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Convict Colony

The Remarkable Story of the Fledgling Settlement That Survived Against the Odds

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Convict Colony

By: David Hill
Narrated by: Conrad Coleby
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About this listen

Best-selling historian David Hill tells the story of the first three decades of Britain's earliest colony in Australia in a fresh and compelling way.

The British plan to settle Australia was a high-risk venture. We now take it for granted that the first colony was the basis of one of the most successful nations in the world today. But in truth, the New World of the 18th century was dotted with failed colonies, and New South Wales nearly joined them.

The motley crew of unruly marines and bedraggled convicts who arrived at Botany Bay in 1788 in leaky boats nearly starved to death. They could easily have been murdered by hostile locals, been overwhelmed by an attack from French or Spanish expeditions or been brought undone by the Castle Hill uprising of 1804. Yet through fortunate decisions, a few remarkably good leaders and, most of all, good luck, Sydney survived and thrived.

©2019 David Hill (P)2019 W. F. Howes Australia, New Zealand & Oceania Europe Oceania World

Critic Reviews

"David Hill captures Australia’s past in a very readable way." (The Weekly Times)
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Solid history of earliest settlement and the men behind it. Focus on the latter probably an artifact of period, but surely more room for female perspective. Oftentimes quite light and skips across decades, but in keeping with an accessible history rather than detailed chronology. A-

Great, decidedly non-academic history

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I love the Australian history and as my father was a local historian I grew up hearing the early stories of the convicts. The harsh conditions of our early colonial days are definitely depicted in this book. There are a few errors, such as Bathurst being built on the Lachlan River. Bathurst is situated on the Macquarie River. Barriellier's map has him at the Little River at Porters Retreat south of Oberon, as he came up from the south.

Well worth a read

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I am currently studying this topic at a tertiary level, this book is more object and informative, then the required reading of my course.

A outstanding book.

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Highly recommend this audiobook. Lots of in depth details without being too dry. The narrator is great as well!

Excellent read

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Well written history of early sydney easy listening and informative whilst entertaining. I cannot recommend highly enough

Outstanding listening

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.