Congratulations to Mathew Radcliffe on the publication of his new book, which explores the political genesis of the Royal Australian Air Force base at Butterworth (Australia’s largest and most enduring overseas military garrison in post-war Southeast Asia) and shows what everyday life on and around the base was like. Drawing on the recollections of those who were there, the book charts the official policies and practices that framed the Australian encounter with the people and places of Penang.