The history of migration to Australia - Unit 14

C1 Advanced · Cross Text Multiple Matching · Complete Advanced Workbook, Cambridge University Press

You are going to read four reviews of a book on the history of migration to Australia. Choose from the reviewers A-D. The reviewers may be chosen more than once.

Torre Machado's comprehensive tome on the history of migration to Australia is surprisingly brief on the country's origins as a British penal colony where prisoners were exiled. This is, in my view, for propaganda purposes, as Machado clearly avoids any criticism of her adopted homeland. Similarly, the writer fails to question the assumption that Australia is among the most receptive to immigration of all the Western nations. It may well be true, but I'd have liked to have seen this investigated further. I found the level of detail on the arrival of the first settlers 80,000 years ago slightly excessive and I skimmed through that section. Though the many pages of documents and pictures could have been an asset, the poor quality of the reproductions didn't do justice to their historical importance.

Torre Machado's book began with an in-depth account of the first settlers' movements from Africa to Australia via the islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea. I was hooked on the book from that fascinating first chapter. I was expecting more coverage of the practice of deportation from Britain to Australia as a punishment for crimes in the 18th and 19th centuries. However, probably in an attempt to differentiate the book from others on the market, Machado seems to have chosen to focus on the lesser-known aspects of the history of migration. Taking us up to the present day, the writer celebrates Australia's openness to immigration, providing evidence that it compares favourably with other developed countries. The book's numerous visuals captivated me. Machado should be congratulated for unearthing such a unique collection of letters, maps, ship logs, photographs and other documents.

I first picked up Machado's book on migration to Australia because of the infographics on the front cover. Inside, the vast array of photographs of people and artefacts with informative captions kept me enthralled for ages. A lot of ground was covered in a relatively short book. It was a slight shame, though, that more space couldn't be devoted to the most fascinating area of interest: that Australia used to be a giant prison. However, this is one of the few aspects of Australian history that is taught in schools, so Machado obviously felt it was unnecessary. I'd have preferred more on that to the rather tedious coverage of the ancient migrations thousands of years ago. Another issue for me was the notable absence of space given to the experience of present-day migrants. I felt this was done on purpose as without these voices there was nobody to counter Machado's more than dubious claims that Australia has a universally positive attitude towards migration that differentiates it from other developed countries around the world.

Machado's fascinating book on migration to Australia proves beyond doubt my own personal belief that present-day Australia is one of the few wealthy nations that welcomes migrants with open arms. Machado has been widely criticised for glossing over the penal colony period. Apparently, she wanted to use this book to explore other aspects of the history, which most people are unaware of. Given the current focus on the rights and dignity of indigenous peoples, I loved the detailed commentary on the diversity of the very first arrivals in Australia. As someone who prefers information to be presented visually, I appreciated the work that had gone into accessing a huge number of photographs and documents, such as a list of the rations given to convicts on the ships. In my opinion however, a much better quality of print could have been achieved to make them clearer for the reader.

Which reviewer has a different opinion from the others on the reason the book doesn't cover the history of deportation as a punishment in much detail?

Which reviewer has a similar view to A on the amount of information provided on the first settlers in Australia?

Which reviewer has a different view from D regarding Australia's current attitude towards migration?

Which reviewer has a similar opinion to A on the visual aspects of the book?

The history of migration to Australia

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