Judging books by their covers, or ‘act naturally’- Australia’s Coal Export Industry

Young folk today, eh?  They think if it isn’t on google’s first or second page, it’s not worth knowing. Fossils like me, fueled by the thrill of the chase, pace the library shelves.  And you stumble across the greatest stuff.

So, I didn’t know that the Federal Government, for a period between 1993 and 2001, published glossy booklets bigging up ‘Australia’s Coal Export Industry’. Presumably these were dished out at trade fairs, and gathered dust in Embassy book racks for years. There were various editions, and I’ve managed to get hold of all but the 4th (and I will Keep Looking).

I intend to do a deeper analysis of the contents soonish, but for now, as part of my ongoing fascination with how a picture tells a few stories, have a look at the five editions I’ve got access to.

It starts innocuously enough in 1993…

By 1995 we’ve moved from mine to port.

And things stay the same for the 1996 edition…

Don’t have the 4th edition (yet), but issue 5, 1999 is thus, now with the tagline ‘Competitive Australia’ –

And, drumroll please – the 6th edition – they’ve seriously gone for green!! (see also this post)
There’s forests, and a… gasp… woman. So, that’s, um, progress…