The_Half_Gallon_Quarter_Acre_Pavlova_Paradise

<i>The Half-Gallon Quarter-Acre Pavlova Paradise</i>

The Half-Gallon Quarter-Acre Pavlova Paradise

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The Half-Gallon Quarter-Acre Pavlova Paradise[1] was a popular book by Austin Mitchell, published by Whitcombe and Tombs (Christchurch, 1972), with illustrations by Les Gibbard. It provided a witty, satirical description of life in 1960s New Zealand,[2] and Kiwi culture.

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Described as "a celebrated vision of New Zealand as heaven on earth",[3] the book was a great success in New Zealand. The phrase "Half-Gallon Quarter-Acre Pavlova Paradise" soon became part of the New Zealand vernacular, with the term "quarter-acre pavlova paradise" being included in the Dictionary of New Zealand English.[4] Mitchell revisited New Zealand 30 years after writing his original volume, and motivated by the social changes he observed, he penned a sequel entitled Pavlova Paradise Revisited.[5]

Terminology

  • "Half Gallon", popularly called the "Half G", was the standard size of a flagon of beer then sold in New Zealand pubs
  • "Quarter Acre" referred to the ubiquitous suburban section of land on which most Kiwis built their homes
  • "Pavlova", a popular New Zealand dessert

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Mitchell, Austin Vernon (1972). The Half-Gallon Quarter-Acre Pavlova Paradise. Christchurch: Whitcombe and Tombs. ISBN 978-0-7233-0349-7.
  2. [2]
    "The 1960s". New Zealand History.
  3. [3]
    Deverson, Tony (August 2000). "From Staten Landt to Aotearoa New Zealand: The Naming of 'Pacific's Triple Star'" (PDF). NZ Words (4). New Zealand Dictionary Centre: 3.
  4. [4]
    Orsman, H. W., ed. (1997). The Dictionary of New Zealand English: a dictionary of New Zealandisms on historical principles. Auckland: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-558380-9..
  5. [5]
    Mitchell, Austin Vernon (2002). Pavlova Paradise Revisited: A guide to the strange but endearing land where Kiwis live. Auckland: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-301826-1.

Further reading
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