Gold Fever is what makes ordinary people act like completely crazy people .

We all know that gold makes people act a bit crazy – but imagine just how peculiar things would be if the 19th Century Australian colonies were all run by different countries. The French and British find devious ways to steal each other’s gold. First Nations people, diggers and bushrangers have their own crafty plans. And a peculiar bushranger in armour tries to start a new Irish republic ... what happens next could be anyone's guess!

The What If histories of Australia imagine a very different history of Australia, where the unexpected happens in unexpected ways. Starting by defining the real histories, the book then looks at possible, amusing paths that history could have taken.