The last issue of The Hummer (vol.3, no.2, Winter 1999) carried a review of Branch member Anne Whitehead’s widely acclaimed work, Paradise Mislaid: In Search of the Australian Tribe in Paraguay (University of Queensland Press, 1997).
Since its publication, Paradise Mislaid has been widely acclaimed for its innovative and sensitive approach to the crafting of historical narrative. Indeed, in 1998 Anne’s book was awarded the prestigious Premier’s Australian History Prize (worth $15,000). The Judges’ Citation noted that Paradise Mislaid was ‘beautifully crafted’ and praised Anne for taking to heart ‘the well-known adage that a tolerable pair of boots is essential for an historian’. The judges also remarked on Anne’s capacity to ‘knit together the stories of Paraguayan and Australian emigration as a quest for utopia, and the author’s personal desire to know how these stories inform Australian history’.
The Hummer has been remiss in not alerting readers in a more timely fashion to this outstanding achievement by a fellow branch member. We are certain that all members of the Branch will join with us in thanking Anne for allowing us the privilege of reading such a superb work of historical scholarship and congratulating her for the many richly-deserved accolades which Paradise Mislaid has received.