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The First Dismissal: Penguin Special

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Set against the backdrop of European revolutions, The First Dismissal explores Governor Lachlan Macquarie's radical reforms in New South Wales. Macquarie championed the value of individuals based on their potential rather than their past, notably appointing convict Francis Greenway as government architect. Their partnership and vision for the colony clashed with the British Tory government, leading to Macquarie's historic dismissal. Luke Slattery vividly recounts these events, revealing the architectural and cultural foundations of a new nation.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Ideal for readers interested in Australian history, colonial reform, and the evolution of society and architecture in early penal colonies.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

While violent revolution and social upheaval rocked Europe, far away in New South Wales, Governor Lachlan Macquarie was sowing the seeds for the Australian idea of the 'fair go'. Macquarie was a reformer and an emancipator. He believed that a person's worth—be they gentry, infantry or convict—lay in what they were capable of doing, not what they had done in the past.

He freed the brilliant, mercurial convict Francis Greenway and appointed him government architect for the buildings that would shape a new nation. But to the Tory British government of 1820, Macquarie and Greenway's unconventional alliance threatened NSW's very legitimacy as a penal colony.

Here Luke Slattery breathes dramatic life into Australia's first political dismissal and, along the way, maps Macquarie and Greenway's bold collaborations and extraordinary architectural—and cultural—legacy.

The First Dismissal: Penguin Special is a vivid exploration of this pivotal period in Australian history, shedding light on the reformative vision that helped redefine a nation.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780143572473

Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 14 November 2014

Country: Australia

Imprint: Penguin Random House Australia

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 13.0mm

Width: 112.0mm

Height: 182.0mm

Weight: 136g

Pages: 176

About the Author

Luke Slattery is the author of Crisis in the Clever Country: Why Our Universities are Failing (with Geoffrey Maslen), Dating Aphrodite: Modern Adventures in the Ancient World, and Reclaiming Epicurus: Could an Ancient Philosophy of Happiness Save the World?

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