FAR COUNTRY: A SHORT HISTORY OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY

Author: Alan Powell This fifth edition has been revised to bring the Territory story into the 21st Century. 'Powell has achieved an outstanding success. He writes with economy, power and humanity of all the main phases of the Territory's history, starting with the coming of the Aborigines... He moves easily from the broad sweep of the geographical and political context to the sharp focus of personality and action.' [A.T. Yarwood, on the first (1982) edition of 'Far Country'] This is... now effectively a classic history. 'Far Country' is a fascinating and admirable history of the Northern Territory... With commanding sweep, Powell places this remote outpost within the broader perspective of world events, whether it be expanding Asian empires, European trading relations and wars, or South Australian and federal politics... It ranges broadly over the expected themes of a regional history - Aboriginal society, European exploration and the early European colonial settlements, race relations, the struggle to establish viable industries, urban settlements, politics, local cultural elements, literature and some of the significant individuals. But the context of the Territory adds piquancy to the story because of its environmental and human uniqueness... To an observer from the south, it is... a 'far country'. [Don Garden on the fourth (2000) edition] Alan Powell is Emeritus Professor of History at Charles Darwin University. In addition to 'Far Country he is the author of 'Patrician Democrat', 'The Shadow's Edge', 'War By Stealth', 'The Third Force' and was the General Editor of 'The Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1'.