Lion and Kangaroo : The Initiation of Australia

An extraordinarily rich chronicle of Australia's coming-of-age as a nation. Souter describes in fascinating detail the federation movement at the end of the nineteenth century, the relationship between successive governments and the British Colonial Office, the relationship between indigenous Australians and the Europeans in the early decades of this century, the emergence of Australia's armed forces as a separate fighting force, and all the major milestones of Australia's modern history.

Souter paints unforgettable portraits of Australia's first Prime Ministers—including Barton, Deakin and Hughes—and their governors general. Now in a new edition, with a revised forward and postscript, Lion and Kangaroo is an outstanding work of history.

This book is a must-read for all Australians.

Praise for Lion and Kangaroo:

'This book is the work of a man who can impose on the chaos of the past an order that lifts the work into the realms of art without doing violence to the events or sacrificing the standards of scholarship as defined by the academics. It is a great achievement.'

Manning Clark

'This is by far the best Australian book to have come my way in a long time. It is the sort of book I should be proud to have written myself, if I had had the talent and the vision…It combines the care of the historian with the journalist's flair for the picturesque and eye for character.'

Australian

'Gavin Souter has written a masterpiece…This is a mighty work of history. it will endure.'

David Rowbotham, Courier Mail