This storied land

It has been common for a generation, following Geoffrey Blainey and John Howard, to think of Australian histories as being of either the black armband or the three cheers variety. Such terms, of course, are simplistic, functioning at best as a form of shorthand. At worst, they are no more than fodder for the horses in Australias history wars. But, if it is necessary to think in terms of such dualities, a better way of dividing up histories might be to differentiate the pre-Mabo and the post-Mabo. These groups are not entirely chronological, since pre-Mabo histories still appear regularly and sell well.