Australia for Women: Travel and Culture (The Feminist Press Travel Series)

By Susan Hawthorne and Renate Klein

Australia is a land full of opportunities, but where can you go to find the things that matter to women? This book is a guide to the land as well as the diverse culture of women. Women's culture in Australia goes back more than 40,000 years and is a rich mosaic of story, art and music. On the top of this has come the culture of the past 200 years: from the British convicts, from China, from the Pacific, from the newer waves of migration and from the women's movement. This is reflected in literature, theatre, the visual arts, music, circuses and dance. Rural and urban women describe the places they know and love, they also describe their histories and show something of what lies behind a first impression. Contributors featured include: Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Faith Bandler, Portia Robinson, Elizabeth Jolley, Sara Dowse, Janine Haines, Dale Spender, Ruby Langford Ginibi, Kate Llewellyn, and Finola Moorhead.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1875559272
• ISBN13: 9781875559275
• Release Date: April 1994
• Publisher: Spinifex Press
• Length: 434 Pages

Customer Reviews

About women, by women, for women and men

An excellent companion to travels in Australia, either in life or from the armchair. Section 1 is entitled Politics and Daily Life. It includes pieces by women of a variety of ethnic backgrounds, ranging over an extremely eclectic range of topics, from women convicts to racism and politics from koori women's point of view. A reasonable representation of Aboriginal women is present - more than in most collections. Part Two looks at particular places , It is called Cities - Country - Rivers. Some of the pieces are about places well away from the regular tourist path, for example Flinders Island. This is a feminist volume, and includes chapters from lesbian women. Staying and working on organic farms is popular these days. Kaye Johnston's chapter "The revolutionary nature of Lesbian Organic Gardening" tells about her and her partner's project - Moonraker farm in the NSW Southern Highlands. At the end are several listings, some of which may be out of date. More useful is a Recommended Reading section which includes literature, anthologies, poetry and plays, fiction, autobiography, history, - mainly, but not exclusively by women. There is biographical information on each of the contributors. This is a really interesting volume to dip in to, and it is a very valuable companion to Australian cultural life, breaking out of the Crocodile Dundee, sunbronzed Aussie type of stereotype. And, I think, despite the title, there is much for men in here too!