Really good. Some interesting little stories and really gets across a sense of being there and in a situation. I think this is one that I will have to buy and keep as there are so many great little stories and I can't remember them all. So many interesting things were going on in Melbourne's early days. ( )

Really good. Some interesting little stories and really gets across a sense of being there and in a situation. I think this is one that I will have to buy and keep as there are so many great little stories and I can't remember them all. So many interesting things were going on in Melbourne's early days. ( )

The format - themed by chapter - was a bit choppy, particularly when the author called back to a previously mentioned person or event. Perhaps a conventional timeline would have made it smoother. It was a great read though, an interesting view of the muddy birthplace of city stuffed with sturdy old buildings. The drunkeness hasn't changed, though ( )

I loved the historical and landmark explanations throughout "Bearbrass". The detail given at the beginning of chapters by using real people with real or imagined circumstances made you feel like you were in the era...and, indeed if you had the chance to sit by the places discussed, would experience the time and place of the 1800's. I'd have liked to have read this when I had the time to step through the sites Robyn Annear highlights, however it was nice enough to catch the train down to Melbourne once or twice during my reading of it. A must read if you live in Melbourne or are visiting, it adds an extra element or dimension to the bustling, vibrant city it is today. ( )

Evocative ( )