Grog
A Bottled History of Australia's First 30 Years
Nonfiction, History, Australia & Oceania, Food & Drink, Food Writing
| Author: | Tom Gilling | ISBN: | 9780733634024 |
| Publisher: | Hachette Australia | Publication: | September 27, 2016 |
| Imprint: | Hachette Australia | Language: | English |
| Author: | Tom Gilling |
| ISBN: | 9780733634024 |
| Publisher: | Hachette Australia |
| Publication: | September 27, 2016 |
| Imprint: | Hachette Australia |
| Language: | English |
The story of grog is the story of Australia. This is how it all began.
Even before James Squire set sail as a convict aboard the First Fleet, liquor was playing its part in shaping the colony-to-be. Who was entitled to it and who wasn't; who could make and sell it and who couldn't; and how the young and thirsty colony could make itself self-sufficient in booze. As the colony grew, rum became both a currency and a source of political strength and instability, culminating in the Rum Rebellion in 1808, and what one observer said was a society of 'drunkenness, gaming and debaucheries'.
Now, with Grog, writer Tom Gilling presents a compelling bottled history of the first three decades of European settlement: how the men and women of New South Wales transformed the colony from a squalid and starving convict settlement into a prosperous trading town with fashionable Georgian street names and a monumental two-storey hospital built by private contractors in exchange for a monopoly on rum.
Grog is a colourful account of the unique beginnings of a new nation, and a unique insight into the history of Australia's long love affair with the hard stuff.
The story of grog is the story of Australia. This is how it all began.
Even before James Squire set sail as a convict aboard the First Fleet, liquor was playing its part in shaping the colony-to-be. Who was entitled to it and who wasn't; who could make and sell it and who couldn't; and how the young and thirsty colony could make itself self-sufficient in booze. As the colony grew, rum became both a currency and a source of political strength and instability, culminating in the Rum Rebellion in 1808, and what one observer said was a society of 'drunkenness, gaming and debaucheries'.
Now, with Grog, writer Tom Gilling presents a compelling bottled history of the first three decades of European settlement: how the men and women of New South Wales transformed the colony from a squalid and starving convict settlement into a prosperous trading town with fashionable Georgian street names and a monumental two-storey hospital built by private contractors in exchange for a monopoly on rum.
Grog is a colourful account of the unique beginnings of a new nation, and a unique insight into the history of Australia's long love affair with the hard stuff.
