Dynasties: Histories Of Six Australian Families

Myer, Durack, De Bortoli, Marcarthur, Murdoch, Downer.

Brief histories of six of Australia's best known and most influential families: the Macarthurs, Downers, Duracks, Myers, Murdochs and de Bortolis, by ABC Radio and TV broadcasters, Laurie Critchley and Julie Browning.

Australia is supposed to be a democratic society without dynastic ambition. Yet since European settlement more than two hundred years ago, certain ambitious families have achieved wealth and influence: though in some cases their histories are chequered.

The Macarthurs, for instance, leaders in establishing Australia's fine wool industry, have seen their influence dwindle; the Duracks, who became rich when they opened up the Kimberley to cattle, did not maintain their fortunes. But the Downers, Myers, De Bortolis and Murdochs have survived and prospered.

Julie Browning and Laurie Critchley trace the history of each of these families, and in the process write Australian history in a new way.