The Oxford Book of Australian Schooldays

This anthology brings together 140 autobiographical, fictional, and documentary writings on Australian schooldays from the colonial era to the multicultural 1990s. The editors have selected the most vivid writings about all kinds of schooling, from private schools to one-teacher bush schools.

The impact of white schooling on Aboriginal children is strongly evoked in a number of autobiographical accounts. Friendship, sexual awakening, and questions of social, religious, and cultural identity are all explored. We read about Australians educated overseas (e.g. Patrick White) as well as non-Australians who spent part of their schooldays in Australia (e.g. Prince Charles). Some of Australia's most distinguished writers reflect on their formative years at school, among them Robert Dessaix, Helen Garner, Germaine Greer, Barry Humphries, Clive James, David Malouf, and Tim Winton.