Countering the tendency in contemporary scholarship to conflate republicanism with nationalism and independence from Britain, this study examines Australian republicanism in terms of the different ways Australians have imagined themselves as civic beings. A wide range of primary material is used to illuminate the different types of republicanism that have emerged in the political and social dialogues. Contained are documents pertaining to republicanism, citizenship, identity, and government that cover the early colonial years to the present day.

Presents an argument for imagining the republic anew. Mark McKenna writes passionately, explaining why the two great symbolic issues of Australian politics in the 1990s--the republic and reconciliation--are linked intimately to one another. The only way forward is a reconciled republic, a republic founded on the full recognition of Australia's history.

Blackfellas' Point lies on the Towamba River in south-eastern New South Wales. As the river descends rapidly from its source on the Monaro plains, it winds its way through state forest, national park and farming land. Around twenty-five kilometres before it reaches the sea, just south of Eden, it passes through Towamba, the small village in which Mark McKenna now owns eight acres of land. Mark's land looks across the river to 'Blackfellas' Point', once an Aboriginal camping ground and meeting place. Looking for Blackfellas' Point is a history that begins by looking across the river to the arc...