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On September 11, 1944, the British submarine Porpoise slipped quietly from Fremantle Harbour, bound for Indonesia. It was carrying the 23 Australian and British members of Operation Rimau who, under the leadership of the remarkable Lieutenant-Colonel Ivan Lyon of the Gordon Highlanders, intended to repeat the successful Jaywick raid of 1943 by blowing up 60 ships in Japanese-occupied Singapore Harbour, 19 days later, the preliminary part of the operation successfully completed, the submarine commander bade farewell to the raiders at Pedjantan Island, promising to return to pick them up in 38 days' time. A handful of Chinese and Malays and the conquering Japanese were the only people ever to see the 23 men again. According to the scant official post-war record, the mission was an utter failure. All of the party were captured or killed - ten of them beheaded in Singapore only five weeks before the Japanese surrender in, it was claimed, a ceremonial execution. The fate of eleven of the others remains officially unknown. After a 31 year search, Major Tom Hall, with the assistance of the author, has overturned the official version and uncovered the truth. Aided by thousands of Japanese and Allied documents and by the first-hand accounts of several Indonesians and Malays, sole witnesses to the events of 1944, they have established the fate of every member of the party and unravelled the story of The Heroes of Rimau - a story that has for 45 years been all but lost, distorted by hearsay and fantasy, by military cover-ups and conspiracy, by official bungling, ineptitude and apathy. This book not only chronicles a feat of extraordinary daring in the face of overwhelming odds - it also exposes the appalling sequence of events which has, until now, resulted in the shameful suppression of the truth about one of the most amazing stories to emerge from World War II. Illustrated with Black and white photographs. -
In 1999, General Peter Cosgrove was thrust into the full glare of the nation's spotlight following his appointment as Commander of the International Forces in East Timor. (INTERFET) Always in his slouch hat, he was a reassuring figure and we watched with pride the professionalism and concern of our peacekeeping forces who under his direction helped lay the foundations of a new nation. In his subsequent rise to Chief of Army and then, in July 2002, to Chief of the Defence force, the General cemented his reputation as a modern-day warrior chieftain as he displayed those characteristics we value most as Australians - strength, determination, intelligence, compassion and humour.
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The author of these beautiful indigenous poems is also known as Ken Canning. Powerful titles, including: Fair Skin - Black Soul; Man Of Peace; Mind Installation; Spiritless Man; Temporary Town and more. Burraga Gutya (Ken Canning) is a Murri activist, writer and poet, whose people are from the Kunja Clan of the Bidjara Nation in south west Queensland, Australia. Canning now lives and teaches in Sydney. Ken works with the Rainbow Lodge program where he supports Aboriginal men leaving custody. He first started writing poetry in Boggo Road Gaol, Brisbane in the early 1970s. Writing led him to tertiary studies at the University of Technology, Sydney, where he completed his BA in Communications in 1987. -
Frederic Slaney Poole (1845-1936), son of Judge Thomas Slaney Poole, stepped off the St. Vincent at Port Adelaide on November 30, 1867 to work at the Poonindie Native Institution, was priested in 1869, and became incumbent of Robe, a vast parish. Before becoming headmaster Christ Church Grammar School, Mount Gambier, he travelled to London and married Rebecca Scott. In 1874 be became incumbent of St John's, Halifax Street, Adelaide. Tall, thin, bearded and a keen sportsman, Poole was a popular preacher, fearless in denouncing commercial and sexual immorality, and with 'the reputation of being a man without cant … who is not above taking an occasional glass of whisky, and who would not express unbounded indignation if asked to participate in a game of billiards or cards'. He was a lecturer in the classics; he conducted a school for choirboys; was chaplain to the Adelaide hospital, gaol and destitute asylum; and was one of South Australia's first clerical Freemasons, helping to establish the Grand Lodge of South Australia in Adelaide in 1884. His descendant Cynthia has told his incredible story of his life, from horseback priest to Canon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederic_Slaney_Poole -
Lake Eyre, at Australia's centre, is a paradox: both hostile and inviting, by turns a pitiless salt plain and a riot of colour and pattern. Its beauty, mystery and astonishing variety are captured here by photographer Peter Elfes who has been travelling to the Lake Eyre region, documenting the people, the landscape, the floods, the animals and wildlife. His spectacular images re-define landscape photography, taking it into the realm of art. Where others have only found an unchanging Australian desert, Peter's lens reveals the spectrum of colours, the dramas and infinite changes which countless artists and writers have sought to explain. With accompanying text by renowned author and critic Peter Timms, this is Australia as few have seen it: a strange and intoxicating land which occasionally becomes a green desert. -
Larry Adler raised the mouth-organ from children's toy and music-hall turn to big time film and show business. He appeared alongside Eddie Cantor, Fred Astaire, George Gershwin; he played at special performances for President Roosevelt, the King of Sweden and the Prince of Wales. He toured with Jack Benny and Ingrid Bergman during the war. Then came McCarthyism and the destruction of his career. He moved to England and continued into journalism, and was nominated for an Oscar for his film score of Genevieve. Billie Holliday once remarked of his talent: "Man, you don't play that f***ing thing, you SING it!" Autographed by Larry Adler. -
"Shane O'Donnell" was born to almost total deafness, yet he grew up to play an important part in the development of the Ord River Dam area and in conserving the natural life of that fascinating environment. The "O'Donnell" family are real. Their names were changed for the publication of this book. This is a case history of how to do the best for profoundly deaf children but more, it is a story of a fight against the odds - and winning.
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Laurie Lawrence is a remarkable Australian - a maker of champions, capable of lifting the spirits of those around him to soaring heights. As a swim coach possessing the gift of inspiration he is without peer, and his line-up of champions - Steve Holland, Tracey Wickham, Jon Sieben, Duncan Armstrong, Julie McDonald - bears gold medal testimony to his qualities. But Laurie Lawrence is very many other things too - extrovert, patriot, poet, humorist, singer and, in the 1990s, the most sought-after motivational speaker in Australia. Lawrence of Australia captures the essence of the man through 24 remarkable stories of sport and its champions. In these deeply personal, funny and very often inspiring tales, Lawrence uncovers profound secrets of success which translate to all walks of life. It is a book for everyone - entertaining, revealing and vastly uplifting. -
Jaxie Clackton dreads going home. His mum's dead, his old man bashes him mercilessly and he wishes he was an orphan. Then in one terrible moment his life is stripped to what he can carry and ow he can keep himself alive. There's just one person in the world who would understand hi and what he still dares to dream for. But to reach her he has to cross the vast saltlands on a trek that only a dreamer or a fugitive would dare to attempt. -
Book IV of The Great South Land Saga. The beautiful valley was lonely and remote and lovely Tilly Martin longed to leave it. Only the presence of Everitt Oliver, his flattering words and dark good looks, eased her restless heart. And she intended to have him - on her own terms. But another woman, as wild and untamed as the land, passionately longed for him too. Before their destinies were decided, the valley would know murder, madness, and disgrace...a young girl born to ill-repute would get a new chance at life...and a proud settler would be humbled by the man he despised. -
Explosive and controversial, Waterfront exposes, for the first time, the real story behind the bitter 1998 war on the wharves which divided Australians and changed the nature of the workplace forever. This shocking exposè reveals who was behind it and what it means for all Australians. It all began with a 'deep throat' phone call to John Coombs, the head of Australia's most militant union, the Maritime Union of Australia. The mystery caller warned him of a clandestine plot to destroy the union's hold on the waterfront. The controversial stand-off between the Patrick Stevedoring company and the Maritime Union became a battle for the hearts and minds of the average Australian. Veteran Sydney Morning Herald journalists Trinca and Davies covered the waterfront dispute from the very beginning and take us behind the headlines to tell the real story of this real-life political thriller. Illustrated with black and white photographs. A very scarce, autographed first printing; a derogatory reference to Peter Costello caused this issue to be recalled and pulped. -
Australian actor and comedian Slim DeGrey (1918 - 2007), known for his roles in They're A Weird Mob, You Can't See Around Corners and many other Australian film and T.V. productions was a member of the A.I.F. Prisoners' Concert Party in the infamous Changi Gaol. There was a funny side; not often and not always, but hilarious and absurd incidents did occur and together with the infamous style of Australian dry humour, helped sustain morale and relieve the drab lives of the P.O.Ws. Littered with fabulous Australianisms and droll sketches, Slim DeGrey definitely found Changi's funny side. -
Dark Stranger: John Iggulden
$80.00James Duncan and Peter Jirapon, brought together by the search for a missing witness in a rape and murder case, they are totally opposite in age, temperament and race. Duncan is a cynical, high flying publicity man in his middle fifties; Jirapon is a young, intense, idealistic Aboriginal lawyer. In the course of the search they are swept out to sea in an open boat of the coast of Northern Australia and must find a comradeship in order to survive. -
Martin Fartingale hates English weather, hates Cornwall and most of all, hates his name. He is staying with his mother and batty grandmother in a small fishing village over looking St. Cecils Mount, an intriguing rocky blob at the end of a causeway out to sea. Ignoring the warnings of his new school friends Danny and Charlotte (Charlie) that no-one has ever escaped from St. Cecils Mount, Mart5in decides to break into the ancient building and explore. He finds himself face to face with Gregor, the Mad Monk, Ursula, a black witch - and he must defeat Sir Bullimore Fergus in sword fighting and the Black Knight in a joust, with unexpected allies the ghost of Uncle Septimus Fartingale (who appears as a foul-smelling green vapour) and a white witch who looks remarkably like Charlie. -
Southern Women: Lois Battle
$60.00Eunnonia: tough, widowed, loyal and at 83, still a pillar of Savannah society, the matriarch still guiding her brood. Lucille: Nonnie's youngest and prettiest daughter, now an aging Southern belle, ever hungry for male adoration, yet whose secret resentments and unfulfilled yearnings threaten to destroy her charmed life. Cordy: Lucille's restless daughter who had accepted the standards of womanhood with which she was raised; then at 30, and now a mother, she faces a cheating husband she must leave, a career she must build, a self she must find - but will she find it at home, in Savannah? This is not only a story about the bonds of family; it is a story of the struggle for personal freedom; of rebellion and tradition; of reality versus the myths of gentility, kinship, allegiances and love; and the modern issues of marriage, sex and love clashing with the Southern society image of ladies and family. -
I.Q.: Mark Clark
$60.00Book I of I.Q.: The Trilogy. In a future world,m where people can buy and sell I.Q.,two men set out on a quest to find out who they really are. This is the story of a 100, who never gambled; a 160 who has been reformatted and a I.Q. 1000 president who controls their world. -
A chance encounter in a fish-’n’-chip shop set Brendan James Murray on the trail of a mystery. Had a gay man been secretly murdered on H.M.A.S Australia during the Second World War? The veteran he spoke to was certain. ‘I knew about it,’ he said. ‘We all did.’ But was the story true? If so, who was the dead man? And why was it so hard to find out? This book is the search for the answer, almost stone-walled by cover-up and silence. In the end, it brings us to the lies that have shrouded our understanding of war, and especially of war at sea. As one of the survivors poignantly says, ‘I want to pass it on to the next generation. What it was like. What it was really like.’ -
Jamal and Bibi have a dream - to lead Australia to soccer glory in the next World Cup. But first they must face landmines, pirates, storms and assassins. Can Jamal and his family survive their incredible journey and get to Australia? Sometimes - to save the people you love - you just have to go overboard.
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