In recent decades the distinctiveness of the English spoken in Australia has been recognized by the publication of dictionaries and grammars of Australian English. Given the widely acknowledged role played by Christianity in the colonizing of Australia by the British, and in the subsequent development of the nation, it is appropriate that the New Testament writings should also be available in Australian English.

Under the Southern Cross is the first published translation of the complete New Testament from the Greek language in which it was composed into the everyday English used in Australia.

The translator, who lectured in New Testament at tertiary level for three decades, is a passionate advocate of translations which convey as accurately as possible the meaning and message of the original authors of the twenty-seven writings making up the New Testament in contemporary and intelligible language.

The basis for the translation is the most recent edition of the scholarly Greek text published by the German Bible Society and distributed throughout the world by the United Bible Societies.