John S Croucher - A Concise History of New South Wales

Professor John Croucher is one of Australias most prominent academics and has been recognised with multiple awards for outstanding teaching. His extensive consulting background to both business and government led to receiving his universitys inaugural Community Outreach Award.

John is a scholarly researcher with an international reputation and over 30 books, 120 scholarly papers and more than 1000 other articles published in newspapers and magazines. He is also well known for his weekly newspaper column Number Crunch that was read by up to two million people across Australia.

In 2005 John completed a second PhD in Modern History to complement his previous doctorate in Mathematics and Statistics. After an honorary PhD in 2011, he gained his fourth PhD in 2015, also in Modern History, from the University of Technology, Sydney.

John was the winner of the Prime Ministers Award for the University Teacher of the Year 201314 as the best teacher in any discipline in Australia. In 2015 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his outstanding services to mathematics, statistics and education.

Woodslane Press Pty Ltd

10 Apollo Street

Warriewood, NSW 2102

Email:

Tel: 02 8445 2300 Website: www.woodslane.com.au

First published in Australia in 2020 by Woodslane Press

2020 Woodslane Press, text 2020 John Croucher

This work is copyright. All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of study, research or review, as permitted under Australian copyright law, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any other form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator, at the address above.

The information in this publication is based upon the current state of commercial and industry practice and the general circumstances as at the date of publication. Every effort has been made to obtain permissions relating to information reproduced in this publication. The publisher makes no representations as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of the information contained in this publication. To the extent permitted by law, the publisher excludes all conditions, warranties and other obligations in relation to the supply of this publication and otherwise limits its liability to the recommended retail price. In no circumstances will the publisher be liable to any third party for any consequential loss or damage suffered by any person resulting in any way from the use or reliance on this publication or any part of it. Any opinions and advice contained in the publication are offered solely in pursuance of the authors and publishers intention to provide information, and have not been specifically sought.

Printed in Australia by McPhersons

Book design by: Jenny Cowan

Front Cover image: Gold Washing Fitz Roy Bar Ophir Diggings 1851 by George French Angus, courtesy of the State Library of New South Wales

Other books by John Croucher

Exam Scams

Great Frauds and Everyday Scams

Number Crunch

The Secret Language

Eighteen Days on the Toilet (Woodslane Press)

657 Gorillas on the Run (Woodslane Press)

Love by Numbers (Woodslane Press)

The Kid from Norfolk Island (Woodslane Press)

Mistress of Science: the story of the remarkable Janet Taylor

Women of Science: 100 inspirational lives

Dedicated to the magnificent people
of New South Wales who helped shape
our wonderful states history

The author and publishers would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of all lands within the State boundaries of New South Wales and pay their respects to their elders past, present and emerging.

Contents

. Indigenous History

. The Arrival of British Convicts

. Further Non-indigenous Colonisation and Settlement

. Cities, Towns and Localities

. Agricultural and Pastoral Industry

. Politics

. Education

. Infrastructure and Transport

. Manufacturing and Industrial Development

. Health

. Entertainment

. Science

. Crime, Punishment and Law Enforcement

. Finance

. Community Organisations

. Organised Religion

. Sport

. Art, Literature, Music and Architecture

Foreword

When presented with the request to write the Foreword to Professor John Crouchers A Concise History of New South Wales , my mind immediately went to that other concise workthe Concise Oxford English Dictionary a volume of nearly 2,000 pages. We perhaps should be thankful that the editors of the English-speaking worlds most prestigious dictionary considered that a concise version was a good idea, given that the full dictionary is over 21,000 pages. As defined in the shorter tome, concise means Expressed in few words; brief and comprehensive in statement; not diffuse . If the number of pages is anything to go by, it would appear that conciseness is a relative term and perhaps better captured in the expression a lack of extra or unnecessary information, so defined in the Oxford Learners Dictionary . And so it is with Professor Crouchers Concise History of New South Wales , although I would add highly readable and fast moving to the description of this work.

Descended from two British convicts on the paternal line of his family, the author has long had an interest in the early days of the colony and its development thereafter. He is a person of eclectic and wide-ranging interests and accomplishmentsacross mathematics, statistics, sport, history and education. He holds a PhD in three different disciplines and an honorary doctorate conferred by the Divine Word University in Papua New Guinea for services to mankind. Already a noted author of over 30 books, Professor Croucher has neatly captured the detail of the history of Australias oldest and most populous state without losing the substance of the narrative.

Professor Croucher commences his work with the history of Australias Indigenous people, the oldest surviving geographically stable human culture on earth, a source of Indigenous pride and increasing national appreciation and wonderment. He follows with an examination of Australias convict and early colonial history, including the roles played in the colony by Bennelong and Barangaroo, husband and wife, who acted as intermediaries between the local community and the new arrivals. Professor Croucher continues with a page turners art, as he allows the story of the growth and development of a diverse community to unfold. There is no apology or embarrassment in Professor Crouchers story telling. He states facts without embellishment, unless it is to make a point, as he does when referring to the bitter irony that when Indigenous pastoral workers were awarded equal pay, many were sacked and forced off the land that had been their home.

Perhaps befitting a colony whose foundation was based on the transportation of convicts, there is a chapter dedicated to Crime, Punishment and Law Enforcement, including the stories of some of New South Wales more colourful identities. Tilly Devine, who ran brothels in the 1930s, taking advantage of the law that banned men, not women, from living off the immoral earnings of prostitution, and Darcy Dugan, whose serious criminal history is often overshadowed by his reputation in popular lore as a skilled prison escape artist, both feature.