Page 46 - Australian Defence Magazine August 2018

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AUSTRALIA'S NORTHERN SHIELD? PAPUA NEW GUINEA
AND THE DEFENCE OF AUSTRALIA SINCE 1880
By Bruce Hunt
Published by Monash University Publishing
RRP $39.95 in paperback ISBN 9781925495409
The defence of Australia
and the role of PNG in any such action has been an issue confronting Australian governments since the commencement of WWI. At that time Germany controlled north eastern New Guinea while Britain and Australia
THE BATTLE WITHIN
POWS IN POST
WAR AUSTRALIA
By Christina Twomey Published by New South RRP $39.99 in Paperback | ISBN 9781742235684
This book was of special interest to me as my uncle was a POW in Changi. While he did not talk openly of his time there, he appeared not to have encountered many of the difficulties experienced by the subjects of this book. He was however dismayed at the lack of understanding by the government, officials and the public as a whole. While
controlled the south east
of the island. Following the Treaty of Versailles, Australia assumed control over the former German New Guinea. In the lead up to WWII, Australian governments placed much greater emphasis on the ‘northern Shield’ theory because
of rising tensions with Japan. Post war, Indonesia emerged as the latest threat to the stability of the region resulting in PNG becoming part of Australia’s Northern Command. After the fall
of Indonesia’s President Sukarno, Hunt writes that Australia no longer regarded PNG as a northern defence shield. Access to recently released Cabinet documents between 1950 and 1975, the year of PNG independence, has allowed Hunt to understand the thinking
of successive Australian governments on the issue.
Twomey was denied access to repatriation records she found a veritable treasure trove of documents via the Prisoners of War Trust Fund. Established in 1952, former POWs were able to apply for financial assistance based on their situation. In many cases, these applications were very detailed and quite disturbing. Unfortunately they were quite often treated with little compassion by officials of the Army and the Repatriation Department.
In this revealing book, Twomey outlines the battle to persuade the Australian government that a defeated soldier was worthy of commemoration and respect and the individual battles to find a place of contentment and reintegrate back into civilian life. More than 70 years on from the end of WWII, the same issues continue to plague
returning veterans.
ANZACS ON THE WESTERN FRONT THE AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL BATTLEFIELD GUIDE 100TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
By Peter Pedersen with Chris Roberts
Published by John Wiley & Sons Australia
RRP $39.99 in paperback ISBN 9780730337393
First published in 2012 this updated edition is a very comprehensive guide to the Western Front battlefields.
It covers all the major battlefields where Australian
CREW
THE STORY OF THE
MEN WHO FLEW RAAF LANCASTER J FOR JIG
By Mike Colman
Published by Allen & Unwin RRP $32.99 in paperback ISBN 9781742379111
On the evening of 24 February 1944, RAAF Lancaster bomber J for Jig took off from Binbrook in Lincolnshire, the home of 460 Squadron, one of the most renowned Australian units
of the war. On board was
the standard Lancaster crew of seven: - five Australians, two Scots - whose mission
and NZ soldiers fought
and died during WWI. In addition this new edition sets out the many interpretive enhancements created on the battlefields to commemorate the centenary of the war.
The guide has also been expanded to embrace the newly created Australian Remembrance Trail which links the sites of the major Australian battlefields; NZ
is not forgotten. The NZ Ministry of Culture and Heritage has set up Nga Tapuwae Western Front which consists of 10 driving trails that embrace the main NZ battlefields. He has included detailed information about each battle and how best to understand what took place, using photographs
of the battlefields from
the AWM’s archives. For anyone planning a visit to the Western Front, this is a must- have guide, small enough to include in carry-on luggage.
was to bomb factories in Schweinfurt, Germany. J for Jig never reached its target, shot down over France. This book is about the seven lives on that aircraft. Some were to die that night, and others were to survive, withstanding incredible hardships and adventures as prisoners and evaders in a war that was
far from over. This story began as a magazine article for QWeekend (published by The Courier-Mail) but quickly morphed into a book that brilliantly recreates J for Jig's final mission and the story of those who survived. Through the stories of this one Lancaster crew, Colman has captured the achievements, loss and enduring legacy
of a generation now almost gone. Writing this story, he says, has brought him to
a real understanding what words like duty, sacrifice, selflessness, discipline and honour really mean.
46 | August 2018 | www.australiandefence.com.au
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