In 1995 my old company Asian Field Study Centres Pty Ltd, tendered for a contract with the Australia Indonesia Institute to produce a resource about Australia. Effectively a Geography text, it was to have historical references as well, and was to be written in Bahasa Indonesia.
The book was attuned to the curriculum for the first year of middle school in Indonesia.
By this time I had already worked with the then NSW Department of Education’s, Learning Materials Centre taught geography for a number of years, and had been operating a field study centre in Indonesia for eleven years.
The tender process was competitive with Oxford University Press and the Universities of Sydney and Melbourne as competitors. We won the tender.
Aged as it might now be, here is the result.
The process
I will write about the process at some other time as I’ve only just begun trawling through my archives. What strikes me is that this book was launched 22 years ago.
The writing team
Carol Thornton, Dr. Lew Hird, Bruce Foott, Dr. Malcolm Prentis, Susan Bliss, Dr. Noel De Souza, Geoffery Clarke, Ian McKee, Peter Plant, Marshall Leaver, Renata Grudic, Russell Darnley, Dr. Lin Sutherland, Dr. Tim Flannery, Dr. Peter Bastian.
The Book outline
An introduction to Australia
Australia’s place geography
Australian government
Australia’s regional context
Mapping Australia
Chapter 1: The Australian continent
Australia’s physiographic features
Australia’s geological history
The main geological regions
Teacher’s notes
Chapter 2: Australia’s unique fauna and flora
The effects of 55 Million years of isolation:
The last 10 000 years
Teacher’s notes
Chapter 3: Australia’s climates
Australia’s main latitudinal zones
The seasonal pattern
Australia’s climates
Chapter 4: Aboriginal Australians
Australia’s Indigenous people
Traditional Aboriginal lifestyles:
Impact of Aboriginal settlement on the Australian environment:
Teacher’s notes
Chapter 5: Agriculture in Australia
the development of commercial agriculture:
some environmental consequences of modern farming
the establishment of tropical agriculture
agriculture and aridity
scientific innovation in Australian agriculture:
Teacher’s notes
Chapter 6: Mining in Australia
history of mining in Australia
major mineral deposits:
Teacher’s notes
Chapter 7: Manufacturing in Australia
history of manufacturing in Australia:
some important Australian Inventions
important manufacturing Industries today
managing the industrial environment
Teacher’s notes
Chapter 8: Population and settlement in Australia
The history and development of Australian towns and cities
characteristics of Australian metropolitan cities
dealing with urban environmental issues
Teacher’s notes
Chapter 9: Multicultural Australia
contemporary Aboriginal society:
A nation based on the process of migration:
Multiculturalism
Teacher’s notes
Chapter 10: Australia’s trade and tourism
Australia’s main trade links
Australia’s trade with the Asia Pacific region
Tourism in Australia:
Important Tourist Sites –
Teacher’s notes
Chapter 11: Australia’s links with Indonesia
Australia’s links with Indonesia
Australia’s trade with Indonesia
Teacher’s notes
Russell Darnley Blog 
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