The best portraits from 30 years of Australian Geographic magazine

LIKE a family photo album for the entire country, a new book shows Aussies as we really are and paints an authentic portrait of the country over a generation.

On a day charged with emotion, a young digger comforts WWII veteran Ossie Ostara, who missed his starting point for Sydney’s Anzac Day march. Picture: David Mariuz

STATISTICS tell us that two-thirds of Australians live in capital cities, that we come from some 300 different ethnic backgrounds and that more than 85 per cent of us live within 50 kilometres of the coast.

But facts and figures can only reveal so much. To truly answer the question “who are we?”, we need to share time and experiences with the people scattered right across the wide brown land.

The people of the Tanami: The face of Carol Green Napangardi painted in the colours of her local footy team at Lajamanu on the Tanami Road. Picture: Bill Bachman

A Portrait of Australia in pictures

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Since 1986 when it was set up by Aussie adventurer Dick Smith, Australian Geographic magazine has captured the nation’s diversity, from the outback to the ocean and many of the bits in-between.

The most stunning portraits from the magazine’s 30-year history have now been gathered up into a new book, showing Aussies both ordinary and extraordinary, at their best and at their most banal and everyday.

Despite its distance from the ocean, Jindabyne’s 60-odd Yabbies train in the dam’s cool, fresh waters. They are linked to Tathra on the NSW south coast and visit to compete in surf carnivals a couple of times a year. Picture: Frances Mocnik

It captures us in moments of joy or grief, as well as flora and fauna in astonishing clarity and remarkable views captured by adventurers and explorers

The book goes beyond the easy photographic cliches of bronzed lifesavers and the sails of the Sydney Opera House at sunset to reveal us as we really are, going about our daily lives.

A Portrait of Australia: The best stories from 30 years of Australian Geographic. RRP $59.95

Gill Wheadon and Bella, Calcutta Outstation, Mt Lyndhurst, Strzelecki Track, South Australia. Picture: Bill Bachman