The Half-Gallon Quarter-Acre Pavlova Paradise[1] was a popular book by Austin Mitchell, published by Whitcombe and Tombs (Christchurch, 1972), with illustrations by Les Gibbard.

It provided a witty, satirical description of life in 1960s New Zealand,[2] and Kiwi culture.

Described as "a celebrated vision of New Zealand as heaven on earth",[3] the book was a great success in New Zealand.

The phrase "Half-Gallon Quarter-Acre Pavlova Paradise" soon became part of the New Zealand vernacular, with the term "quarter-acre pavlova paradise" being included in the Dictionary of New Zealand English.

[4] Mitchell revisited New Zealand 30 years after writing his original volume, and motivated by the social changes he observed, he penned a sequel entitled Pavlova Paradise Revisited.