The material world of European settlement in Australia over the last 200 years has been uncovered not only by historians but by the work of archaeologists. Their enquiries have revealed new and direct pictures of the public and private lives of Australia's people, at home and at work. This book presents the knowledge recently gained from such investigations and makes it available for the first time to a wider audience.
The first European towns, and the archaeology of convicts, are discussed together with settlements which failed. The agricultural activities of early Australia, and the industrial counterparts, both in mining and in manufacture, have been the subject of archaeological inquiry. Graham Connah also examines the evidence for earliest external contact, and the shipwrecks found in underwater exploration. Contact of European and Aboriginal peoples, and the diverse cultural forms of modern Australia itself, are also discussed. Finally the author suggests ways in which the interested reader can become further involved in studying and protecting the historic heritage of the nation.