Wounded Country: The Murray–Darling Basin – A Contested History by Quentin Beresford (2021)

Author: Quentin Beresford (b. 1954)
Publisher: NewSouth Publishing, Sydney, NSW, 2021
Format: Softcover, vii + 419 pages, with maps
ISBN: 9781742236780
Condition: Very Good – light wear to covers; internally clean and sound
Type of Book: Australian Environmental History / Political History / Water Management

Subjects:
• Environmental and political history of the Murray–Darling Basin
• Water supply and management in inland Australia
• Environmental degradation, droughts, and ecological crisis
• Dispossession of First Nations peoples and loss of cultural knowledge

Summary:
In Wounded Country, award-winning author Quentin Beresford examines the complex and often controversial history of Australia’s largest river system, the Murray–Darling Basin. He traces nearly 200 years of exploitation, from intensive irrigation schemes to environmentally damaging farming practices, and explores how political short-termism and the sidelining of expert advice have brought the Basin to crisis point. The book also addresses the dispossession of First Nations peoples and the lost opportunities to draw on Indigenous knowledge for sustainable land and water management.

Why you’ll love this book:
A compelling and meticulously researched account that blends environmental science, political history, and Indigenous perspectives. Essential reading for anyone concerned about the future of Australia’s inland rivers, water security, and the balance between economic development and ecological preservation.