Yesterday was Australia Day, and I would have loved to participate in Pauleen’s Australia Day Challenge 2014, but unfortunately with my current work commitments (ie. a cruise in a week’s time), time didn’t permit me at present. So instead I’ve decided to do my own Australia Day blog post, and for this I want to share with you two of my favourite “Australian history” books. WHAT HAPPENED WHEN: A CHRONOLOGY OF AUSTRALIA FROM 1788 First up we have “What Happened When: A Chronology of Australia From 1788” which was compiled by Anthony Barker. This is a fat book, being over 500 pages, and is exactly as it says … “a chronology of Australian history”. Arranged year by year, and then by date within the year, you’ll find everything from ships arriving or sinking, many fires together with other natural disasters, convicts, bushrangers, arrests, buildings opened, newspaper started, politicians begnning or finishing their term in office, when books and movies were released and 1000s of other anecdotal facts that make this country’s history. To quote from the blurb … “When was the Melbourne Cup first run? When did women get the vote? When did Vegemite and Violet Crumble bars first appear? When did Nellie Melba give her last Australian concert? When did any noteworthy event happen in Australia? What Happened When has all the answers. If you want to know what was going on in the year you or your parents were born, you can browse. In 1932, for example, you will find that the Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened, Phar Lap died, the ABC was established, Ion Idriess wrote Flynn of the Inland, Walter Lindrum made a world-record billiards break of 4,137, the basic wage was 3 pounds 3s 11d, and over 30 per cent...