Hoskins wins 2023 Frank Broeze Memorial Maritime History Book Prize

Academic and public historian Ian Hoskins has won the 2023 Frank Broeze Memorial Maritime History Book Prize for his book Australia and the Pacific: A history (NewSouth).

Australia and the Pacific ‘examines Australia’s relationship with the Pacific region—from our ties with Papua New Guinea and New Zealand to our complex connections with China, Japan and the United States,’ said the publisher. The title was also previously shortlisted for the 2022 Australian History Prize in the 2022 NSW Premier’s History Awards.

Judges Ross Anderson, Peter Hobbins and Wendy van Duivenvoorde described the book as ‘masterfully woven’: ‘It convincingly demonstrates how the geography of the Pacific and its cultures have influenced our climate, society, economy, politics and national identity. The narrative spans millennia, from deep time through to European exploration, colonisation (with discussion of Australia both as a colony and a coloniser), the Cold War and a future focused on the urgent challenges of climate change.’

The prize, which includes a cash prize of $8000, is awarded to an Australian book ‘treating any aspect of maritime history relating to or affecting Australia’. It is jointly sponsored by the Australian Association for Maritime History and the Australian National Maritime Museum.

Smuggled: An illegal history of journeys to Australia (Ruth Balint & Julie Kalman, NewSouth) was the 2023 runner-up.

Category: Awards Local news