In a Sunburned Country summary

The first leg of Bryson’s exploration began in Sydney, on Australia’s eastern coast. Accompanied by photographer Trevor Ray Hart, he took the transcontinental Indian Pacific railroad to Perth, on the very western edge of the country. The epic journey covers 2,720 miles and crosses three states – New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia.

One day into their journey, the two intrepid travelers disembarked at the small town of Broken Hill in New South Wales. A settlement firmly ensconced in the outback, it was the perfect launching pad for a two-day excursion through Australia’s famously rugged wilderness.

Australia’s indigenous people, the Aborigines, first arrived on the continent thousands of centuries ago. Current evidence suggests that they’ve been there for around 45,000 to 60,000 years.

Europeans, by comparison, are recent arrivals. They “discovered” Australia only a few centuries ago after roaming the Pacific in search of the fabled southern continent they called Terra Australis Incognita – the “unknown land of the south.” But despite being so vast, it was a difficult place to find. A couple of European explorers came close but ended up missing the huge continent entirely.

So what did the British do once they’d staked their claim to Australia? They started sending huge numbers of felons and working-class Brits there to build a new colony. Australia became the first country to begin life as an open-air prison.

The decision was made after Britain lost its American colonies in 1783. The country needed a new colony, and Australia seemed perfect. The decision was soon made to begin shipping “undesirables” – mostly convicted criminals and members of its underclass – to the continent.

The second leg of Bryson’s tour of Australia saw him exploring Sydney, the capital of New South Wales. He was in for some surprises.

What struck him most was the city’s denial of its origins. It really doesn’t like the idea that it started out as a prison camp.

After exploring Sydney, Bryson headed to Canberra, the capital. In a country as huge as Australia, it’s only a relatively short 180-mile hop south.

It’s a storied route that passes through the country’s old gold mining hub. The industry really took off in the 1850s – a turning point in Australian history.

So why did Australia choose Canberra as its new capital over prominent and well-established cities like Melbourne or Sydney?

Well, splitting the difference was just too difficult. In the end, the country decided it’d be easier to build a new city.

Bryson teamed up with pal and television producer Allan Sherwin for the third leg of his tour of Australia. Together, they flew to Cairns in Far North Queensland, which would be their base for a string of adventures in the country’s desert regions.

Walking along a beach, the two travelers noticed that no one was swimming. There was a good reason for that – it was box jellyfish season!

Next on Bryson and Sherwin’s itinerary was the Northern Territory.

Tucked between Queensland and Western Australia, this vast area was confirmed to be a territory by a referendum in 1998. The territory’s inhabitants were offered the chance to become Australia's seventh state. But the locals, known as Territorians, weren’t having any of it. They seem to like being outsiders.

The drive to Alice Springs took Bryson and Sherwin two days. Once they finally got there, they found a surprisingly lively town.

That’s hardly a given for a place situated right in the middle of Australia. It started life as a much smaller settlement. In the 1950s, it had a population of just 4,000 people. Since then it’s boomed and now has around 25,000 permanent residents, while 350,000 tourists make the trek there every year.

While in Alice Springs, Bryson and his travel companion noticed the social divide between European-descended white Australians, and indigenous Australians – the Aboriginal people. They just didn’t interact very much.

You don’t have to spend much time in the country to realize that something’s amiss when it comes to the way Australia’s earliest inhabitants are treated.

Bryson completed the last leg of his journey alone and wrapped up his tour with a stay in Western Australia. Flying from Alice Springs to Perth, he ended up in the far west of the western state.

Despite being incredibly remote, Bryson found it a charming and welcoming place. He could see why people thought it was a good idea to build a settlement here. The weather’s great, and it’s bright and sunny. People are naturally disposed to be in a good mood – smiles are part and parcel of everyday life.