PublishedHarper Collins, June 2018 |
ISBN9781460756454 |
FormatSoftcover, 384 pages |
Dimensions23.5cm × 15.3cm × 3cm |
Hunter. Worker. Legend. The untold story of the dog's role in building our nation. The Dogs That Made Australia pays tribute to the dogs that gave their all for our prosperity: the fearless hounds that saved fledgling colonies from famine; the courageous heelers and tireless collies that powered the rise of beef and wool; the tough little home-grown terriers that protected the homestead and garden; and the extraordinary police dogs, ahead of their time, loved by the nation.
The selfless exploits of our heroic dogs are writ indelibly in our nation's heritage and identity. The Dogs That Made Australia is a vivid and meticulously researched history of Australia told from the perspectives of the dingo and of the dogs that were imported and developed here, as well as the humans who loved, feared and worked them.
Bill is one of the founders of Boffins and has been involved in selecting the books we stock since our beginning in 1989. His favourite reading is history, with psychology, current affairs, and business books coming close behind. His hobbies are reading, food, reading, drinking, reading, and sleeping.
It’s estimated that Australians own an estimated 4.8 million dogs, about 1 for every 5 people – one of the highest rates of dog ownership in the world. Guy Hull shows how the dog was pivotal to the foundation of agricultural Australia and the wool and cattle industries – it’s hard to imagine that we’d have built our country on the sheep’s back without the dog. He brings the latest research on the first dog’s arrival – the dingo, an Asian dog – which only happened between 3,500 and 5,000 years ago – at least 55,000 years after the arrival of the aboriginal people. The first dogs brought into the infant colony at Sydney Cove played a vital role in guarding stores, crops and domestic livestock. And they were invaluable when hunting kangaroos, a valuable food source. In the starving colony of the first few years this may have tipped the balance between survival and extinction for the First Fleet settlers. Thank you dogs! Note: the kangaroo dog – a cross between Scottish deerhounds (stamina) and smooth coated greyhounds (speed) – worked in pairs to bring down kangaroos. They soon found as much favour with aboriginal people as with the white settlers. He tells the stories of the heelers and the kelpies, how the breeds came about and of their feats as cattle and sheep dogs. You’ll learn about extraordinary police dogs, but also about the little home-grown terriers that protected the homestead and the garden. Best of all, Guy Hull writes like a thriller writer. If you love dogs and history, then you’ll love every of the 368 pages in this riveting book.
