‘So tightly packed were the crowds lining Sydney’s streets on 1 January 1901 that they resembled a dense well-tended hedge. Early morning showers had followed a thunderstorm the previous evening and many carried umbrellas as they waited for the procession. Planning for this New Year’s Day had been going on in earnest for about three and a half months, after Queen Victoria had declared it to be the day upon which the Commonwealth of Australia would come into being.’ Andrew Tink’s superb book tells the story of Australia in the 20th century, from Federation to the Sydney 2000 Olympics. It was a century marked by the trauma of war and the despair of the depression, balanced by extraordinary achievements in sport, science and the arts. Tink’s story is driven by people, whether they be prime ministers, soldiers, shopkeepers, singers, footballers or farmers; men or women, Australian born, immigrant or Aborigine. He brings the decades to life, writing with empathy, humour and insight to create a narrative that is as entertaining as it is illuminating.
