Most Popular Books by David Hill

When of hundreds of Japanese captives arrive at Featherston POW camp, the tiny town is divided. Tensions run high and then, on 25 February 1943, disaster strikes. Three boys witness it all. A compelling new novel by an award-winning author. ''We knew straightaway that something was happening. Extra men in khaki uniforms stood at the main gates. Behind the wire, figures in blue sat on the ground. None of the usual moving around, washing up, wrestling, anything like that. Just rows of prisoners, sitting silently.'' It''s 1942, and the tiny farming town of Featherston is about to receive hundreds of Japanese soldiers into its prisoner-of-war camp. Ewen, whose dad is a guard there, can''t stop wondering about the enemy just down the road. Some say the captives are evil and cruel and should be treated harshly – or shot. But when Ewen and his friends ride out to the camp to peep through the barbed wire, the POWs just seem like . . . well, people. Then a new group from a captured warship arrives and the mood in the camp darkens. Guards and inmates begin to clash. As tension builds the boys are told to stay away. But on 25 February 1943, Ewen and his friends are there at the moment the storm breaks – and terrible, unforgettable events unfold before their eyes. A compelling novel by a master storyteller.

Welcome to the Ultimate Guide to Swimming Faster! This comprehensive guide was created to help swimmers of all levels—whether you’re a beginner, age group competitor, or aspiring elite athlete—unlock your potential in the pool. Swimming is a sport of precision, strength, and strategy, and this guide is designed to break down the essential elements needed to improve your technique, build swim-specific strength, and prepare mentally for peak performance.

Originally published in 1976. This book helps beginning and practising teachers to operate effectively in multiracial schools; its emphasis is on practical guidance for the classroom. It presents a review of the salient features of teaching in multiracial schools, comprising a brief description of the three largest ethnic minority groups; a selected list of studies related to the assessment of ability and achievement; language difficulties, specifically for West Indian, Asian and Chinese pupils, and for second-stage immigrant learners.

On the afternoon of 8 April 1802, in the remote southern ocean, two explorers had a remarkable chance encounter. Englishman Matthew Flinders and Frenchman Nicolas Baudin had been sent by their governments on the same quest: to explore the uncharted coast of the great south land and find out whether the west and east coasts, four thousand kilometres apart, were part of the same island. And so began the race to compile the definitive map of Australia. These men''s journeys were the culmination of two hundred years of exploration of the region by the Dutch - most famously Abel Tasman - the Portuguese, the Spanish and by Englishmen such as the colourful pirate William Dampier and, of course, James Cook. The three-year voyages of Baudin and Flinders would see them endure terrible hardships in the spirit of discovery. They suffered scurvy and heat exhaustion, and Flinders was shipwrecked and imprisoned - always knowing he was competing with the French to produce the first map of this mysterious continent. Written from diaries and other first-hand accounts, this is the thrilling story of men whose drawings recorded countless previously unknown species and turned mythical creatures into real ones, and whose skill and determination enabled Terra Australis Incognita to become Australia.

Australia and the British monarchy have always made for an odd couple: the young, rebellious, egalitarian nation wed to an ancient symbol of power and social inequality. Even today, an invitation to meet a member of the royal family remains a pinnacle of social achievement. What is the magic the royals hold over Australians? Since Captain James Cook first claimed New South Wales for King George III in 1770, the pulse of the nation can be measured by the strength of its attachment to an aristocratic bloodline on the other side of the world. Queen Victoria was more revered in Australia the longer she reigned, even though she’d never seen the place and showed little interest in it. When her son Prince Alfred visited in 1867, on the first royal tour the country had seen, he was received rapturously, and nearly assassinated. In 1954 Australia was gripped by royal fever when newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II landed on its shores for the first time; the republican movement grew in the late twentieth century alongside Australians’ adoration for Princess Diana; and now, with the popularity of William, Kate, George and Charlotte, the monarchy looks set to enter the hearts and minds of a new generation of Australians. As one of our most popular writers of Australian history, David Hill guides us with panache through this most peculiar state of affairs.

A tense, exciting war adventure inspired by the coastwatchers of Operation Pacific, from award-winning author David Hill. ‘It’s not going to be a cushy job, young Benson. You’re on your own. Japs will be looking for you. Far as they’re concerned, you’re spies. And when a spy gets captured, remember . . .’ It’s 1943, and 19-year-old radio operator Frank Benson is shipped out to an enemy-occupied island in the Solomons with two other soldiers. Their mission is to spy on the Japanese. In dense jungle they meet a Solomon Islander who says he has information that will shatter Japanese defences. But he could be working for the enemy. What if it’s a trap to get them killed? No training could have prepared Frank for this decision. Their lives - and Operation Pacific - depend on his next move.

Contains two versions of Lenz''s play, the translation and an adaptation by Theresa Heskins.

́Australia and the British monarchy have always had a close relationship, yet they make for an odd couple: the rebellious, egalitarian nation wedded to an ancient system of social inequality. So what is the magic the royals hold over Australians? Queen Victoria was revered in Australia, even though shéd never seen the place and showed little interest in it. When her son Price Alfred visited in 1867, on the first ever royal visit of Australia, he was received rapturously, and nearly assassinated. In 1954 the country was gripped by royal fever when newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II landed on its shores; and more than sixty years later, having turned 90, she is as popular in Australia as she ever was. Not only that, but with the popularity of William, Kate, George and Charlotte burgeoning, against the odds the monarchy looks set to enter the hearts and minds of a new generation of Australians.́--Back cover.

This book considers four centuries of Spenser criticism, locating critics in ongoing discussions of Spenser''s poetry and the cultural contexts of their time.

EAP Now Preliminary is the first level of this two level series that prepares students for academic study.

The story of how a struggling convict settlement grew into six dynamic colonies and then the remarkable nation of Australia, told through the key figures who helped build it into the thriving nation it is today Tracing the story of the Australian nation from its European beginnings, this book is history at its most entertaining and accessible. When James Cook landed on the east coast of Australia, the rest of the world had some idea of how empty, vast, and wild the continent was, but so little was known of it that in 1788 most people thought it was two lands. In the subsequent years, its coastline was charted, its interior opened up, and its cities, laws, and economy developed. In this riveting, wide-ranging history, David Hill traces how this happened through the key figures who built this country into the thriving nation it is today: from its prescient and fair-minded first governor, Arthur Phillip, to the unpopular William Bligh, the victim of the country''s first and only military coup; from the visionary builder and law-maker Lachlan Macquarie to William Wentworth, the son of a convict who secured Australia''s first elected parliament; from Henry Parkes, the grand old man of politics who started the fraught process of Federation, to the first prime minister, Edmund Barton. It was Barton who formed the first Australian government just in time for the inaugural celebrations on January 1, 1900, when the nation of Australia was born.

The author of the magnificent bestselling account of the First Fleet returns to early Sydney to tell the story of the years that followed as it''s never been told before. The British plan to settle Australia was a high-risk venture. We now take it for granted that the first colony was the basis of one of the most successful nations in the world today. But in truth, the New World of the 18th century was dotted with failed colonies, and New South Wales nearly joined them. The motley crew of unruly marines and bedraggled convicts who arrived at Botany Bay in 1788 in leaky boats nearly starved to death. They could easily have been murdered by hostile locals, been overwhelmed by an attack from French or Spanish expeditions, or brought undone by the Castle Hill uprising of 1804. Yet through fortunate decisions, a few remarkably good leaders, and most of all good luck, Sydney survived and thrived. Bestselling historian David Hill tells the story of the first three decades of Britain''s earliest colony in Australia in a fresh and compelling way. ''David Hill captures Australia''s past in a very readable way.'' The Weekly Times

EU law has greatly influenced national law in Scotland, the UK and the rest of Europe. As a result, private international law is an essential area of study and of increasing importance to lawyers throughout the EU. Private International Law Essentials is the concise guide to private international law that you need, whether you''re studying, revising or a practicing lawyer looking for a summary the law in UK jurisdictions. David Hill looks at the key elements and issues of private international law, as well as the statutes and Conventions (e.g. Brussels, Lugano) and EU Regulations applying throughout the UK.

The remarkable series of 244 maps and charts in this book comprise the first atlas of Anglo-Saxon England. It will be an indispensable companion to scholars and students of early English history and archaeology. The book covers every major aspect of Anglo-Saxon culture and history that may be expressed in graphic terms -- sea level changes, settlement patterns, place names, invasions, campaigns, mints and coinage, important itineraries, land holdings, mining, agriculture, trade, towns, monasteries and the Church. Wherever appropriate, David Hill sets English developments in their European context. The book is very much more than a straightforward work of historical exegesis. It bears the stamp of its author''s vision and imagination and is informed by new historical and archaeological research. The author has provided a concise commentary to accompany the maps, and a comprehensive index of place names. - Back cover.

This book has chapters dealing with avocet plumage, world distribution and populations, food, feeding ecology and predators. A further chapter details courtship, breeding and migration. The final chapter deals with managing and conserving avocet habits and shows how they can be encouraged to breed.

Spinner the house spider has trouble with the new human residents of his house. Suggested level: primary.

Something in Matt and Arlo''s apartment building smells terrible. In this humorous narrative, Matt and Arlo use their problem-solving skills to solve the problem.

A two-act play which is a study of a teenage boy as he comes to terms with the death of a parent.