Saltwater People of the Fatal Shore was awarded the 2013 Biennial Frank Broeze Maritime History Book Prize sponsored jointly by the Australian Association for Maritime History (AAMH) and the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM).
Saltwater People of the Fatal Shore - Sydney’s Southern Beaches is a detailed history of that beautiful stretch of Sydney’s coastline between South Head and Royal National Park. This coastline features world renown beaches such as Bondi, Maroubra and Cronulla, as well as places of great historical interest. Botany Bay was where James Cook first made landfall on the east coast of Australia and made claim to the continent. It was also were the First Fleet arrived with its human cargo. Before these events it was home to the Aboriginal people of the Eora, Dharug and Dharawal nations for tens of thousands of years.
The focus of Saltwater People of the Fatal Shore is on the shoreline… that high energy intersection between sea and land where waves, whipped-up by wind and storms, sometimes thousands of kilometers out to sea, announce their arrival in a final dramatic explosion… or caress it with a gentle cascade. This constant, hypnotic dance with the shore can be calming, and it can be confronting. When the swell appears excitement grows and the coastline becomes energized. The surfzone both attracts and influences us… and in turn our presence affects this playground on the edge of the vast Pacific.
The foreword for the book was written by the Hon. Linda Burney MP. Upon her election she became the first Aboriginal person to serve in the New South Wales Parliament. Burney, a Wiradjuri woman, is currently Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and is the shadow minister in several key portfolios.
The Saltwater People books have been shortlisted for the 2013 biennial Frank Broeze History Prize through the Australian National Maritime Museum. In 2012 Cyclops Press was recognized with a Pauline McLeod Reconciliation Award for its work promoting meaningful reconciliation.
