'Missionaries, Madness and Miracles tells the intriguing but often tragic tale of the first missionaries - Hermann Kempe, Wilhelm Schwarz and Louis Schulze - who established the Hermannsburg mission (now called Ntaria), in Central Australia. The 20-month journey from the Barossa to the Finke River by Kempe and Schwarz and their companions is the stuff of legend. But Kempe's great grandson, Bob Kempe, assisted by the marvellous translation work of Dr Vic Pfitzner, takes that initial story much further. He shares the letters and reports which link the missionaries with the mission superintendent Georg Heidenreich in the Barossa and the mission directors in Hermannsburg, Germany. The documents are introduced and explained by Kempe's balanced and informative commentary. This is much more than a story of the missionaries. Kempe refers to several "interweaving stories": the Arrarnta people whom they served, the long-suffering wives who followed their husbands to this unknown land, the early Lutherans of South Australia and the notorious policemen Wurmbrand and Willshire. And, yes, there is madness in this enterprise, but just as prominent is their incredible courage, endurance and faithfulness.

' - Ev Leske, retired history teacher and researcher at Australian Lutheran Archives.