The Nettie Palmer Prize for Non-fiction: Winner 2003

Judges report

Broken Song: T.G.H. Strehlow and Aboriginal Possession by Barry Hill (Knopf/Random House)

Barry Hill presents the life of this key figure in the history of Aboriginal-European relations with enormous insight and compassion. While recognising the essentially tragic character of Strehlow's career, Hill treats his life and work with sympathy, carefully probing the relationship between these two spheres.

The book mounts a persuasive argument for the importance of language in the history of Black and White relations in Australia. It is a daring, metaphoric and suggestive piece of writing, teeming with intellectual, cultural and religious incidents and ideas, richly depicting life in Adelaide and around Alice Springs during a period in which government policies, community attitudes and anthropological theory and practice were undergoing great change.