Introduction If you have driven around the patchwork of fertile red volcanic soils east of Bundaberg, you would have noticed several paddocks of fruit and vegetable crops, in addition to the vast cane fields. Bundaberg is best known for its sugar cane and rum. However, these days, the region is a true fruit and salad bowl area feeding the nation. … Read more ..read more

Introduction “They became men overnight”. A reference to young 19 year-old crewmen that had only been in the Navy for six months and rose to the occasion in the rescue operations after Voyager collided with HMAS Melbourne. Tomorrow marks the day, 60 years ago, of the worst peace-time tragedy for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). … Read more ..read more

As we travelled around Australia, I was amazed at how many towns we came across that had shifted for whatever reason. While I already knew about a few, I had no idea many towns were forced to move. Probably one of the best-known is Eucla on the Nullarbor Plain. The Eucla Telegraph Station opened in 1877 and helped link Western Australia with the rest of Australia and the world.… Read more ..read more

The idea Nestled deep in the Gradys Creek Valley on the southern side of the McPherson Range, which separates New South Wales from Queensland, lie several properties, a small school and a community hall. There is no communal area or village, but it is known as The Risk. The name came from the first settler who decided to take a risk to ride over the mountain.  The area’s residents had constantly agitated for a direct road route connecting them to Queensland over the range ever since the North Coast Railway passed through the area in the 1930s. During the rail line construction between 192 ..read more

“By members of the Desert Mounted Corps and friends, to the gallant horses who carried them over the Sinai Desert into Palestine, 1915-19. They suffered wounds, thirst, hunger and weariness almost beyond endurance, but they never failed. They did not come home”.  Inscription on a monument erected by returned soldiers in Sydney As we stop tomorrow to remember those who fought in wars but didn’t return home, I thought I would share an Australian story about a unique horse breed in Australia. The story began at a time when horsepower did everything. It was a time when a good horse was ..read more

What happened to Bill Reynolds? In Part 1, I provided details about Bill Reynolds’ heroic work rescuing civilians affected by the fall of Singapore aboard the Kofuku Maru, which was renamed as the Krait and played a pivotal role in the success of Operation Jaywick. While Reynolds wasn’t part of Jaywick, he delivered the Krait to Australia and was going to captain the vessel on the daring raid to Singapore Harbour. But during a hiatus when it had mechanical problems, Reynolds went to Melbourne to work for the clandestine civilian Bureau of Economic Warfare. He left Australia to work for the Ame ..read more

While Operation Jaywick in its simplicity was a resounding success; Operation Rimau in its sophistication was an abysmal failure. Brian Smith Introduction In just a few months, the Japanese managed to dismantle an empire in South East Asia the Europeans took centuries to build. The attack on Pearl Harbour in early December 1941 was preceded by the Japanese invasion of the Malay Peninsula, an hour before. That operation was the first step in a drive to take Indonesia’s oil fields after the United States imposed an oil embargo on Japan. After the surprise victory over the United States at ..read more

Introduction This month 80 years ago, a small, unassuming ex-Japanese fishing vessel was pivotal in an audacious and successful secret commando operation by a handful of courageous Australians against the mighty Japanese war machine during World War II. Its history and how it got into Australian hands is remarkable. So is the bravery of its crew. It all started just prior to the chaotic fall of Singapore, where civilians looked to flee on boats and ships. Australian master mariner Captain Bill Reynolds, who had been stationed in Malaysia during the Japanese invasion of Singapore, salvaged the ..read more

“I’ll put a girdle ‘round the earth in forty minutes” William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream While travelling around the country, I came across yet another little-known wartime story which again highlights the heroics of Australians. This time it involves midget submarines and divers cutting underwater telegraph cables to thwart the Japanese communication efforts towards the end of World War II. The success of their daring and brave operation helped end the war with the Japanese. The tiny submarines were relatively untested craft rejected by the US Navy as unreliable and unsafe ..read more

Every Fraser Island visitor has seen or knows about the Maheno wreck on the eastern shore about five kilometres north of Happy Valley. These days it is a tourist attraction and photographic stop. It must be the most photographed piece of rust in the world. The rusted remains, however, bear no resemblance to the luxury liner that plied its trade between Australia and New Zealand and the war-time hospital shipping the Mediterranean. Neither does it bear any resemblance to the wreck the locals used before it deteriorated under the onslaught of the sea and winds. Last week 88 years ago ..read more