PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XLIV, Issue 14702, 1 June 1920, Page 1

PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

"THE STORY OF AUSTRALIA FOE BOYS AND GIRLS." Mr Joseph Bryant has undertaken tho task of writing the history of Australia for the benefit of boys and girls, and, considering the limited space at his disposal, has done his work well. Hia style is clear and direct, and his. ability for handling historical material veiy marked. Beginning his-story-with the earliest days, Mr Bryant gives a short but graphic account of, the Australian' blacks: Then \ve are introduced to the old navigators who were anxious to finfl the Great South Land, one of whoiii (Fernandez de Quiros) "thought he had come to the land "lie sought/ He named it Austrialia (not Australia) del Espiritu Santo, which means Austrialia of the Holy Ghost. He chose Austrialia as a compliment to' the King of Spain, who belonged to the Imperial House of Austria. But de Quiros waS mistaken as to the land he had reached. It was an island of the New Hebrides group, and not the Great South Land; However, he never found out. his mistake." It was a Dutchman .who first discovered Australia, though: he thought the country was a continuation of New Guinea. "One day in the-year 1606 there came sailing towards Australia a Dutch ship. named Duyfken, j - which' means Little Dove. . . . The ship had; been sent out by the governor of the Dutch East Indies. The captain's instructions were to look for the Great South Land which no one had yet claimed, and which might be a great prize to add to the Dutch possessions:. . He sailed along the coast of New Guinea already known. Then,. witTiout 1 aware that he had left that ! island, fie; kept sailing on until he; entered a. wide, opening in the north coast of Australia. This opening is now known as the Gulf of Carpentaria. The Dutch captain had found Australia., but- lie did- not know that found it." After ah" account -of William Dampier, "the first" Englishman, to come to Australia," the voyages of Captain: Cook arer dealt with, and the ultimate settlement of the British at Botany Bay in 1788. Captain .John Macar.thur's work in relation to wool-growing; the'discoveries of Bass and Flinders; the gradual settlement of the country- outside , the penal area ,* the; failures and sucesses'of the, great explorers; the finding of gold in 1851"—all these topics are dealt with in succession, and form subjects of enthralling I interest for the young people fortunate | enough to read the book. Final chapters deal with federation, irrigation, j and "the bush," : together with a sum-ming-up of Australia's present position |as a member of the British Empire. It is said that Australians love their country, and in evidence! thereof we may close with .an extract from the "Foreword," written by Sir "VV. P. Cullen, K.C.M.G., Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales* —"The'deep and absorbing love of Aiistralians for their native land was a puzzle to many in the Old World who talked with our soldiers during the war. . . We may well love Australia . . . a. land full; of beauty and variety on sea-line and coastland, on the mountains fronting the ocean, and the plains stretching back from their far foothills to the - centre of the sprung from a race of pioneers, claim and enjoy full scope for all their energies; for its future they will abate no hope', whatever discouragement may threaten. . . Can any one wonder if Australians, when they let themselves think of their country witbout_ either [•foolish boasting or equally foolish dispraise, should feel that it lies upon their honor that her good fame should not suffer at their hands?" ;. The publisher's of the book under notice (Messrs Hodder and Stoughton, London), together with the. author, are to be con-/ gratulated upon their successful attempt to instruct the young people of the Great South Land. A similar work dealing with New Zealand, would, 'doubtless, be-welcomed. - ' "A BACHELOR HUSBAND." The well-known author-, of "RichardChatterton, V.C." (Ruby Ml Ayres) has written another entertaining novel with the above title. The pivot is a will mystery, around which revolves a love story. The plot- is cleverly con- . trived, and. the, interest of the reader is maintained' to the end. A clean, wholesome book, and on that account alone, to be recommended to thie general reader. (Messrs Hodder and Stoughton, London.) . , ,