Girt Nation (The Unauthorised History of Australia #3) by David Hunt

Girt Nation (The Unauthorised History of Australia #3) Reviews

• 
  John Gilbert

  Once again David Hunt examines Australian history through his interesting perspective. Being a history major in the US and a certified secondary school teacher in Australia after I arrived 35 years ago, I of course knew little or no Australian history, yet I was certified to teach it. Well, thanks to David, I now know a whole lot more Aussie history than I did when I arrived here, thanks to his three volumes of Girt.
  
  Like it's predicesors, his narrative is entertaining and informative. He looks beyond what was taught in schools (according to those who were schooled here and told me) and delves into the salacious and humourous.
  
  His footnotes at the end of each chapter hold most of the defining information. This volume covers the time from the mid to late 1800s to the early 20th century, including the sucess of women gaining the vote, the introduction of the White Australia policy, disenfranchising of aborigines, lots of mining and sheep raising and Federation. A few notable footnotes:
  
  'The Bulletin, in 1904, was the first publication in the world to use the term 'Bible Basher.' It also referred to clergymen as 'Bible Bangers, Amen snorters, gospel punchers, devil dodgers and sky pilots.'
  
  'In 1901, Australians ate an average of 264 pounds of meat a year, much higher than the 150 pounds by Americans and the 109 pounds eaten by the Brits. Australian meat consumption was four times higher than the sausage loving Germans and ten times then that of the anaemic Italians'
  
  Interestingly, in talking of sex in the colony, it wasn't until after 1890 that the age of consent was raised from 10 years old to 16, seemingly in line with most of America at the time. Go figger.
  
  So, interesting, sometime enjoyable, always something to learn, a trip through Aussie history.
• 
  David Hunt

  As Australian as Vegemite toast with an Aeroplane Jelly chaser. Bigger than the Big Merino. More uplifting than Lawrence Hargrave's box kite. Not quite as rude as Rodney.
• 
  K.

  Trigger warnings: racism, misogyny, death, rape, alcoholism, cheating, colonialism, animal death, death of a child, racial stereotypes, sexism.
  
  I've been meaning to read this book ever since it came out because the first two books are some of my favourite Australian history books ever. And yet I put off reading it because I knew it dealt with Federation and I was scared it would be TOO focused on the politics of federating the various colonies.
  
  Thankfully, Hunt handles it with his usual humour, and the footnotes had me cackling time and time again. There were plenty of funny moments in the main text as well, and I really liked how Hunt centred Australian history in the second half of the nineteenth century around four key figures - Henry Parkes, Alfred Deakin, Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson. I certainly learnt plenty about all four that I didn't know before...
  
  Eagerly anticipating the next instalment of the series!
• 
  Nick

  Girt Nation is an insightful, withering, sarcastic and hilarious account of the quirks of Australian history, as per Hunt's other two books in the series Girt and True Girt.
  
  However, as a proud South Australian, I am deducting one star due to the authors' continued slander of my home state. Good satire punches up, and making jokes about serial killings etc etc seems like low-hanging fruit, does it not? Consider yourself CANCELLED, Mr Hunt.
  
  
  
• 
  Tamsin Ramone

  This is the third book in this series. The first one was super funny and interesting, the second one wasn’t very funny but still interesting and this one is not funny or interesting. It’s getting two starts, one for the photo of Scomo’s great, great aunt and one for all the suffragette info.
  
  I think it’s suffice to say that Australia does not have enough interesting white history for three books, maybe Hunt could delve into the 59,800 years of history prior to the white invasion for some more content.
• 
  Liz

  This is a history book with a difference. It covers the period in the lead up to federation and includes lots of interesting information like the Premier of New South Wales introducing an Act into parliament to change the name of the state to Australia! It didn’t pass thankfully! The books is probably 50/50 culture and politics and is full of witty asides. The writing reminds me somewhat of Bill Bryson’s humour, only with more dad jokes! A great read.
• 
  Reza Amiri Praramadhan

  In this third installment of zany history of Australia, the Land Down Under, the author's historical narration continues in part-biography-styled writing, for the history of late Colonial Australia was intertwined with the lives of many prominent Australians, most notably Alfred Deakin, the spiritualist (in the kind of seances of way), numerology-addicted, Prime Minister of Australia, and 'Banjo' Paterson, the Bushmen Poet, the author of arguably Australia's most famous song, Waltzing Matilda.
  
  Throughout the book, Australia's history was described in a highly wacky way, complete with many, funny footnotes, which I consider the main attraction of the whole series. During the time, Bushrangers the likes of Ned Kelly were transformed into the idealized version of Australian, The Bushmen, while Australians rapidly expanded into the North and the West, fueled by the gold rush and the resulting yellow peril of high immigration rate of Chinese people, resulting in one of Australia's most infamous policy, the White Australia Policy. The book ends with the inauguration of Federation of Australia, and the era of Colonial Australia was officially over.
  
  In the end, this book managed to capture my interest, while funny as ever, I found the historical aspect being overshadowed by the biographical side of the book, making the scope of the book rather narrow, a missed opportunity to describe many aspects of Australian History. Nevertheless, I give the book five stars for its sheer zaniness, and I hope the series will continue on to Australia modern history.
• 
  Annette Sullivan

  Another comedic gem from David Hunt. Australian History ‘warts and all’, Volume three! You’ll find yourself reading aloud from this book to family and friends. It’s full of hilarious and insightful passages that just demand to be shared. I also found myself re-reading text in order to fully appreciate the numerous hidden references within. (Don’t worry if at first you don’t fully ‘get’ each reference, as the author adds lots of footnotes to provide clarity and extra chuckles). Some footnotes are obviously ‘his opinion’ too, and these are often the funniest of all. Readers not raised in Australia might struggle with some of the allusions to Australian popular culture, but I guess a ‘Google’ search will soon fix that?
  I’ve read the earlier two volumes in this series, ‘Girt’ and ‘True Girt’. At the end of each I was impatient for the author to write the next instalment. (It’s not essential to read the earlier books but I’d recommend it.)
  It amuses me that ‘girt’ rhymes with ‘dirt’ as that’s what Hunt frequently dishes out in this series. He digs through Australian historical data to find unpalatable, often obscure truths that conservative history-books ‘sweep under the carpet’. Though the truths are sobering, it’s all delivered in a highly entertaining and irreverent tone.
  Early politicians Alfred Deakin and Henry Parkes are the central objects of fun in this book which covers the quest for Australian Federation. No ‘socially embarrassing’ stone is left unturned as Deakin is revealed to be a ‘crackpot spiritualist’ and Parkes a ‘gold-medal root-rat’ (amongst other more noble attributes)! Despite their personal foibles, their tenacity in pursuing Nationhood in the face of staunch opposition is admirable. Edmund Barton,who pursued Federation after Parkes retirement, is also featured. He’s not as ‘colourful’ a character (probably why he became the first Australian Prime Minister)?!
  The role of ‘The Bulletin’ newspaper in encouraging nationalist sentiments is highlighted with frequent ‘choice quotes’. It’s embarrassing to see how racist the editorials of the day were!
  The lives and selected poetry of ‘bush-bards’ Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson are included as they played a large part in popularising Australian life and identity.
  The in-fighting between States, The White Australia Policy, The Aboriginal Protection Act, Pacific Islander labour, Womens’ rights, Early Trade Unionism and the rise of the Australian Labour Party are all humorously and unflinchingly discussed.
  As well as highlighting some of the ‘inconvenient truths’ of our past, this book continues to illustrate how outrageously ‘whacky’ true history can be.
  Once again, I’m left wanting more. The good news is that there’s plenty of modern Australian history left for future lampooning!
• 
  Luke Watts

  First time giving a review where wish there was an minus star system. I’m unsure how this got published. Surely Hunt was riding on coattails of the success of volume 1 (as volume 2 was a big step down in content and quality). Volume 3 was not only a confusing mess, with the focus shifting every half-page to another person, setting, or theme, but it also had no real flow, no real substance, and no real aim other that trying to scrape the bottom of the gutter for the worst kind of punchline in the name of “satire” and “humour”. Large portions of this book are rude, crude, disgusting, and blasphemous and it’s not because of a “warts and all” telling of historical figures and happenings. It’s because the author seems intent on shock value at the expense of history, human dignity, and sanctity of sexuality and faith. While much of Australian history (human history) does not paint a rosy picture, the author has gone beyond stretching the point. I did not finish a couple of the chapters due to the crudity, and in other points it was redundantly boring, as the author seemed to fill his word count on details of the formation of political parties (well, only one party really gets a “thorough” treatment in this way). There were glimpses of some good content trying to break through in some of his details about suffrage and the federation, but that is always overcome by the authors overwhelming desire for cheap shots, crude sidelines, and unnecessary vulgarity. Thankful I didn’t pay for this book (I nearly purchased, but borrowed from library instead)!
• 
  John

  Hunt explains that this is his version of history not Howard’s or any other “authorised” version. More serious than Girt it traces the stories of those often of low status who really made Australian history and the less known antics in the authorized histories: Banjo Paterson, Henry Lawson, Henry Parkes and his enormous libido, Lane of Paraguay. Two major themes shock: the dreadful racism, open and unalloyed, directed against Chinese and especially First Nations people; and the sexism towards women and the insulting attempts to prevent their getting the vote. As he says we need to learn from history in shaping the future, avoiding those terrible mistakes that Hunt reveals here. He points out that authorized histories glorify the past and don’t interrogate it so we never learn from it. The stupidity of early politicians only matched by our current government: the mismatching rail gauges on the Sydney-Melbourne run making people change trains at Albury, causing Mark Twain to remark “Think of the paralysis of intellect that gave that idea birth”, the patchwork constitution that omitted human rights, oh so many such inanities. This Volume is deeply researched and indexed, but like Girt he tries to lighten it, sometimes irritatingly so, at other times genuinely funny. But all the time he has a serious intent: to teach us to d better in future.
• 
  Ken Richards

  David Hunt gives us the story of Federation and an insight into the forces that melded six colonies into a nation (well a dominion anyhow).
  Not to put too fine point upon it, the driving forces were not necessarily the highest of human endeavours. Indeed some of the drivers came from the very depths of our primitive lizard brains.
  
  Perhaps not so surprising since the newly born nation stands on the lands of dispossessed and un-peopled First Nations Australians. That thieves (or the receivers of stolen property anyhow) have that underlying fear that the wheels of justice may come for them someday.
  
  The Project Australia is seen through the eyes of Alfred Deakin - Australia's spiritualist Prime Minister (who'd have thought), leavened with the words of our great poets Lawson and Patterson.
  Hunt also credits the stellar influence of the movement for female suffrage into the forging of a nation with, at the time and even now, one of the fairest and progressive electoral systems in the world.
  
  And he does all of this whist entertaining the reader, rounding out the humanity of his subjects, even the villains.
  The 3 volumes of 'The Unauthorized History of Australia' should be a key text of our studies of Australian History, rather than the sanitized hagiography favoured by the 'white picket fence' Push of the current 'dud' Education Minister
  
• 
  Greg

  David Hunt continues his irreverent history of Australia in Girt Nation, where he covers the years leading up to Federation, and the early years of the new nation. Women's suffrage, the White Australia Policy, the bush poets and yellow journalists of the time, and the leading politicians of the early Federation all get put under his lens. I found out a lot about our Founders that I never knew, some of which I kind of wish I still didn't know.
  
  As always, there is a heap of snark in Hunt's footnotes and these must not be skimmed over. Favourite targets include South Australia and the Essendon Football Club. While they are very amusing, they probably render the book almost unintelligible to non-Australians.
• 
  David Vernon

  Nothing is sacred in this third volume of Girt (it wasn't sacred in the other volumes either) and this is what makes this such a great history read. Yes, Hunt does dig up some of the less savoury parts of Australian history and it is essential that this is done. Little Johnny Howard always felt uncomfortable at this, calling it the 'black armband view of history', but without understanding the bad and the good we are being simply Pollyanna's and cannot grow as a nation. There were a few less intriguing segments of the book which felt a little padded but then again, if you are an AB Patterson fan then you'd not agree with this comment. For anyone not knowledgeable about Australian history I think the three Girt Volumes are a great place to start.
• 
  Alistair Paton

  Another brilliant instalment in the Girt series (following Girt and True Girt) - must-read for anyone who wants to know the true history of Australia. The third book in the series focuses on the twisted path to Federation in 1901 and the fascinating and under-reported story behind women getting the vote here earlier than in most other parts of the world. There are some very dark sections - the section on the White Australia Policy was hard to read, along with anything about the treatment of Indigenous people, but that's all part of the story and important to know about. Apart from those sections, lots of very funny footnotes!
• 
  Kerry

  I have enjoyed this entire series and this one has not disappointed. Very entertaining and enlightening walk through the movement towards the Federation of Australia. I am sure students would enjoy Australian History much more if this was a text book. Great read with lots of laugh out loud moments interspersed with massive cringes at some of the sexist and racist quotes from the supposedly important and powerful people of the time!
• 
  Amos O'Henry

  At times it is laugh out loud hilarious while also being very informative. I thought I knew Australian history pretty well until Girt came along with its gossipy style of narrative. It sometimes jumps a bit too quickly from one area or personality to another which confused me, but that might be the senility kicking it.
  If you like history with a bent view and razor sharp wit, read this book.
• 
  Jack Magner

  Another enjoyable entry into the history of Australia, told with a lot of tongue-in-cheek references making it a lot more enjoyable. Also kind of crazy how overtly racist/sexist the not-too-distant generations of Australians (and particularly Australian leaders) has been and the fear that they fostered.
• 
  Renata

  I absolutely loved this. I listened to it as an audiobook and was so grateful that I did, because the inclusion of the footnotes was so well done, and kept the flow of the writing nice and smooth. David Hunt is incredibly funny and there is so much in this book that I genuinely had no idea about before reading it. Highly recommend.
• 
  Lee Belbin

  This third volume of uncensored history of Australia was, like the previous two, a great education regarding the period of Australian federation. I wish these three books were the basis of Australian history in high schools. They certainly should be. They are highly effecive in quality education and humour.
• 
  Chris Cousins

  I have now read all 3 of the "Girt" books and thoroughly enjoyed each one. They are highly recommended for anyone who wants an insight into the history of our country, warts and all.
  
  Yes, the quotes from the past are by people who came from "less enlightened times" but wow aren't they racist and stupid!
  
  In summary the books are an entertaining way to learn.
• 
  Chris

  As always, David Hunt has written an accessible and entertaining history book in his unique and quirky style. Centred around Australia's federation period, Hunt covers topics that are important for all Australians to learn about such as women's suffrage and the white Australia policy. A good introduction to Deakin, Parkes and Barton too.
• 
  Meg

  David hunt can make any history come to life. Except this one. It was just boring unfortunately. He has a great voice, and there were some funny and some interesting bits. But overall, it was a long slog.
• 
  WildWoila

  Third in his irreverent Australian histories. Covers the (very) oddball Deakin (spiritualist!), women's suffrage & federation. A bit Labored this time round. The degree of racism & sexism still shocks me.
• 
  Bill Porter

  Glib, facile, irreverent and flippant. Enormously enjoyable, words not normally associated with history books, yet educational at the same time. I'm looking forward to the next in the series, and I nominate the book title as "Get Down and Girty"
• 
  Laurie

  The problem with this is the amount of time the author gives to Banjo Patterson, who the author loves but I could not stand. He was a shitheel of a person writing crap poetry. The effort given to making him a superhero adventurer prototypical embodiment of the Australian ideal is just irritating.
• 
  Timothy

  Serving up another dose of sarcastic historical fiction. This was probably my second favourite of the series, perhaps because it taught me so much about Melbourne and the first Parliament. Still my go to series for anyone keen on Aussie politics and history.
• 
  Barbara Gorman

  Funny, informative
  
  Laughed my socks off and learned a thing or two about the somewhat dry topic of Federation. Highly recommend. Great illustrations