Tom Prior

Australia's bushrangers were criminals, but in a country ill-governed and poor, that made them romantic heroes as well. And, like most romantic heroes, they come off better in legend than in actual fact.

This poses a problem for those who are writing about them: How much attention does one pay to the legend? Especially given that the actual facts are few. Most bushrangers lived fast and died young; many died in the wild rather than in custody; few were literate. Their stories had to be show more compiled from their survivors -- or if they had no survivors (common) or their survivors were silent (even more common), then they ended up being mostly made up.

What's more, "bushranger" was not an occupation that came with a job description, official regulations, and a benefit package. Every outlaw had his own rules that he worked under -- a man like Ben Hall reportedly was not violent, but plenty of others would as soon shoot as talk.

So the overall picture of the bushrangers is disorganized. And this book follows in their footsteps. There are some interesting photos. The account of, say, the famous Kelly Gang is fairly coherent. But, on the whole, it's more of a checklist than an actual history. There is no real theme. If you want to look up a particular gang, it may give you what you want. If you want a complete history, this isn't the book for you. show less

Culled from a series of interviews, author Tom Prior has put together an invaluable insight into a giant of Victorian politics that I was only somewhat aware of.
Sir Henry Bolte’s own words paint the life journey and experiences of this great man. A man who was “self made”, hard working, supremely confident and highly successful because of who he was, not in spite of.
The world is poorer for the loss of men like these.

This murder made a terrific impact on society during my childhood. I remember it well. Two young girls murdered in the inner Melbourne suburb of Collingwood and a young baby left abandoned in the house for days. Unfortunately this murder was never resolved. Many people were suspected. Tom Prior poses the question, was it the concreter that did it? It seems as though we will never know.

The first substantial biographical work about Kevin ‘Sheeds’ Sheedy, Richmond champion, and legendary coach of Essendon. Chapter 36, pp. 276-293, is authored by Sheedy himself, the rest is by Prior.