An exploration of the many Australian football clubs that have merged into one over the course of a century to create Ouyen United

Castlemaine owes its existence to the alluvial gold rushes which began in 1851. To cope with the crisis, Governor La Trobe established four Gold Commissioners' Camps - at Castlemaine, Bendigo, Ballarat and Beechworth. While many centres of mining dwindled to names on the map, these administrative centres developed into permanent towns. Castlemaine was at first a ramshackle village known as the Canvas Town clustered around the Camp. After the first land sales in 1853 the town began to take shape. The first hotels were licensed in 1853, schools came out of tents and into buildings, the churches built substantial places of worship, administrative functions such as the Post Office and the Court House were moved from the Camp to the town. Local initiative built the Hospital, the Gas Works, the Mechanics Institute and the Benevolent Asylum. Several foundries flourished, servicing the mining industry and the construction of the railway line. Castlemaine was declared a municipality in 1855. The first decade is rich in characters and egos. They were astonishingly young, assertive and determined to shape a better way of life. 'The Accidental Town' recreates an era when Castlemaine was poised precariously between a mining camp and a settled town.

A history of the involvement of Indigenous Australians in the domestic code of football primarily in the second half of the nineteenth century. Excluded from the top level of the game in Victoria, they forced their way into it from the missions and stations around the periphery of the colony/state first of all as individuals then forming teams to compete in and eventually win local leagues. This book will revolutionise the history of Indigenous involvement in Australian football. It was short-listed for the Lord Aberdare prize of the British Society for Sports History in 2020.

This fascinating book is unique, tracing Melbourne's growth decade by decade. A succinct introduction to each decade by an expert historian of Melbourne forms the prelude to some iconic images depicting the city as it was in that period. Melbourne emerges into a great city as the book unfolds to the reader..

From prison to premiership glory; this is Marlion Pickett’s extraordinary story. It’s the third quarter in the biggest game of the season. A young man lines up for goal. The 100,000 strong crowd leaps to its feet and roars as Marlion Pickett sends the ball soaring through the goalposts for his first ever major, celebrated by every teammate, a tradition upheld even on Grand Final day. It was the 2019 AFL Grand Final, and Richmond’s Marlion Pickett was making history as the first player in over 50 years to debut on that ‘one day in September’. Marlion helped the Tigers thrash the Greater Western Sydney Giants in their debut grand final appearance and was judged third best on ground, only six days after steering Richmond’s VFL team with his best on ground performance to their nail biting Grand Final victory. Marlion Pickett’s extraordinary story of redemption is a true fairy tale. The tale of a man who came back from the brink to triumph on Australian sport’s biggest stage, a long-held dream come true. What’s even more remarkable about Marlion’s journey is how this young, troubled Aboriginal kid from Western Australia ever got his chance in the first place. A story all too sadly familiar – about drugs, crime, violence and time spent in jail – but also about a life picked up piece by piece through his own belief in himself and those around him who believed in him too. Belief also takes us inside the South Fremantle and Richmond Football clubs – clubs that have made stars and cult heroes out of other Indigenous players; clubs willing to overlook a talented kid’s troubled past to give him a chance. We meet the fellow players and support network who stood by Marlion’s side as he fought back against injury and the doubters and proudly ran onto the field at the MCG. Marlion’s resilience and strength is inspirational. His is an unforgettable Australian story of triumph over adversity. Foreword by Brendan Gale, CEO Richmond Football Club and Damien Hardwick, Senior Coach Richmond Football Club '[Belief reads] like a Steinbeck novel cum Tarantino film due to the vividly unfolding drama on almost every page.' Dr Sean Gorman, AFL.com.au

Footy Town is a collection of football yarns from around the nation; stories which celebrate footy at its most local: from New Norfolk to the Tiwi Islands, from Rockhampton to Kalgoorlie, from Edwardstown to Fitzroy, and all the way to Mangoplah Cookardinia United.Written with great love (and possible embellishment) by players, has-beens and fans, they tell of footy clubs and the people who have made them, whether in the suburbs or the bush.They paint a vivid picture of footy’s wonderful culture; a picture of mud and dust; of Dencorub and the clack of stops; of lumpy back pockets and racehorse half-forwards; of spiralling torps and once-upon-a-time drop kicks; of savs bubbling away forever.This is footy; this is Australia’s Game.