Girt

Girt. No word could better capture the essence of Australia . . .

In this hilarious history, David Hunt reveals the truth of Australia's past, from megafauna to Macquarie - the c**k-ups and curiosities, the forgotten eccentrics and Eureka moments that have made us who we are.

Girt introduces forgotten heroes like Mary McLoghlin, transported for the crime of 'felony of sock', and Trim the cat, who beat a French monkey to become the first animal to circumnavigate Australia. It recounts the misfortunes of the escaped Irish convicts who set out to walk from Sydney to China, guided only by a hand-drawn paper compass, and explains the role of the coconut in Australia's only military coup.

Our nation's beginnings are steeped in the strange, the ridiculous and the frankly bizarre. Girt proudly reclaims these stories for all of us.

Not to read it would be un-Australian.

'A sneaky, sometimes shocking peek under the dirty rug of Australian history.' John Birmingham

'Girt … cuts an irreverent swath through the facts, fools, fantasies and frauds that made this country what it is today, hoisting sacred cows on their own petards and otherwise sawing the legs off Lady Macquarie's chair. I was transported.' —Shane Maloney, The Age Best Books of 2013

'Girt is a ripping read… a humorous history that is accessible enough to share with the eight-year-old. Hunt's writing interests span comedy, politics and history, a happy triumvirate when your subject is Australia.' —Stephen Romei, The Australian