Donald Denoon

This book is a milestone in the historiography of Australia and Papua New Guinea. It puts paid to sterile debates about whether PNG’s independence came too early. ‘Decolonisation,’ Professor Donald Denoon concludes, ‘is by no means complete and independence is a work in progress.’ What happened on 16 September 1975 was the beginning of a ‘trial separation’: ‘Australian rule over the territory was not a marriage made in heaven, and it could never be consummated by full integration. Yet those countries are so close in so many ways that the divorce cannot easily be made absolute.’

When faced with a new dictionary of quotations, I always test drive the section on heaven first.

This is despite the fact that the section on hell is generally longer and more engaging. My habit is a bit like reading travel porn about the ultimate destination. It’s also a good way to acquire wisdom without much effort as I wait for some kind soul to come to my rescue and publish Wisdom for Dummies, the next volume in that useful series which is still marred by some notable gaps. Parents will look in vain for Soothers for Dummies, and shopfitters won’t find Mannequins for Dummies.