There are many maps of Australia – here are three!

INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIA

This map is just one representation of many other map sources that are available for Aboriginal Australia. Using published resources available between 1988–1994, this map attempts to represent all the language, social or nation groups of the Indigenous people of Australia. It indicates only the general location of larger groupings of people which may include smaller groups such as clans, dialects or individual languages in a group. Boundaries are not intended to be exact.

This map is NOT SUITABLE FOR USE IN NATIVE TITLE AND OTHER LAND CLAIMS.  David R Horton, creator, © Aboriginal Studies Press, AIATSIS and Auslig/Sinclair, Knight, Merz, 1996. No reproduction allowed without permission.

 

Above: Produced by the Anti Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia in July 2001 with information compiled by SEA-US. Courtesy: australianmap.net

 

Above: Produced in 2007 for distribution at the Sydney APEC meeting with information supplied by the Australian Anti-Bases Coalition. As part of its expansion in the Pacific the US government has stationed marines in Darwin since 2012 and proposed locating a Drone base on the Cocos Islands.
Design by Australian Disruptive.

The expanded Second Edition of How to Make Trouble and Influence People is here!

This book reveals Australia’s radical past through more than 500 tales of Indigenous resistance, convict revolts and escapes, picket line hijinks, student occupations, creative direct action, street art, media pranks, urban interventions, squatting, blockades, banner drops, guerilla theatre, and billboard liberation. Twelve key Australian activists and pranksters are interviewed regarding their opposition to racism, nuclear power, war, economic exploitation, and religious conservatism via humor and creativity. Featuring more than 300 spectacular images How to Make Trouble and Influence People is an inspiring, and at times hilarious, record of resistance that will appeal to readers everywhere.

 

ORDER THE BOOK direct from PM PRESS

 

Praise for the book:

“I noticed clear back on my first visit in ’83 that radical Aussies fighting back seem to be far more tenacious and creative than most Americans—Roxby Downs, that damned Franklin dam in Tasmania, Operation Titstorm, etc. A far better way to heat up the planet than your lovely mining companies. So keep up the good work! A prank a day keeps the dog leash away.”
—Jello Biafra

“A fascinating recovery of Australia’s neglected past and a worthy inspiration to today’s would-be troublemakers.”
—Sean Scalmer, author of Dissent Events: Protest, The Media and the Political Gimmick in Australia

“The perfect book for enlightened coffee tables.”
—Rachel Evans, Green Left Weekly

“If you’ve ever thought of speaking out about an issue or have idly wondered what you could do to make the world a better place, this is the book for you! Fascinating interviews, quirky historical snippets and stunning photos chronicling all the Australians who have made a difference and who have done so with courage, audacity and a lot of humour! Keep it on your desk at work for all those moments when you need some inspiration, a bit of hope or just a good laugh.”
—Jill Sparrow, co-author Radical Melbourne 1 & 2

“Fascinating interviews with Australia’s best troublemakers make for a riotous scrapbook covering our radical history of revolts and resistance.”
—Rachel Power, Australian Education Union News

“McIntyre has amassed hundreds of tales alongside dramatic photographs in what is unashamedly a songbook for Australia’s future culture-jammers and mischief makers.”
—Katherine Wilson, The Age

 

About the Contributors:

Iain McIntyre is a Melbourne-based author, musician, and community radio broadcaster who has written a variety of books on activism, history, and music. Recent publications include Wild About You: The Sixties Beat Explosion in Australia and New Zealand, and Tomorrow Is Today: Australia in the Psychedelic Era, 1966–70.

Breakdown Press is a small, radical publisher based in Melbourne, Australia, co-founded by poet, researcher and community organiser Lou Smith and street artist, printmaker and activist graphic designer Tom Sevil (aka Civil). Tom and Lou both have a longstanding involvement within the zine, DIY, street art, and alternative media communities in Australia. Breakdown Press have been producing posters, zines and anthologies since 2004 and first published How to Make Trouble and Influence People: Pranks, Hoaxes, Graffiti & Political Mischief-Making from across Australia in 2009. To date publications include: Scrapbook to Somewhere, The Stolenwealth Posters, The Breakdown Posters, The Nuclear Posters, The Peace Posters, Civilian Sticker Packs, Civilians Unite, the poetry chapbook Mining, zine anthology YOU: some letters from the first five years and Market Crossings: Plotting a Course through the Preston Market. We believe in producing ethically printed and affordable publications, with the hope, through bringing together artists, thinkers and writers, to build friendships and solidarity with different communities both locally and internationally. And, to tell stories that too often remain untold.

Andrew Hansen is a Sydney based comedian and musician, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser who have produced six award winning television series for Australian television.

Josh MacPhee  is a designer, artist, activist, and archivist. He is a member of both the Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative (Justseeds.org) and the Occuprint collective (Occuprint.org). He is the coauthor of Signs of Change: Social Movement Cultures 1960s to Now, coeditor of Signal: A Journal of International Political Graphics & Culture, and he recently cofounded the Interference Archive, a public collection of cultural materials produced by social movements (InterferenceArchive.org).

Product Details:

Author and Editor: Iain McIntyre
Forewords by Andrew Hansen and Josh MacPhee
Book Design and Photo Editor: Tom Sevil (aka Civil)
Editor and Additional Research: Lou Smith

Publisher: PM Press and Breakdown Press
ISBN: 978-1-60486-595-0
Published September 2013
Format: Paperback
Size: 8.25 by 8.25 Inches
Page count: 320 Pages
Subjects: Politics–Activism/History–Australia

EXCITING NEWS!

How to Make Trouble and Influence People Second Edition to be co-published in 2013 with radical US publishers PM PRESS!

You can find our more about PM Press and their amazing collection of titles they publish at: WWW.PMPRESS.ORG

The second edition will be 30 pages longer than the 2009 first edition. It will be in chronological order and include introductions to each political era from 1788 until 2012. And new material! All pretty exciting.

A note to contributors, particularly photographers, there will be some changes to the book for this second edition, including the inside being printed entirely in black and white. As we are re-publishing the book we hope it ok to once again include your wonderful photographs within this new edition. Any questions about the second edition please email: [email protected]

In solidarity, Breakdown Press

Above: Australia Day Real Estate Billboard alteration. Newcastle, 2008. Courtesy of Cooks Hill Massive.

‘How to Make Trouble and Influence People’ in LIBRARIES! We’re trying to get the book in as many local libraries as possible before we sell out. Please ask your local community, school or university library if they can order the book for their shelves. Then you can go in and read it whenever you want too!

ISBN: 9780980415117

The book can be ordered through James Bennett library supplier.

How to Make Trouble and Influence People: Pranks, Hoaxes, Graffiti and Political Mischief-Making from across Australia. Written by Iain McIntyre. Published by Breakdown Press, 2009.

You can order directly from our website and have the book shipped straight to your door. All profits from the sale of this book will be put towards future Breakdown Press projects, so thankyou for your support. Postage is a flat rate of $6 and we’ll throw in some stickers, a newspaper poster series and other goodies too!

Bulk order discounts: 5 books = $135 ($27 per book) | 10 books = $250 ($25 per book)

www.BreakdownPress.org

If you are a bookstore, school, library, local distro or community organisation and would like to buy bulk copies of the book to sell yourselves or to your members please email: [email protected]

Also available in good bookstores nationally for the Recommended Retail Price of $29.95 (Aus) .

Available at these good bookshops

If you would like to sell copies of the book through your bookstore, community organisation or distro email us at [email protected]

VICTORIA:
STICKY, Degraves St Subway under Flinders St, Melbourne
THE BRUNSWICK STREET BOOKSTORE, 305 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
BRUNSWICK BOUND, 361 Sydney Rd, Brunswick
AVENUE BOOKSTORE, 127 Dundas Place, Albert Park
DYMOCKS CAMBERWELL, Shop 113-114 The Well at Camberwell, 793 Burke Road, Camberwell,
LOCAL and GLOBAL, 1669 Burwood Highway, Belgrave
MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY BOOKSHOP, Baillieu Library Building, Melbourne University, Parkville Campus
THE PAPERBACK BOOKSHOP, 60 Bourke St, Melbourne
POLYESTER BOOKS, 330 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
READINGS, 309 Lygon St Carlton, 701 Glenferrie Rd Hawthorn and 112 Acland St, St Kilda
WOLF AT THE DOOR, 113 Main Street, Hepburn Springs
FRIENDS OF THE EARTH BOOKSHOP, 312 Smith St, Collingwood
THE GREVILLE ST BOOKSTORE, 145 Greville St, Prahran
ARTISAN BOOKS, 159 Gertrude St, Fitzroy
NEW INTERNATIONAL BOOKSHOP, Trades Hall, 54 Victoria Street, Carlton South
COLLECTORS CORNER, 240 Swanston Walk, Melbourne
SUN BOOKSHOP, 10 Ballarat St, Yarraville
ENRIQUE ECOSTORE, 168a Liebig St Warrnambool
MISSING LINK, Basement 405 Bourke Street, Melbourne
SHOP SUI, 227 Gertrude St, Fitzroy

NEW SOUTH WALES:
GLEEBOOKS, 49 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe
BERKELOUW, 6-8 O’Connell St, Newtown
FEMINIST BOOKSHOP, Shop 9, Orange Grove Plaza, Balmain Rd, Lilyfield
MCA STORE, Circular Quay Foyer, Level 1, Museum of Contemporary Art, West Circular Quay, The Rocks
JURA, 440 Parramatta Rd, Petersham North
BRAYS BOOKS BALMAIN, 268 Darling Street, Balmain
BETTER READ THAN DEAD, 265 King Street, Newtown
THE HILL OF CONTENT, 275 Darling St, Balmain

NORTHERN TERRITORY:
ALEC (Arid Lands Environment Centre), 17 John Cumming Plaza, Todd Mall, Alice Springs
Anarchist Info Stall at Nightcliff Sunday Market in Darwin,  8AM-2PM each Sunday

QUEENSLAND:
AVID READER, 193 Boundary Street, West End, Brisbane

ACT:
PAPERCHAIN BOOKSTORE, 34 Franklin Street, Manuka
NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA BOOKSHOP, Parkes Place, Parkes
SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE BOOKSHOP, 76 Alinga St, Canberra City

SOUTH AUSTRALIA:
DARK HORSEY, The Lion Arts Centre, North Terrace (West End) Adelaide
IMPRINTS BOOKSELLERS, 107 Hindley St, Adelaide
NEW INTERNATIONALIST, 28 Austin Street, Adelaide (www.newint.com.au/shop)
DYNAMIC DUO COMICS, Shop 15, City Centre Arcade, Rundle Mall, Adelaide

TASMANIA
FULLERS BOOKSHOP, 131 Collins St, Hobart, TAS, 7000

Book launch THURSDAY the 3rd December 2009 –  upstairs at the Berkelouw Cafe and Bookshop Newtown, 6-8 O’Connell St, Newtown, 6pm-8pm. Entry is free and speakers include the book’s author Iain McIntyre as well as Dr Meredith Burgmann, Mother Inferior (Order of Perpetual Indulgence) and Simon Hunt (Pauline Pantsdown).

Launch party SATURDAY the 5th December 2009 – at the Red Rattler, 6 Faversham St Marrickville, 8pm-midnight. Entry is $10 and speakers will include Iain McIntyre, Rachel Evans (No To Pope Coalition) and Dave Burgess (who painted No War on the Opera House in 2003) plus projections, DJs and live music from Lee Memorial (Melbourne, ex Sodastream), Bare Arms and NinetyNine (Melbourne). The first 50 payers get a free Rock Against Bullshit XMas CD featuring Yuletide odes from the bands and more.

Thanks to everyone who attended the  launching of the book at This Is Not Art Festival in Newcastle! It felt right to be putting the book out into the world first in Newcastle amongst so many good people. Special thanks to Dave Burgess for speaking at the launch, it was an honour to have our favourite graffiti artist and good friend there with us to launch the book.

Also thanks to everyone who came to the MELBOURNE LAUNCH! It was a great night!
Special thanks to Louise Morris, The John Howard Ladies’ Auxiliary Fan Club and the Bella Union Bar at Trades Hall.

We look forward to catching up with everyone at the upcoming launches.

Click Here to Order through Breakdown Press online.

This collection reveals Australia’s radical past through tales of Indigenous resistance, convict revolts and escapes, picket line hi-jinks, student occupations, creative direct action, media pranks, urban interventions, squatting, blockades, banner drops, street theatre and billboard liberation; including stories and anecdotes, interviews with pranksters and troublemakers, and over 300 spectacular photos documenting the vital history of creative resistance in this country.

Welcome to the collected and expanded edition of How To Make Trouble and Influence People. For over a decade this series of books and pamphlets has focused on how generations of Australian troublemakers have moved beyond political inertia to push the boundaries of “acceptable” protest. As a result, the publications have not only included tales of pranks and hoaxes designed to humiliate the rich and powerful and illuminate the rest of us, but also creative and comedic graffiti, posters, placards and other protest ephemera. Similarly tactics and strategies, like strikes, that may have been relatively common for one group of Australians at a particular time and place have been shown to be creatively subversive when used in a different context, say by high-school students or in solidarity with those struggling against Apartheid in South Africa.

The first volume of this series came out in 1996 as an 80-page, self-published zine documenting and celebrating Australian political pranking and creative direct action. How To Make Trouble and Influence People proved to be a modest success and in 1998 ABC radio produced a documentary and website using the title. The zine was reprinted a number of times by anarchist collective Scam Publications before spawning two sequels, How To Stop Whining And Start Living in 1999 and Revenge Of The Troublemaker in 2003. A collection of more in-depth essays, Disturbing The Peace: Tales From Australia’s Rebel History, was also published in 2005 as an adjunct to the original series.

With material for a fourth volume piling up Tom Sevil and Lou Smith from Breakdown Press came on board, agreeing to assist not only with design, publication and editing, but also with sourcing new material, mainly photographs and images, via their own networks. Since all of the earlier publications were long out of print we decided to bring together the best material from the first three books along with hundreds of new listings and graphics. The material on Aotearoa/New Zealand which appeared in the first publication, has been put aside for a separate volume, also the chapters from Disturbing The Peace have not been included here, but the book is available in PDF form via www.howtomaketroubleandinfluencepeople.org.

Covering a wide gamut of seditious political acts, from Indigenous guerrilla resistance to anti-uranium blockades and Critical Mass bike rides, this collected and expanded edition provides a potted, although far from detailed, history of Australian radical politics from the colonial era onwards. It is informed by a commonly held belief on the Left that social progress does not emanate from the pronouncements of “enlightened” politicians, but instead derives from grassroots resistance to inequality and discrimination. Today’s troublemakers may understandably feel isolated and overwhelmed, but they are not the first to find themselves in such a position. History is filled with individuals and organisations who were totally out of step with the mainstream of their time, but whose ideas around racism, gender, sexuality and workers’ rights eventually found some level of acceptance, if not success.

In learning about the deeds of rebels past, we are provided with a memory bank of ideas and tactics from which to draw. These tales and images also serve to remind us that political activity need not be a predictable and grim slog. As well-resourced as our opponents may be, they are vulnerable to the use of creativity, solidarity and humour. Indeed, these are often the only tools we have.

Another major factor originally pushing me towards researching and writing about Australian radical history was a cultural cringe that I encountered when I first got involved in a variety of activist scenes during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Many of us seemed to know more about the revolutionary history of Spain or Russia than we knew about Australia, and our strategies and ideas, and even our fashion sense, were often based on movements that were happening tens of thousands of kilometres from where we were. Now there is nothing wrong with showing solidarity and taking a broad view, but I believe that it is vital that we understand our own history and traditions if we are to make a difference in the country where we live. I’m hardly the first person to assert this and there are plenty of great books about Australia’s radical history, but the fact that many important struggles remain largely forgotten continues to spur me on.

To more widely disseminate knowledge that would otherwise have remained buried within the realms of academia, and in the memories of those who lived it, the summaries and quotes in the original books, and this new one, have deliberately been presented in what I hope is an accessible, yet thought-provoking format. The listings have also been presented non-chronologically in order to illustrate the diversity of Australian political action over two centuries, as well as reveal otherwise hidden continuities.

Much of the material contained in this collection and its predecessors has been gleaned from interviews and stories passed on by friends and acquaintances, as well as from publications found in radical collections such as those located at the Collective of Self Help Groups, Jura Books, Barricade Infoshop, Melbourne Resistance Centre, Perth Anarchist Library and Loophole Community Centre. Many hours have also been spent in more formal state, university and local libraries poring over activist publications and the work of labour historians. Websites such as the Indymedia family and EngageMedia.org, and the occasional anonymous submission by email, have further assisted the research process.

Although a myriad of Australian researchers and writers have helped inform and inspire this series (many of whom can be found in the bibliography) two overseas influences deserve special mention — the late UK situationist Larry Law and his Buffo booklet and the original San Franciscan ReSearch group with their Pranks tome. Like the former, I have compiled a number of accounts covering a wide range of incendiary activities. As with the latter, this edition includes for the first time, a series of dialogues with well-known, and not-so-well known, creative activists. These interviews cover the history and modus operandi of a variety of campaigns, groups and individuals in greater depth than a simple summary would otherwise allow. They also include dialogues with popular entertainers Chris Taylor (from The Chaser) and John Safran, both of whom, while not activists themselves, have demonstrated how a critical and mischievous approach to issues and public figures can be thought-provoking and subversive.

In the end, of course, the main inspiration for a book like this remains the people documented within it, those who continue to work (and play) towards a more sustainable, ethical and fulfilling society. As the old saying goes “Keep on swimming against the stream, only dead fish go with the flow.”

– Iain McIntyre, 2009.

Have you heard of the original books, they were published in 96, 98 and 2003? You’ve probably got a copy stashed in your toilet library. The book will be a compilation of interviews and historical listings of left wing political satire, pranks, hoaxes and direct action from Australia alongside photos of graffiti, billboard revisions, creative protests and reprints of posters, flyers and stickers.

We’d love to here people’s reflections on the original zines!

Feel free to leave a comment below.