Girt cover art

Girt

The Unauthorised History of Australia, Volume 1

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Girt

By: David Hunt
Narrated by: David Hunt
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About this listen

Girt. No word could better capture the essence of Australia....

In this hilarious history, David Hunt reveals the truth of Australia's past, from megafauna to Macquarie - the cock-ups and curiosities, the forgotten eccentrics and Eureka moments that have made us who we are.

Girt introduces forgotten heroes like Mary McLoghlin, transported for the crime of "felony of sock", and Trim the cat, who beat a French monkey to become the first animal to circumnavigate Australia.

It recounts the misfortunes of the escaped Irish convicts who set out to walk from Sydney to China, guided only by a hand-drawn paper compass, and explains the role of the coconut in Australia's only military coup.

Our nation's beginnings are steeped in the strange, the ridiculous, and the frankly bizarre. Girt proudly reclaims these stories for all of us.

Not to listen to it would be un-Australian.

©2013 David Hunt (P)2015 Audible, Ltd Australia, New Zealand & Oceania Oceania World Funny Witty United Kingdom Australian History

Critic Reviews

"A sneaky, sometimes shocking peek under the dirty rug of Australian history." (John Birmingham)
"Hilarious and insightful - Hunt has found the deep wells of humour in Australia's history." (Chris Taylor, The Chaser)
All stars
Most relevant  
Great informative content but unfortunately not narrated well and peppered with unnecessary (an unfortunately not funny) jokes after almost every sentence!! Why?! This could have been so good but instead my wife and I got 2 hours in and couldn't listen any longer

Too many dad jokes!

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It is not a hard hitting analysis. Rather, it's chronology of light fluff. It's an enjoyable frolic through Australian colonial history.

I did find that in listening too long at one time, the sarcasm and dry ironic wit became a little tiresome. However, dipping in and out was good fun and offered a few lol moments.

Entertaining and informative

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A thoroughly enjoyable account of Australia's early history that had me chuckling all the way through.

Witty!

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Being a freshly minted Australian Citizen I obviously missed high school here so I had no grasp of Australian history. This audiobook provides a very entertaining overview of the first decades of European settlement in Australia. The authors sarcasm and general wit had me genuinely laughing out loud. I could not recommend this book more. I eagerly await the sequels.

Very Entertaining and Informative

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What did you like most about Girt?

I liked the humor in it and the way he talked about the events that took place.

Which character – as performed by David Hunt – was your favourite?

David Hunt read the book well. I think this was because he new the material. His tone added to the humor of the book as well.

Any additional comments?

This book was mostly about the beginning of settlement in Australia. It had mostly negative amusing facts about how this took place but this wasn't a bad thing. I suppose this was because the way the convicts were treated was pretty bad in those days. It was well written I thought and very interesting. There were a lot of names mentioned that I had a vague idea about but hadn’t given them much thought. It seems some of the people who first came to Australia were not really very nice people and were here to get what they could out of Australia.

A really good listen

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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

David Hunt brings a level of wit to the telling of history's stories that had me hooked right from the start

What was one of the most memorable moments of Girt?

The stories of bushranging

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The performance made me feel like I was in the audience of a stand up comedian

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed so many time through the book.

Any additional comments?

I will listen to this book over and over until I know it word for word as I did Davids first book.

Thoroughly entertaining from beginning to end

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I don't care for history but this better other history lesson. liked it. it of course has its boring sections but overall it was decent

hilarious perspective on the Australian history

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All Aussies should refresh our history in this form. Funny ,entertaining & informative. First class.

This is brilliant.

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Bloody brilliant. Just bloody brilliant. The book is excellent. The reading is excellent. Even the history is interesting.

Bloody brilliant.

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Loved it! Naration made Girt so much funnier! A must book for your Audio library.

Girt - prepare to laugh out loud!

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.