Norm Habel

Outback Christmas is a significant book, first published in 1981, and now in a new edition with new Preface, released ten years after the death of the artist, Pro Hart. This book portrays the nativity of Christ in bold images of the Australian Outback. Most of our Christmas art and verse have been inherited from English and European sources, but the Christian message is universal and other cultures commonly portray the characters and events surrounding Christ's birth in line with local custom. The authors write in the 1981 Preface that 'the ideas and images of the book reflect the search of many Australians to make Christianity in Australia and Australian Christianity ... Australians have sought to express their faith in language consistent with the Australian experience.

Outback Christmas is a significant book, first published in 1981, and now in a new edition with new Preface, released ten years after the death of the artist, Pro Hart. This book portrays the nativity of Christ in bold images of the Australian Outback. Most of our Christmas art and verse have been inherited from English and European sources, but the Christian message is universal and other cultures commonly portray the characters and events surrounding Christ's birth in line with local custom. The authors write in the 1981 Preface that 'the ideas and images of the book reflect the search of many Australians to make Christianity in Australia and Australian Christianity ... Australians have sought to express their faith in language consistent with the Australian experience.