I bought this book because I like reading Arthur Upfield's Australian mysteries and this gives a description of Australia in roughly the same period as the mysteries. (It was published in 1942 but based on visits to Australia in the 1930s). Upfield's best stories focus on the outback, but even in the 1930s most of Australia's population lived in the coastal cities, and this book realistically devotes most of its attention to the cities. It does have some vivid descriptions of Australian landscapes, but they are landscapes as seen in parks near the cities, or as seen from trains traveling between cities. Haskell does refer respectful;y to the fact that the Australian economy of the time depended largely on sheepfarming, and he describes wealthy sheepfarmers coming in to the cities and playing a role within the cultural elite, but he does not say much about the actual life on the outlying "stations.'
The format of the book is broadly that of a trip across Australia, beginning by approaching Australia by sea on a ship full of Anglo-Indians going to India (whom Haskell dislikes as snobs, and contrasts with the democratic informality of the Australians traveling on the same ship). Then he describes Perth in Western Australia, traveling by train across the Nullarbor Plain, and visiting Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane. In each place he gives some historical comments about its founding and growth and description of its current (usually flourishing) condition. Besides this main theme, he includes some excursuses, one of Australian arts (he is himself a ballet critic, and discuses Australian theater (weak), Australian writers (sometimes very good), Australian painting (in his view, quite good, especially landscapes and still lifes) and so on. He also discuses the "dictation est" which was designed to keep out Asians (a goal he regards as necessary) but which was used to keep out politically or morally undesirable Europeans (with results he finds ludicrous). Canberra us the only city he has a negative outlook on because he fins Australian politicians unworthy of the people they govern, though he admits this is due largely to the lack of serious interest in politics of any Australians. ( )