THE HOUSE THAT WAS EUREKA

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Book review | …

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A clever coming-of-age story whereby separate histories intertwine to demonstrate that the past and present are interconnected. Perhaps through a portal that is a tunnel in which sits a mystery. It’s Sydney 1981 and Evie is sixteen. Youth unemployment is sky high and the few jobs that are available are rubbish. Rents are through the roof, the interest rate on credit cards continues to climb and never retreats, and the social impact of this economic belting is the destruction of the family. However, there are some that pull together and pull through. Concurrently, its fifty years earlier. It’s Sydney 1931 and Lizzie is sixteen. 1931 is the year the anti-eviction struggle culminated. When residents, along with family, friends, and supporters, barricaded themselves into their homes in a sincere effort to thwart eviction and stave off homelessness. Battled police. Sought dignity and justice. Although written as fiction, these campaigns of civil resistance, direct action and working-class squatting remain historical facts that can be easily verified via the State Library of NSW. The Communist Party of Australia. Unemployed Workers Movement. Anti-Eviction Committee. But what can a teenager do about anything? Begin with research. Fiction. 197 pages.

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DETAILS:

Title: The house that was Eureka

Year: 1985

Author: Nadia Wheatley

Pages: 197

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Book review by Keith Salter

Punk Human