The Ghosts Of Roebuck Bay

The Japanese attack on Broome is the second most deadly air raid on Australia soil in our history and yet it's almost entirely overlooked. On 3 March 1942, nine Japanese Zero planes strafed the small town planning to destroy the aerodrome and American planes. With no notice, the townsfolk could only put up minimal opposition and in an attack that lasted only an hour, almost one hundred men, women and children lost their lives. Not a single operational aircraft remained in Broome, but the shocking loss of human life can never be truly calculated.The Ghosts of Roebuck Bay tells the story of this tragedy, shining light on a story that has slipped through the cracks of history. A captivating tale of refugees and soldiers, of reputations made and lost, of survival and spirit that resonates to today.

The Japanese attack on Broome is the second most deadly air raid on Australia soil in our history and yet it's almost entirely overlooked. On 3 March 1942, nine Japanese Zero planes strafed the small town planning to destroy the aerodrome and American planes. With no notice, the townsfolk could only put up minimal opposition and in an attack that lasted only an hour, almost one hundred men, women and children lost their lives. Not a single operational aircraft remained in Broome, but the shocking loss of human life can never be truly calculated. The Ghosts of Roebuck Bay tells the story of this tragedy, shining light on a story that has slipped through the cracks of history. A captivating tale of refugees and soldiers, of reputations made and lost, of survival and spirit that resonates to today.

Between January 1919 and March 1920, waves of Spanish flu swept across Australia, touching every settlement from the bottom of Tasmania to the tip of Cape York and from Byron Bay in the east to Broome in the west. At least 15,000 people died and many more were incapacitated, but medical and health specialists, by literally putting their lives on the line, saved countless more and gave Australia a template for what was to come at the country exactly a century later. This book tells the full story of the Australian experience of the Spanish Flu and of those who fought it and sometimes lost their lives to it. This fascinating account also illustrates many striking parallels to the Covid pandemic of 2020, including intense interstate rivalries, personal heroics, frequent confusion and incompetence, and widespread economic disruption.

In late March 1975, as the Vietnam War raged, an Australian voluntary aid worker named Rosemary Taylor approached the Australian Embassy seeking assistance to fly 600 orphans out of Saigon to safety. Rosemary and Margaret Moses, two former nuns from Adelaide, had spent eight years in Vietnam during the war, building up a complex of nurseries to house war orphans and street waifs as the organisation that built up around them facilitated international adoptions for the children. As the North Vietnamese forces closed in on their nurseries, they needed a plan to evacuate the children, or all their work might count for little ... Based on extensive archival and historical research, and interviews of some of those directly involved in the events described, Operation Babylift details the last month of the Vietnam War from the perspective of the most vulnerable victims of that war: the orphans it created. Through the story of the attempt to save 600 children, we see how a small group of determined women refused to play political games as they tried to remake the lives of a forgotten generation, one child at a time.

Historical Romance Novel Based on Actual World War II Events “An action-packed adventure filled with wonderful characters, life, and color. The Deep Enders is a wild ride for readers!” ––Leah James, film producer In the throes of the Pacific War, a troubled young man, Murph Turner, seeks solace in the Western Australia pearling town of Broome after his home was destroyed, but instead he finds true friendship, romance, adventure, and wartime treachery. A historical romance novel filled with adventure, danger, and more! His home destroyed in The Pacific War, a troubled young man, Murph Turner, stumbles into the exotic pearling town of Broome hoping for safe harbor. Instead, he discovers a lawless place brimming with espionage, treachery, and murder. An outsider in a bewildering land of red dust and paranoia, Murph is quickly taken under wing by Banjo––a cheeky Aboriginal scamp with a passion for pyrotechnics––and Micki, a beautiful teenager on the run from authorities. But even as the Japanese armada closes in on the northern coastline, the trio is suddenly thrust into a murderous adventure––all set against the backdrop of a true wartime tragedy. Follow Murph as he navigates a war-torn world, and comes of age through, friendship, romance, and resilience. Enter the turmoil of war-torn Australia during WWII. The Deep Enders is based on actual events linked to Pearl Harbor, so shocking that the matter was immediately covered up by Allied governments and has remained largely unknown for 75 years. If you liked Dark Fury by Evan Graver, The Coordinate by Marc Jacobs, or Seeking Safety by T.L Payne, your next read should be The Deep Enders by Dave Reardon.

The unknown story of how a fleet of Australian fishing boats, trawlers and schooners supplied US and Australian forces in the Pacific - and helped turn the course of World War II. Mid-1942: from China to New Guinea, the Pacific belonged to the Japanese. In this desperate situation, a fleet of hundreds of Australian small ships is assembled, sailing under the American flag, and crewed by over 3000 Australians either too young or too old to join the regular armed forces. Their task: to bring supplies and equipment to the Allied troops waging bloody battles against Japanese forces across the South Pacific. THE RAG TAG FLEET is the unknown story of the final months of 1942 - when these men ran the gauntlet of Japanese air attacks, malaria and dysentery, reefs, and shallow, shark-infested waters to support the US and Australian troops that defeated the entrenched Japanese forces at Buna on the New Guinea coast, and so helped turn the war in the Allies' favour. Their bravery, ingenuity and mettle helped turn the tide of the war. For the first time, their story is told. 'enthralling . . . makes for a fascinating read.' CANBERRA TIMES

In the early 1800s the Great Australian Unknown would be slowly revealed, in part by formal government expeditions, but also by runaway convicts, little known and privately funded explorers, and pastoralists seeking both knowledge of what lay beyond and land to occupy. Through extensive research, and with engaging storytelling, The Other Side of the Mountain brings three of these men’s stories together into a single enthralling narrative: Ralph Entwistle, runaway convict and bushranger who led a brief and briefly successful rebellion against the brutality of the convict system on the fringes of New South Wales’ western plains; John Horrocks, an English textiles magnate who brought most of his village from the north of England to Adelaide and beyond, and who was the first to explore Australia’s parched interior by camel - a decision that cost him his life; and Horace Wills, a printer, rebel, overlander, pastoralist and politician who gave up everything to push the frontier back in the far north of the continent. While our history books recount the momentous advances made when Europeans spread across the continent, the stories of Ralph Entwistle, John Horrocks and Horace Wills are a reminder that those advances were almost always built on smaller endeavours, often made by people whose names we rarely hear today but whose impacts were often of the greatest significance.

Far away from any World War II battlefront, the citizens of Melbourne lived in fear of a serial killer - the Brownout Strangler. May 1942: Melbourne was torn between fearing Japanese invasion and revelling in the carnival atmosphere brought by the influx of 15,000 cashed-up American servicemen. But those US forces didn't guarantee safety. Not long after their arrival, the city would be gripped by panic when the body of a woman was found strangled, partially naked and brutally beaten. Six days later another woman was found dead and her body told the same horrific story. A murderer was stalking the streets. As women were warned not to travel alone, an intense manhunt ensued. Not long after a third woman was murdered, American soldier Eddie Leonski was arrested. A calculating psychopath, he had a twisted fascination with female voices, especially when they were singing . . . Acclaimed author Ian W. Shaw brings World War II Melbourne to life, and takes us into the mind of the Brownout Strangler, and a very different kind of terror. 'enthralling . . . makes for a fascinating read.' Canberra Times on Ian W. Shaw's The Rag Tag Fleet