The Annual Prize was awarded at last week’s conference to Diane Kirkby:

Maritime Men of the Asia-Pacific: True-Blue Internationals Navigating Labour Rights, 1906-2006, Diane Kirkby with Lee-Ann Monk and Dmytro Ostapenko, Liverpool University Press, 2022.

This is a rich study of Australian maritime union struggles over pay and conditions at sea and on the wharves. Its particular strength is the breadth of its scope, in time (a century) as well as geography. While its focus is on Australian actors, it places them firmly in the context of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. In doing so, the book draws out the interplay between national and international issues, and the relationship between Australian trade unions and those of India, Japan and China.

International legal history is rarely written as convincingly as the authors have managed to do here. They examine the interplay between the Navigation Acts, labour laws, immigration law, criminal law, and international law treaties and conventions. They also provide a subtle treatment of the interaction between racism and the protection of hard won Australian rights to pay and conditions.  The authors offer readers new perspectives on, and dimensions to, historical figures already well-known in labour history, as well as introducing a new cast of characters, fleshing out the human side of a complex story. The writing style in engaging and clear, drawing out the complexity of the issues under consideration with nuance and depth, while remaining highly readable. The book offers an outstanding contribution to union and labour history, as well as the history of the Asia-Pacific more broadly. The book thoroughly deserves the 2023 prize.

Congratulations to Diane, and thanks to the judges for their efforts!