Showing 1–12 of 880 results
-
Captain James Cook
Artist/Author: Mundle, Rob$25.00 Add to cartCaptain James Cook is one of the greatest maritime explorers in world history. Over three remarkable voyages of discovery into the Pacific in the latter part of the eighteenth century, Cook unravelled the oldest mystery surrounding the existence of Terra Australis Incognita – the Great South Land. He became the first explorer to circumnavigate New Zealand and establish that it was two main islands; discover the Hawaiian Islands for the British Empire; and left an enduring legacy.
Rob Mundle introduces us to an unlikely sailor in a teenage Cook, who, through the combination of hard-won skills as a seafarer, the talents of a self-taught navigator and surveyor, and an exceptional ability to lead and care for his men, climbed the ranks of the Royal Navy to achieve legendary status among all who sailed and mapped the world.
-
I am Uluru: A Family’s Story
Artist/Author: Cowley, Jen with the Uluru Family$40.00 Add to cartI am Uluru: A Family’s Story gives a glimpse into the hitherto untold story of the family entrusted as traditional owners and custodians of arguably Australia’s most iconic landmark – Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock) and that country, which has been home to the Anangu (people of the Central Desert) for tens of thousands of years. The story begins at the relatively recent point in history known as “first contact” and follows the highs and lows of the family (and all Anangu’s) struggle to adapt to the increasingly European world while still holding on to their deeply traditional faith and way of life. Told with an intoxicating mix of personal recollection – in their own words – and well-researched and sensitively crafted creative and contextual narrative, the book takes the reader on a journey of discovery and enlightenment, but makes neither judgement nor conclusion – the reader is left to digest the knowledge and reach their own understanding. This book is not an exercise in finger pointing – it is simply one unique family’s contribution to the cultural landscape that has for too long been misunderstood, misrepresented and marginalised through a lack of understanding. The book is not an exercise in finger-pointing, it simply aims to open up as much of a traditional world as possible so that others might come to a place of greater understanding about the value of maintaining that sacred culture. Crafted over the course of three years of intensive contact on country with the elders of the Uluru family, the book has been described as “an important work”, “a great read”, “beautifully written”, “an emotional roller coaster” and “something all Australians should read”. First-person accounts from Uluru family members across three generations are stitched together with carefully researched contextual narrative and sensitively crafted creative storytelling to form a unique and well-rounded overview of a remarkable family’s history. I am Uluru is not only a thought-provoking and page-turning read, it is a document of national cultural significance and a tool of genuine reconciliation.
-
The Guide to Tasmanian Wildlife
Artist/Author: McNab, Angus$55.00 Add to cartThe Guide to Tasmanian Wildlife is the only comprehensive guide to identifying all 324 species of amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds that inhabit Tasmania and its territorial waters, including 30 species that occur nowhere else.
Detailed and user-friendly accounts of each species include physical descriptions, distribution maps, details on where and when to see each species, preferred habitat types, similar species and how to tell them apart, plus notes on subspecies, conservation status and ecology.
Over 900 images help to identify each species, including images of male, female and young where necessary. Details on the wildlife of Macquarie Island and the 174 vagrants and visitors that have been recorded within Tasmania and its territorial waters are included with photographs depicting a range of these species.
-
The Secret Network of Nature: The Delicate Balance of All Living Things
Artist/Author: Wohlleben, Peter$33.00 Add to cartDid you know that trees can influence the rotation of the earth? Or that wolves can alter the course of a river? Or that earthworms control wild boar populations?
The natural world is a web of intricate connections, many of which go unnoticed by humans. But it is these connections that maintain nature’s finely balanced equilibrium.
Drawing on the latest scientific discoveries and decades of experience as a forester and bestselling author, Peter Wohlleben shows us how different animals, plants, rivers, rocks and weather systems cooperate, and what’s at stake when these delicate systems are unbalanced.The earth’s ecosystems are too complex for us to compartmentalise and draw up simple rules of cause and effect; but The Secret Network of Nature gives us a chance to marvel at the inner workings and unlikely partnerships of the natural world, where every entity has its own distinct purpose. And the more light that is shed on relationships between species, the more fascinating nature’s web becomes.
-
Nature’s Great Migrations: Great Journeys from Around the World
Artist/Author: Taylor, Marianne$43.00 Add to cartThis beautifully illustrated book on the world’s most impressive and spectacular movements of animals, includes various species of mammals, birds, fish and invertebrates.
Twenty-five species are covered and these include iconic migrations, ranging from millions of wildebeest moving through the plains of east Africa and the annual return of the spawning salmon each year, to swarms of Monarch butterflies travelling thousands of miles and Arctic Terns flying virtually from pole-to-pole and back each year.
Perhaps less well-known but certainly no less spectacular events include the movements of the Grey Whale, Harp Seal, Osprey, Wilson’s Storm-petrel, Ruby throated Hummingbird, Hummingbird Hawkmoth, Desert Locust, Globe Skimmer dragonfly and even the Christmas Island Red Crab.
In each case there is an engaging written account, a map showing the location of the movement, and several images of the species concerned, often in spectacular gatherings as the migration is in full swing. In short this is a remarkable and eye-catching book covering some of the world’s most impressive natural history spectacles, and it will be a valuable addition to the library of any wildlife enthusiast.
-
Rare and Wonderful: Treasures from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History
Artist/Author: Diston, Kate (Editor), Zoë Simmons (Editor)$50.00 Add to cartSince its foundation in 1860, the Oxford University Museum of Natural History’s world-renowned collections have become a key centre for scientific study and its much-loved building an important icon for visitors from around the world. The museum now holds over seven million scientific specimens including five million insects, half a million fossil specimens and half a million zoological specimens. It also holds an extensive collection of archival material relating to important naturalists such as Charles Darwin, William Smith, William Jones and James Charles Dale.
This lavishly illustrated book features highlights from the collections ranging from the iconic Dodo (the only soft tissue specimen of the species in existence) and the giant tuna (brought back from Madeira on a perilous sea crossing in 1846) to crabs collected by Darwin during his voyage on the Beagle, David Livingstone’s tsetse fly specimens and Mary Anning’s ichthyosaur. Also featured are the first described dinosaur bones, found in a small Oxfordshire village, the Red Lady of Paviland (who was in fact a man who lived 29,000 years ago) and a meteorite from the planet Mars.
Each item tells a unique story about natural history, about the history of science, about collecting, or about the museum itself. They give a unique insight into the extraordinary wealth of information and the fascinating tales that can be gleaned from these collections, both from the past and for the future.
-
Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia
Artist/Author: Griffiths, Billy$37.00 Add to cart‘Deftly weaving together biography, history and literature, an immense variety of Australian landscapes and ecologies with many and complex strands of archaeology, Griffiths brilliantly charts the history of modern Aboriginal archaeology in Australia……Rich and absorbing and at times spell-binding’ Grace Karskens
This book investigates a twin revolution: the reassertion of Aboriginal identity in the second half of the twentieth century and the uncovering of the traces of ancient Australia by pioneering archaeologists. It explores what it means to live in a place of great antiquity, with its complex questions of ownership and belonging.
‘Once every generation, a book comes along that marks the emergence of a powerful new literary voice and shifts our understanding of the nation’s past…. No other book has managed to convey the mystery and intricacy of Indigenous antiquity in quite the same way….’ Mark McKenna
-
Walks, Tracks and Trails of New South Wales
Artist/Author: Stone, Derrick$40.00 Add to cartFor the first time in a single volume, this book brings together more than 140 of the best walks, tracks or trails in New South Wales, which can be walked by the moderately fit individual. They are located in national parks, coastal parks, state forests, conservation reserves, historic parks and local government and public easements. Other routes follow state highways, minor roads, coastal cliffs, old gold routes, or pass bushranger haunts and back roads linking towns and historical features.
-
Walks, Tracks and Trails of Queensland’s Tropics
Artist/Author: Stone, Derrick$40.00 Add to cartQueensland’s tropics provide numerous environments for enjoyable walking: lush rainforests, cloud-shrouded mountains, extinct volcanoes, savanna woodlands, and magnificent beaches on the coast and Great Barrier Reef islands.
-
Walks, Tracks and Trails of Victoria
Artist/Author: Stone, Derrick$50.00 Add to cartFor the first time in a single volume, this book brings together more than 150 of the best walks, tracks or trails in Victoria, which can be walked, cycled or driven by the moderately fit individual. They are located in national and state parks, state forests, conservation reserves, historic parks and local government and public easements. Other routes follow state highways, old railways and gold routes, or pass bushranger haunts and back roads linking towns, historical and geological or geographical features.
-
The Catch: The Story of Fishing in Australia
Artist/Author: Clark, Anna$40.00 Add to cartIn every coastal town in Australia, there’s a bait shop and a boat ramp, and, in garages around the country, fishing rods are strung up waiting for their next outing. Many of us have a special fishing spot, and families pass on tips from generation to generation and exchange fishy tales of amazing catches and near misses.
Bringing her personal passion for throwing in a line, author Anna Clark celebrates the enduring pleasure of fishing in The Catch: The Story of Fishing in Australia. This book charts the history of fishing, from the first known accounts of Indigenous fishing and early European encounters with Australia’s waters, to the latest fishing fads; from the introduction of trout and fly fishing to the challenges of balancing needs of commercial and recreational fishers.
-
Where Australia Collides with Asia
Artist/Author: Burnet, Ian$35.00 Add to cartThis book follows the epic voyages of Joseph Banks, Charles Darwin, and Alfred Russel Wallace through the voyage of Continent Australia after it breaks away from Antarctica 50 million years ago with its raft of Gondwanaland flora and fauna and begins its journey north towards the equator.
The voyage of Joseph Banks on the Endeavour, who with Daniel Solander became the first trained naturalists to describe the unique flora and fauna of Continent Australia that had evolved during its 30 million years of isolation.
The voyage of Charles Darwin on the Beagle, who after his observations in South America and the Galapagos Islands, sat on the banks of the Coxs River in New South Wales and tried to rationalise his belief in the idea of biblical creation and understand the origin of species.
The voyage of Alfred Russel Wallace, who realised that the Lombok Strait in Indonesia represents the biogeographical boundary between the fauna of Asia and those of Australasia. On the Asian side are elephants, tigers, primates, and specific birds. On the Australasian side are marsupials such as the possum-like cuscus and the Aru wallaby, as well as birds specific to Australia such as white cockatoos, brush turkeys, and the spectacular Birds of Paradise.
It was tectonic plate movement that brought these disparate worlds together and it was Alfred Russel Wallace’s ‘Letter from Ternate’ that forced Charles Darwin to finally publish his landmark work On the Origin of Species.
Follow the seminal historical journeys of these men to discover Where Australia Collides with Asia
