn't.
My only problem, no fault of the book, is that most of my time reading, I was either jet-lagged, had lack of sleep or was just generally out of sorts. I've just arrived in Sydney so I might try and re-read some of the book again. For those interested in British or Australian history, this is a must read. I can go and wind up a few Ozzies now.
The book deals goes into great detail to describe what happened from all sides involved, such as naval personnel, the convicts, the indigenous natives and other associated persons. Many convicts died during transport due to horrendous condition on board and/or from the treacherous seas. Some ship's officers showed a little mercy, some didn't.
My only problem, no fault of the book, is that most of my time reading, I was either jet-lagged, had lack of sleep or was just generally out of sorts. I've just arrived in Sydney so I might try and re-read some of the book again. For those interested in British or Australian history, this is a must read. I can go and wind up a few Ozzies now.
August 22, 2018
Really interesting book that gets into the history of how Australia was founded. First and foremost as a penal colony plantation because Britain was facing a problem with overcrowding in its prisons...
- in 1788 a fleet of 11 ships filled with royal marines & their families and convicts set sail for Botany Bay...an area identified by the most influential botanists and naturalists as being able to sustain a city. A royal navy captain named Arthur Phillp was sent out to lead this penal colony as its governor.
- The fact that the British authorities sent as many men as women sort of led to the foundation of Australia as becoming a possible society. What helped was that Arthur Phillip went out of his way to treat the convicts as equals among the marines. This gave those convicts just as much of a stake in making the colony a success.
- They started with mud huts and built from there. This book gets into a lot of the early struggles that led the colony located in Sydney to actually thrive and take off eventually into the nation it is today...
- in 1788 a fleet of 11 ships filled with royal marines & their families and convicts set sail for Botany Bay...an area identified by the most influential botanists and naturalists as being able to sustain a city. A royal navy captain named Arthur Phillp was sent out to lead this penal colony as its governor.
- The fact that the British authorities sent as many men as women sort of led to the foundation of Australia as becoming a possible society. What helped was that Arthur Phillip went out of his way to treat the convicts as equals among the marines. This gave those convicts just as much of a stake in making the colony a success.
- They started with mud huts and built from there. This book gets into a lot of the early struggles that led the colony located in Sydney to actually thrive and take off eventually into the nation it is today...
October 12, 2009
The title of this book caught my eye, especially being that it was written by the author of Schindler's List! Though I enjoyed the history presented and the amazing detail, there were several chapters that seemed to go ultra-slow for me.
June 16, 2011
A good introduction to the history of colonial Australia. It could have been improved by less run-on sentences and a condescending tone that was clearly meant to convey knowledge to "the common people." Some images and a map that actually showed important landmarks would have been nice as well.
January 28, 2022
A very well researched book written in crisp prose - detailing the first few years of convict life in New South Wales, Australia under Governor Arthur Phillip.
When people think of convicts sent to Australia , it almost sounds comical. But for a convict, being removed to a far away unknown land with little to no prospect of ever coming back would have been daunting. And given the poor quality of sentencing in those days, it was equally tragic. Sentencing someone to death for mere theft is unthinkable in today's day and age but was quite common and the convicts' hope to escape death penalty was being transported to Australia.
And again it was a long journey across rough oceans that claimed many lives during the voyage and once ashore there was a constant threat of hunger.
Despite all these challenges, the convicts as well as free persons who settled in Australia built this nation which now welcomes people from every corner of the earth.
Australia is a proof that " criminals" can be rehabilitated once they are removed from the society that made them criminals in the first place and the last chapter of this book explains how that was achieved.
The depictions of aboriginals in this book also deserves merit . Although fingers can be pointed to Bennelong for being a violent man , his personality as depicted in this book, is quite lovable. was This book did not focus on the human rights violation that the European settlers were culpable of, but reading this book will certainly make an avid reader interested to learn more about the history of indigenous Australians.
Tom Keneally is the writer of Schindler's Ark which was made into the Oscar winning movie Schindler's List. I see no reason why this book can not be made into a critically acclaimed award winning movie.
When people think of convicts sent to Australia , it almost sounds comical. But for a convict, being removed to a far away unknown land with little to no prospect of ever coming back would have been daunting. And given the poor quality of sentencing in those days, it was equally tragic. Sentencing someone to death for mere theft is unthinkable in today's day and age but was quite common and the convicts' hope to escape death penalty was being transported to Australia.
And again it was a long journey across rough oceans that claimed many lives during the voyage and once ashore there was a constant threat of hunger.
Despite all these challenges, the convicts as well as free persons who settled in Australia built this nation which now welcomes people from every corner of the earth.
Australia is a proof that " criminals" can be rehabilitated once they are removed from the society that made them criminals in the first place and the last chapter of this book explains how that was achieved.
The depictions of aboriginals in this book also deserves merit . Although fingers can be pointed to Bennelong for being a violent man , his personality as depicted in this book, is quite lovable. was This book did not focus on the human rights violation that the European settlers were culpable of, but reading this book will certainly make an avid reader interested to learn more about the history of indigenous Australians.
Tom Keneally is the writer of Schindler's Ark which was made into the Oscar winning movie Schindler's List. I see no reason why this book can not be made into a critically acclaimed award winning movie.
August 23, 2023
A Realistic Portrayal of the Early Years of the Port Jackson Settlement
I have found that as a baby boomer expat, I have become more interested in the history of my country over the years. Australian history was not taught at Melbourne schools back in my day - it was all English history. A great shame and hopefully rectified in these more enlightened times. For many years there was a sense of shame about our history and origins as a penal colony but those days have fortunately passed.
Robert Hughes masterpiece “The Fatal Shore” is my favorite book on the subject but I really enjoyed Thomas Keneally’s account. His gritty description of the early days of the colony is compelling. He paints a vivid portrait of the troubles Capt. Phillip encountered - first at Botany Bay which was not suitable for a settlement and then at Port Jackson, a wonderful harbor that was home to a population of convicts and their military minders - although they were not far removed in many respects.
He does a thorough job of describing the woeful logistical management of the second fleet as well as the importance of the relationship between Capt. Phillip and Bennelong, the key conduit to the native aboriginal population. In fact, Capt. Phillip is the under appreciated hero of the book (and arguably of Australia’s history) - his governance of the colony set it on a path to becoming the vibrant country it is today.
I have found that as a baby boomer expat, I have become more interested in the history of my country over the years. Australian history was not taught at Melbourne schools back in my day - it was all English history. A great shame and hopefully rectified in these more enlightened times. For many years there was a sense of shame about our history and origins as a penal colony but those days have fortunately passed.
Robert Hughes masterpiece “The Fatal Shore” is my favorite book on the subject but I really enjoyed Thomas Keneally’s account. His gritty description of the early days of the colony is compelling. He paints a vivid portrait of the troubles Capt. Phillip encountered - first at Botany Bay which was not suitable for a settlement and then at Port Jackson, a wonderful harbor that was home to a population of convicts and their military minders - although they were not far removed in many respects.
He does a thorough job of describing the woeful logistical management of the second fleet as well as the importance of the relationship between Capt. Phillip and Bennelong, the key conduit to the native aboriginal population. In fact, Capt. Phillip is the under appreciated hero of the book (and arguably of Australia’s history) - his governance of the colony set it on a path to becoming the vibrant country it is today.
February 25, 2024
Through meticulous research Australian author Thomas Keneally brings to life the hardships of the early settlers in New South Wales and the three convict fleets which powered the settlement under Arthur Phillip. The stories are told from the voluminous records of the individuals, the male and female convicts, the military force to control them and some volunteer settlers. Of course the written records of the British Government, personal diaries and records of the commercial interests outweigh any independent sources of information about the indigenous population who had an oral tradition but the author tries to bring them to life as individuals too, and highlights the mutual cultural puzzlement, indeed bewilderment which existed between the arrivists and those who had lived off the land in competing and cooperating tribes who did not share the Europeans’ understanding of law, order and property rights. The lack of mutual understanding led to violence and came close to extermination a people and a social system unfamiliar to the Europeans as well as bringing death through disease brought from Europe, especially Smallpox. This is a social and economic history of the beginnings of modern Australia in the context of Georgian England and this book brings the story to life interestingly and dramatically. I thoroughly recommend it, but be aware of the book’s limitations in scope - the stories of individuals are used to illustrate the canvas.
November 8, 2022
This is the first book by Thomas Keneally that I have read and I was attracted by the title, which hit a spot with me. I must admit that I don't like the concept of historical fiction, which I thought was what Thom K wrote, but this one sticks to the script of what I understood happened when the 'first fleet' moved to Sydney Cove. One thing that did stand out for me was how smooth the narrative flowed and how easy it was to read. I am also reading another 'histocial fiction' book of a slightly later period of Australian early history and to me it is that smoothness of espression and choice of language that is the major aspect thats sets them apart. I also found that Keneally is very sypathetic towards the indigenious people in a way which would have not been acceptable, maybe fifty years ago and hopefully that is a sign or a growing maturity in the Australian population and our understanding of our early and our history. Perhaps it could be a sign that we are ready to agree to other legislative moved to recognise out indigenious past. In summary, an excellent read with a fantastic title that delivers as an imformative and entertaining account of how the 'first fleet' established their foothold on our country.
May 21, 2024
The settlement of British convicts in Australia, which began in 1788, under the authority of Arthur Phillip remains a momentous, fascinating, and destructive historical event. Thus, Thomas Keneally tells this well-worn story in a fresh and enthusiastic way in, ‘The Commonwealth of Thieves. The Sydney Experiment’. Although the basic facts are well-known to all Australians, Keneally tells the story by engaging individuals from all perspectives including Governors, British troops, a variety of convicts from the several initial fleets and, of course, the taunted original inhabitants including Bennelong and Bangaroo. The book would have benefited from the inclusion of a reference map showing the geography and layout of the Sydney Cove settlement but, instead, Keneally describes the initial village in illustrative detail. In fact, his writing is at its best when describing in depth the daily drudgery of individuals and their dirty and dangerous surrounds but, unfortunately, there is hardly enough of such writing. Overall, however, the book provides a detailed and passionate insight into the founding of a nation and the cruel displacement of its indigenous people in a tone that is simultaneously compelling, captivating, compassionate and concerning.
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