Books & Media

An icon. A household name. One of our best-loved actors. Noni Hazlehurst is finally telling a story of her own.


A fourth-generation performer, Noni Hazlehurst has storytelling in her blood. She has graced our screens, stages and airwaves for fifty years - and won our hearts and respect in the process. She's had a remarkably diverse career. From presenting Play School for more than two decades, acting in films such as June Again, Ladies in Black, Candy, Little Fish and Monkey Grip, and ten years hosting and writing for Better Homes and Gardens to playing lead roles in series like A Place to Call Home, Nancy Wake and The Shiralee, recently presenting the SBS documentary series Every Family Has a Secret, and of course her numerous theatre roles, including her award-winning one-woman play Mother, Noni continues to display her incredible versatility, range and incisive ability to get to the core of a character and script.

Noni is more than an actor, though. She is also a director, writer, teacher and public speaker, and her time on Play School has led to decades of committed advocacy for children. Offscreen, she has served on several film and television industry boards and acted as a patron and ambassador for numerous children's welfare organisations.

Brave, open and unafraid to be vulnerable, Noni is in many ways an ordinary woman - a single mother of two boys, and a freelance worker, she knows about the challenges of constant juggling and being stretched to the limit. Yet she is also an extraordinary woman and a trailblazer - she was only the second woman to be inducted into the Logie Hall of Fame in thirty-two years. And despite opportunities to live and work overseas, she ultimately chose to pursue her career in Australia.

This is no ordinary memoir. Noni Hazlehurst is funny, fierce, thoughtful and clear-eyed about the world. Her story is full, rich, lively, opinionated - and a testament to her grit, willpower and talent. She has always been committed to telling Australian stories - and this memoir is an impressive addition to her remarkable opus.

Haunting true crime stories of the supernatural and paranormal
The most haunted home that world-famous ghost hunter Lorraine Warren ever stepped foot in was a three-bedroom brick home in suburban Sydney.

FORGET THE HORRORS OF AMITYVILLE AND DELVE INTO AUSTRALIA'S MOST HAUNTED PLACES

Australian Ghost Stories is a spine-tingling collection of true crime tales that will leave you feeling haunted long after you've turned the last page. From the ghostly apparitions that haunt historic landmarks to diabolical presences in everyday suburban houses, these are stories of ordinary Australians and their encounters with the unexplainable.

This thrilling blend of true crime and supernatural encounters will leave you questioning everything you know about this world ... and the next.

ATLAS OF QUEENSLAND AND NORTHERN TERRITORY PASTORAL STATIONS, 12 TH EDITION
ISBN 978-0-9587139-0-0
Published by Terrence Alick Mapping Services, December 2023.
A4 colour publication
158 pages

Including:
- 52 pages showing all of Queensland @1:1.000.000
- 36 pages showing Central & Southern Queensland@ 1:500,000
- 6 pages showing Western Darling Downs, Miles, Chinchilla, Jandowae, Dalby and Oakey @1:250.000
- 12 pages of The Northern Territory@1:200.000
- 47 page Property name index and map reference showing 20,336 property names.
- 2 Page of index showing the properties in the Northern Territory showing property name and map reference.

The Atlas also shows:
- Property names and boundaries
- Rivers
- Roads
- Stock Routes
- Rail
- National Parks
- State Forests
- Prohibited areas
- Lats and Longs
- Homestead positions of the larger properties

The extraordinary life, loves and voyages of the man who put Australia on the map


In 1810, Matthew Flinders made his final voyage home to his beloved wife, Ann, his body ravaged by the deprivations of years of imprisonment by the French. Four years later, at the age of just 40, he would be dead - a premature, tragic end to one of the world's greatest maritime adventurers who circumnavigated and mapped the famed Great Southern Land, and whose naming of the vast continent would become its modern title: Australia.

Flinders took to the sea at age 16, inspired by the story of Robinson Crusoe and the adventures of Captain Cook, swiftly climbing the ranks to fight in a decisive naval battle of the French Revolutionary wars. After sailing to Tahiti with William Bligh, Flinders was drawn to adventure, and by 1801 he was in command of an expedition to uncover the true nature of the great continent of the southern ocean.

This sweeping biography tells the story of the fearless, sharp-eyed, handsome Flinders and how he became one of the world's most intrepid explorers. It's a story of a great love for the sea, for connection and of friendship - accompanied by his Aboriginal interpreter and guide, Kuringgai man Bungaree, and his beloved rescue cat, Trim, Flinders explored the furthest reaches and rugged coastlines of Australia. It's also a story of technical brilliance - Flinders' meticulous charts gave us the first complete maps of our continent, which are so accurate they are still used today.

But rushing home to England to his adored wife, Ann, Flinders was trapped and incarcerated off the coast of Africa as a prisoner of war, ultimately denied celebration of his great achievement. His love for Ann, and his fight to escape his bonds to be with her again was the last great adventure of a fascinating life.

From the bestselling, critically acclaimed author of Banks, Banjo, Hudson Fysh and Monash, Flinders is a rollicking tale of a man who loved the sea, and adored his family - and pushed himself to the limits of human endeavour to show it.

From Rhodes Scholar to union leader to political powerhouse: how Bobbie became Bob, the iconic PM. The new biography from award-winning historian David Day sheds fresh light on the formative years of Australia's most charismatic leader, who became a political legend.


David Day's biography of the young Bob Hawke takes readers on a journey, from his humble beginnings as the often-neglected son of religious zealots on the South Australian frontier to his wild ways at a succession of universities and his eventual rise as the country's most powerful union leader. Day provides a new perspective on a larrikin who was known for his overweening self-confidence and charm. A skilled negotiator with a drive to bring Australians together, he would go on to become our most popular and accomplished prime minister.

Drawing on a decade of extensive research and interviews with those who knew Hawke best, this ground-breaking biography by an acclaimed writer reveals how Hawke's difficult childhood shaped him into someone who was also known for his uncontrollable bouts of anger and notorious for his alcoholism, obsessive womanising and close links with some of Australia's more shadowy characters.

This gripping biography is a must-read for anyone interested in the first fifty years of Bob Hawke, our last truly colourful political leader.

This new updated edition includes all the cars, the stars, the thrills and the spills from six decades of the Bathurst classic including the 2023 60th year race - by Australia's premier motorsports journalist, with a foreword by five-time winner Garth Tander


The Bathurst 1000 is undoubtedly Australia's 'Great Race', forever part of the sporting fabric of the nation. The 1000-kilometre race, held on the world-famous Mount Panorama circuit, is both a legend-maker and a heartbreaker, all wrapped up in one thrilling ride.

From its beginnings in the 1960s as a 500-mile race for standard production cars, the Bathurst 1000 has evolved into an annual multi-million dollar battle between purpose-built, millimetre-perfect V8-powered Supercars. After six decades of this extraordinary battle on the mountain, The Great Race takes a look back at the thrills, the spills, the legends and the losers of the race's history, from the legendary Ford and Holden battles to how the Mountain made household names of Peter Brock, Allan Moffat, Dick Johnson, Craig Lowndes, Mark Skaife and so many more, including the fearless women who have challenged the race.

From the famous, edge-of-your-seat races to the infamous moments on and off the track, and the characters, rivalries, rifts and controversies, Aaron Noonan - Australia's leading motorsport journalist and commentator - enshrines all the high-octane action over the decades, including the 2023 race itself, and gives an eye-opening account of how the circuit has evolved from a scenic tourist drive into a world-famous Mecca of motorsport.

With special added insight into what became of the legendary cars that have conquered Mount Panorama after their days of glory, The Great Race is a fast-paced drive down Bathurst 1000 memory lane.

The inspiring memoir of the warrior for women who's defied the Taliban at every turn - doctor, public official, founder of schools and hospitals, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee

'I have three strikes against me. I'm a woman, I speak out for women, and I'm Hazara, the most persecuted ethnic group in Afghanistan.' Dr Sima Samar has been fighting for equality and justice for most of her life. Born into a polygamous family, she learned early that girls had inferior status, and she had to agree to an arranged marriage if she wanted to go to university. By the time she was in medical school, she had a son, Ali, and had become a revolutionary. After her husband was disappeared by the pro-Russian regime, she escaped. With her son and medical degree, she took off into the rural areas - by horseback, by donkey, even on foot - to treat people who had never had medical help before. Sima Samar's wide-ranging experiences both in her home country and on the world stage have given her inside access to the dishonesty, the collusion, the corruption, the self-serving leaders, and the hijacking of religion. And as a former deputy chair of the Interim Administration, she knows all the players in this chess game called Afghanistan. With stories that are at times poignant, at times terrifying, inspiring as well as disheartening, Sima provides an unparalleled view of Afghanistan's past and its present. Despite being in grave personal danger for many years, she has worked tirelessly for the dream she is convinced is an achievable one: justice and full human rights for all the citizens of her country.

PRAISE

"Breaking boundaries, Dr Samar's story is a powerful testament to the undaunted struggle for the rights of women and girls, and its pivotal role in the quest for change and justice" Manal al-Sharif, bestselling author of Daring to Drive

"While so many champion the idea of universal human rights in Afghanistan, few have done more than Sima Samar to try to make them a reality. This book doesn't just ask for dignity and a future for Afghans, especially Afghan women, it demands it: sometimes through logic and law but often through the passionate insistence of the narrator that she, an Afghan woman, thinks, feels and dreams too. Highly recommended." Ben Mckelvey, bestselling author of The Commando, Mosul and Find Fix Finish

"Afghanistan, often referred to as 'the graveyard of empires,' has been described and explained at length by foreigners, usually men. This book provides an illuminating view of contemporary - I hesitate to say modern - Afghanistan, from a woman who weaves the personal and the political into the story of her successes and dreams, but who never gives in to despair. Sima Samar's life and work stand in defiance to the dark rule of the Taliban, as a promise for a better future for all Afghans, even when the whole world seems to have abandoned them." Louise Arbour, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

"Outspoken is a book of miracles, large and small. It's a history book, an adventure story, a deeply personal memoir and an inspiring work that propels you from your couch into action. Dr. Sima Samar gives bravery a face, from the night she saw her first husband taken away to be killed, to the many nights she risked her own life to save others. Illuminating the darkness in Afghanistan's recent history, Outspoken provides astonishing insights and analysis. Honestly, I couldn't put it down." Lisa LaFlamme, Journalists for Human Rights

"Outspoken invites the reader into the heart of a country, to witness its people's resilience and their strength. Despite the many treacherous paths Afghans have traveled over more than forty years of war, Sima Samar shows us the beauty of the Afghan soul and the wonder of Afghanistan. The very definition of courage, Sima Samar has fought tirelessly, through personal pain and tragedy, facing down successive repressive regimes - and even a few allied to the West - in her quest for justice. She is a hero indeed." Kathy Gannon, author of I Is for Infidel, former Associated Press news director

"For two decades, Sima Samar was the conscience of democratic Afghanistan - a physician, human rights advocate, institution-builder, and justice-seeker. She embodied the ideals of her country's revival after 2001 but paid a heavy price. Her story is essential and inspiring reading for all Americans, complicit as we are in a tragedy from which we must not turn away." Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars

"In Outspoken, Sima Samar relates her lifelong struggles against patriarchy: as an Afghan girl, a medical doctor, a refugee in Pakistan who built hospitals and schools, a government official, and a human rights defender. Her story trenchantly illuminates what we must all learn from interventions in Afghanistan and serves as a warning to the world at a time when women's rights are under siege." Emma Bonino, former EU commissioner and former foreign minister of Italy

"Outspoken is a must read for every woman - indeed for every person - who supports equality and human rights, especially for women and girls. Dr. Samar's life is an inspiration; she speaks truth to power and has repeatedly risked her life for doing so. Feminists worldwide can and must learn from her experiences." Eleanor Smeal, president, Feminist Majority Foundation and publisher, Ms. Magazine

"Afghanistan's unsurpassably sad last half century ranks among the most dismal and disastrous episodes in all of human history. Sima Samar lived at the epicenter of this evil storm and has spent her life working tirelessly to improve the lives of her fellow Afghans, always holding on tenaciously to the hope for a better future. Outspoken is a book that is sobering, necessary - and absolutely riveting." Paul Kennedy, former host of CBC Ideas

Liz Hayes has graced our television screens for more than four decades. Millions of Australians kicked off their weeks with Liz co-hosting Channel 9's Today show, and now for over 25 years have settled into their Sunday nights to watch her investigative journalism on 60 Minutes.

From camping in grizzly bear territory to sipping tea with an Afghani warlord in an active warzone, Liz has almost seen it all. She has shared the stories of celebrities and movie stars, leaders and politicians, heroes and villains across the globe, but - after a lifetime of reporting on others - when tragedy struck her own family, Liz discovered that sometimes the hardest story to tell is your own.

Compelling and elegantly written, Liz's long-awaited memoir takes us behind the cameras and back to when Beth Ryan, the dairy farmer's daughter, became seasoned journalist Liz Hayes, and how life in the country gave way to 'controlled' crash-landings on US aircraft carriers.

Synonymous with her iconic 60 Minutes television introduction, I'm Liz Hayes, is a warm and authentic memoir about what's possible, and what it can cost you, when you choose a life of adventure.

The number one New York Times bestselling authors of Vanderbilt return with another riveting history of a legendary American family, the Astors, and how they built and lavished their fortune.

The fascinating story of the feisty French archaeologist who led the international effort to save ancient Egyptian temples from the floodwaters of the Aswan Dam.

In the 1960s, the world's attention was focused on a nail-biting race against time- fifty countries contributed nearly a billion dollars to save a dozen ancient Egyptian temples from drowning in the floodwaters of the gigantic new Aswan High Dam. But the massive press coverage of this unprecedented rescue effort completely overlooked the gutsy French archaeologist who made it all happen.

Without the intervention of Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt, the temples would now be at the bottom of a gigantic reservoir. It was a project of unimaginable size and complexity that required the fragile sandstone temples to be dismantled, stone by stone, and rebuilt on higher ground. Desroches-Noblecourt refused to be cowed by anyone or anything.

As a brave member of the French Resistance in World War II, she had survived imprisonment by the Nazis; in her fight to save the temples, she had to face down two of the most daunting leaders of the postwar world, Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and French president Charles de Gaulle.After a century and a half of Western plunder of Egypt's ancient monuments, Desroches-Noblecourt helped preserve a crucial part of its cultural heritage, and, just as importantly, made sure it remained in its homeland.'

Lynne Olson's many fans know her gift for storytelling and for bringing to life heroes who may not be well known but who demand - indeed, rivet - our attention. Who else but Olson could have found Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt, a beautiful and brave French resistance fighter brazen enough to tell her Gestapo interrogators to stand up when a woman enters the room, and who happens to be a kind of female Indiana Jones working behind the scenes - alongside Jackie Kennedy! - to save the ancient temples of Egypt?