AustLit

'In the realm of international engagement, consular activity has often seemed the poor relation when compared to ministerial statecraft, or to diplomatic undertakings conducted by Ambassadors, High Commissioners and other senior envoys. In contrast to the first ambassadors, who were often personal representatives of one sovereign to another, the humble consul played a more mundane role: providing assistance to a country's citizens who found themselves in strife while travelling abroad. Such issues could occasionally surface at the commanding heights of the state, and in 1850 during the famous Don Pacifico affair, the British Foreign Secretary, Viscount Palmerston, famously remarked that “as the Roman, in days of old, held himself free from indignity, when he could say Civis Romanus sum; so also a British subject, in whatever land he may be, shall feel confident that the watchful eye and the strong arm of England will protect him against injustice and wrong”. But for the most part, consular activity limped along below the radar, and attracted relatively little attention or status.' (Introduction)

'When Australians working in diplomatic posts share anecdotes, the best usually come from the consuls. They recount travellers’ tales of love and loss, dissipation and disaster, adventure and misadventure from Australians perpetually on the move – at least until the pandemic. It’s the consuls’ job to help those who are injured, robbed, kidnapped, arrested, or otherwise distressed abroad.'  (Introduction)