The Upside-down History of Down Under

by Alison Lloyd

The true story of Australia starts with a piece of land that went for a swim. Millions of years ago it floated away from Africa. Very, very, slowly. It was home to dinosaurs and giant animals, until the first Australians showed up and got comfortable. This wild and wonderful land was a mystery to the rest of the world. Then the English decided to make it the biggest jail ever . . . Experience the story of Australia from prehistory to federation in 1901.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Australia, Middle Grade

304 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2019

About the author

Alison Lloyd is an Australian writer. She writes both fiction and non-fiction -- new words about old worlds.

Alison has had ten books for children published, several of which have won national prizes or been shortlisted.

Alison now writes women's historical fiction with elements of romance, adventure, warmth and wit.

You can find her online, and get her newsletter, at https://alisonlloydauthor.com/ .
Alison Lloyd's site for kids is www.alisonlloyd.com.au

Reviews

[Stuart Aken · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book came to me as a ‘jokey’ present from my daughter, who lives in Australia. Whilst it’s clearly a book written for children, I suspect a lot of adults will find it informative, illuminating, and entertaining, as I did.
I’d love to see it used by both UK and Australian schools as part of their history curriculum. It states the facts straightforwardly but with a touch of wry humour and some amusing illustrations.
History, as we all know, is written by the victors. Australia has had a bad press in many ways, and the country is much misunderstood, even by those who live there. The heritage of the Aboriginal people in particular has been either eradicated or distorted by viewing it through the narrow vision of the western world.
The book describes what has happened in the fascinating island continent from it’s early days as a part of Pangaea (250 million years ago), through Gondwanaland (125 million years ago), and the Cretaceous Period (145.5 to 65.5 million years ago), and through the various calamities that created the ‘modern’ world.
It’s likely the first humans arrived in Australia some 65,000 years ago, but many people still seem to be fixed on the idea that it only became a populated land with the arrival of Europeans. The Dutch first landed on those shores in 1606. Famously, Captain Cook landed in 1770, and the rapacious English (I say English as opposed to British, as it was a largely English invasion) decided it was theirs to take, which they did with the first convict ship in 1788.
The book details the attitudes, conditions, injustices and sheer lawlessness and greed that characterised the early days of settlement. In common with the UK attitude to other lands they colonised, the native peoples were considered lesser human beings, and many were killed, enslaved, and treated terribly. The authors report on these injustices in a matter-of-fact manner that will allow children to understand the true nature of conquest and the greed that underlines it, without rancour.
It’s a fascinating read, and one I recommend to all with any interest in the land down under.

[Nadia Zeemeeuw · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was such a delightful read! Hundreds of fascinating details, easy and clear way of explaining every single fact, a lot of witty and funny illustrations - in short everything to make your staying in Australia even more exciting.
This book definitely aimed for children but I was enjoying it enormously in my forties.

[Hayley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fairly light reading as it is a children’s non fiction book about the history of Australia. I learnt a few things along the way but more importantly I laughed. Terry Denton was the illustrator and is well known in the children arena for his “Treehouse books”. His illustrations had me chuckling and it definitely made learning historical facts fun. A great one for middle grade kids wanting to know more about Australia.

[Rachel rachandalotabooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great Australian version of "Horrible Histories" type of book. Very good for young readers in primary and middle school. Some of the history and references were something I only saw when I went to University. Informative for beginners in learning history about the land down under.

[Paul (Life In The Slow Lane) · Rating 5 out of 5]

History, made interesting. Yes, believe it!

The history of Australia is ... well ... boring. A desert continent where England dumped all her convicts and other "undesirables" i.e. starving people who stole a loaf of bread to feed their kiddos. They were starving because stupid King George III was wasting all his money on teaching those naughty American Revolutionaries a lesson. Then he went to war with France for helping those naughty Yanks.

Meanwhile, here in Australia (New South Wales at the time), the dregs of society, the dregs of the Royal Navy and the dregs of the Royal Army were causing misery left, right and centre. Yay! What a haven..NOT. So that's our heritage, like it or not. Thankfully, we are, at last, finally acknowledging our land's first inhabitants and affording them consideration...instead of ignoring, or shooting them.

Lloyd has written a humorous, and illuminating history lesson here, taking us up to 1900 AD when we officially became a nation...and endowed ourselves with so many politicians, we became the most over-governed country in the world. If only we could keep our coal, natural gas, uranium, wheat, wool and iron ore and export our politicians instead! Would you like one? They're house trained...err...wait...no, they're not.

[Catherine Rowntree · Rating 5 out of 5]

So interesting. Easy to read and very entertaining. There was a lot in there that I did not realize about Australia's history. Should be a compulsory read in schools.

[Kathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10
A quick read, aimed at children but entertaining for adults. It helped me get a “big picture” overview of Australia’s history (I borrowed the book from my grandnephew while visiting in Australia).

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the history read aloud for my youngest son and his Australian history introduction, but the two older boys and myself thoroughly enjoyed it as well.

[Gervy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost 11-year -old boy enjoyed this...

[Ms Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This took me FOREVER to get through, but that's ok, because it's not really a book designed to be read in a linear fashion. Alison Lloyd has written a whirl wind of Australian history, from our first people, all the way up to Federation and has chosen some really interesting and lesser known facts about Australia. It's done with a good dose of humour (Terry Denton's illustrations adding beautifully to this), and a good deal of sensitivity. A really good one for upper primary/ middle school readers who may not have great reading stamina yet, but who want to learn more about Australian history.

[Confused Hamburger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative book about the history of Australia with some amusing drawings from Terry Denton. I just wish it had gone on to talk about the 20th and 21st century as well, but, for some weird reason, it didn't.