Australian Landfall by Egon Erwin Kisch with foreword by A T Yarwood

Book Description

Secondhand. Good condition. Wear to book corners and edges.

Translated from the German by John Fisher and Irene and Kevin Fitzgerald.

The case of Egon Kisch (1885-1948) was the cause celebre of 1934. Invited to Australia as a leading delegate to the Congress Against War and Fascism, he was prevented by immigration authorities from landing in Fremantle and again in Melbourne. His dramatic leap from the rails of the Strathaird to the wharf at Melbourne when he broke his leg earned him both sympathy and notoriety.

Legal action was taken in Sydney, where an appeal to the Full Bench of the High Court found that Scottish Gaelic, in which Kisch had been given a dictation test under the provisions of the Immigration Act, was not a European language within the meaning of the Act.

Australia Landfall is Kisch's account of his visit and his impressions of Australia. Although written in a jovial style, this is only a disguise for the disquieting things Kisch had to say about Australia. A T Yarwood was able to study the official files and to discuss the Kisch case with many people involved. He discusses the significance of the case for the general history of Australian immigration policy. (back cover)