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'We’re engrossed with reality TV these days, yet we so often neglect the greatest reality of all: the reality of our nation and how it came to be. In Error Australis, TV columnist, comedian and history buff Ben Pobjie recaps the history of Australia from its humble beginnings as a small patch of rapidly cooling rock to its modern-day status as one of the major powers of the sub-Asian super-Antarctic next-to-Africa region. As thrilling as it is to see Delta Goodrem’s chair turn around, there’s an argument that World War Two was even more exciting and, like any good recapper, Pobjie provides an immediate, visceral sense of what it was like to be there in the moment at our nation’s defining events.
'It is only by looking at where we have been that we can understand who we are, what we stand for and why nothing seems to work. Error Australis is a scholarly and hilarious account of a young nation that has spent many years seeking its place in the world, and almost as many years not liking what it has found. (Publication summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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The Five Funniest Moments in Australian History
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: ABC News [Online] , August 2016;
— Review of Error Australis : The Reality Recap of Australian History 2016 single work prose'History, let's be blunt, is hilarious.'
'It's hilarious for the same reason life itself is hilarious: it's filled with weirdos and idiots screwing everything up in the worst ways possible.'
'But the beauty of history as a comedic resource is that it all happened ages ago, so you don't have to pretend to feel sorry for the people it happened to.'
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Australians All Let Us Lampoon
2016
single work
essay
— Appears in: Good Reading , June 2016; (p. 48-49) 'Australian history has traditionally been taught as a dreary catalogue of dull facts, devoid of the rivers of blood and the heroic antics of shameless selfpromoters that feature so prominently in the chronicles of other countries. But as journalist Ben Pobjie shows in Error Australis: The reality recap of Australian history, our history is full of fascinating, funny and absurd incidents.' -
Australian Story? The Joke's on Us
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 9 July 2016; (p. 22)
— Review of Error Australis : The Reality Recap of Australian History 2016 single work prose 'Recent events might suggest that Australia has taken a turn for the worse, but Ben Pobjie lets us know that we have never really been up to much. His stint as TV columnist for this paper has given him the skills to approach the national story as if it were a parade of reality TV contestants, so his take is not so much black armband as red nose and spinning light-up bow tie: more than irreverent, it's mean and derisive. ...' -
Ben Pobjie : Error Australis : The Reality Recap of Australian History
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , September 2016;
— Review of Error Australis : The Reality Recap of Australian History 2016 single work prose
-
Australian Story? The Joke's on Us
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 9 July 2016; (p. 22)
— Review of Error Australis : The Reality Recap of Australian History 2016 single work prose 'Recent events might suggest that Australia has taken a turn for the worse, but Ben Pobjie lets us know that we have never really been up to much. His stint as TV columnist for this paper has given him the skills to approach the national story as if it were a parade of reality TV contestants, so his take is not so much black armband as red nose and spinning light-up bow tie: more than irreverent, it's mean and derisive. ...' -
The Five Funniest Moments in Australian History
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: ABC News [Online] , August 2016;
— Review of Error Australis : The Reality Recap of Australian History 2016 single work prose'History, let's be blunt, is hilarious.'
'It's hilarious for the same reason life itself is hilarious: it's filled with weirdos and idiots screwing everything up in the worst ways possible.'
'But the beauty of history as a comedic resource is that it all happened ages ago, so you don't have to pretend to feel sorry for the people it happened to.'
-
Ben Pobjie : Error Australis : The Reality Recap of Australian History
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , September 2016;
— Review of Error Australis : The Reality Recap of Australian History 2016 single work prose -
Australians All Let Us Lampoon
2016
single work
essay
— Appears in: Good Reading , June 2016; (p. 48-49) 'Australian history has traditionally been taught as a dreary catalogue of dull facts, devoid of the rivers of blood and the heroic antics of shameless selfpromoters that feature so prominently in the chronicles of other countries. But as journalist Ben Pobjie shows in Error Australis: The reality recap of Australian history, our history is full of fascinating, funny and absurd incidents.'
Awards
- 2017 shortlisted Russell Prize for Humour Writing