Most of the general books on Australian geology were written in the 1800s and early 1900s, and the popular classics by Charles Laseron, The Face of Australia and Ancient Australia, were published in the 1950s.

It is time for a new summary of Australian geology, since so many new understandings have been generated in the last 50 years. This book is written basically in the order in which Australia formed, starting with the oldest rocks and working towards the most recent events. In this way we build Australia block by block, episode by episode, and also trace the development of the Earth's climate and life. The diagram at left shows the major events in Australian geological history. Geological time is written as ‘millions of years’ for general statements and as ‘ma’ (mega–anna) when measured accurate dates are given for particular events.

This book uses a minimum of scientific jargon, though it is impossible to bypass all technical words. Indeed, in coming to terms with the scientific basis for many of the decisions we make about managing the Australian environment and commercial development we all need a smattering of technical knowledge. I have kept it to a minimum. Each technical term is explained in a geology primer (Chapter 2). Instead of a glossary, which merely defines the word using other technical terms, Chapter 2 briefly sets each in context. Websites for further reading are included at the end of chapters as appropriate.