Khaki Town

Set in Townsville (Far North Queensland) in 1942 Judy Nunn has written a novel about the effect of the town tripling its population when American and Australian soldiers arrived to fight the Japanese who were considered a threat to the region.

Racism is a major theme of the book, not just the affects of having black American soldiers in a country where the White Australia policy still existed but the tension that existed in the American ranks between white and black soldiers, especially white soldiers used to segregation back home.

The story focuses on the 96th Battalion of US Corps Engineers - coloured soldiers who are considered unsuitable as fighting men but useful to build airstrips and other construction projects. Company C is the focus of this novel with two contrasting white leaders - one sympathetic to discrimination received by the men while the other can only be described as a bigoted bully. When the men from C Company are forbidden to go to the town to socialise it soon becomes obvious that trouble is brewing. A young journalist who is also aware that all is not well among the American forces is determined to uncover as much of the story as he can, even though he is aware that the truth may never  be revealed.

Many of the Australians, particularly the military, are not happy having the American soldiers swanning into town monopolising the local girls. The novel also describes the relationships of some of the Townsville residents with the newcomers in their community.

This book provides a different aspect of war by focusing on the tensions caused when various military forces have to coexist during the Second World War.

A Better Man

 I always enjoy returning to the community of Three Pines and becoming, once again involved in the life and work of Armand Gamache and his family and friends.

Armand Gamache returned to work at the Surete du Quebec to find animosity, not from his immediate colleagues, but from those higher up the ladder. A vicious campaign on Twitter has been instigated to destroy his reputation.

However there is work to be done especially as a severe flood alert has been issued for the region. There is also a crime to solve. A young woman has been reported missing and there are fears for her safety.

This is Jean-Guy Beauvoir's final case before he and his family start a new life in Paris. Once again the story centres around the small settlement of Three Pines where the inhabitants work together to construct a wall of sand bags to try and save the village from the rising flood waters. Clara's confidence has also been shattered by the barrage of Twitter hateful comments that are circulating about he art. As to be expected the inhabitants of Three Pines work together to support each other.

Like the other crime novels by Louise Penny this story is largely about people, their relationships and how they cope in good times and in times of stress. In this book the use of social media to inflict harm is also a theme.

Outlander series

At the end of the Future Learn course, Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites, the interest created by the Outlander series of books by Diana Galbaldon and the subsequent television series was discussed.

Many years ago I read the first three books in the series - Cross Stitch in England and Australia and Outlander in the USA (1991), Dragonfly in Amber (1992) and Voyager (1993). There are nine books so far in the series including a sub-series of books - the 9th will be published shortly.

The first books centre on the Jacobite war in Britain in 1745-1746  when Prince Charles Edward Stuart (the Young Pretender) attempted to take back the throne of England and Scotland. 

These books are a mixture of time travel, adventure and large quantities of romance (sex) scattered with some historical facts. In an interview Diana Galbaldon said that when she write Cross Stitch she was experimenting writing a novel and did not expect to publish it. Therefore she combined a variety of genres and styles in the one book. As we know the book was published and the rest is history.

Claire time travels from the mid twentieth century back to Scotland during the Jacobite revolution. There she meets Jamie who becomes the heart throb of the novel and his friends and becomes involved in their adventures.

I skipped sections of these books when I was reading them but I still read them to the end. However once I had finished the third book I decided to take a (long) break from the series.

Outlander series
http://www.dianagabaldon.com/books/outlander-series/

FAQ

https://www.dianagabaldon.com/resources/faq/faq-about-the-books/#whatiscrossstitch.

The football solution

This book was partly written in response to Richmond Football Club winning the Australian Rules Premiership in 2017. Richmond has now won twelve premierships since the club joined the Victorian Football League in 1908. As there had been a 37 year drought between the premierships of 1980 and 2017s the 2017 victory was well and truly celebrated by members and fans of the Richmond Football Club. Since then the success of the club has continued with the team finishing on top of the AFL ladder in 2018, but not making the Grand Final, followed in 2019 with both the first and second teams winning premierships.

Many articles have recently been written along with discussions in the media that Richmond Football Club is special in Melbourne not just because it has the largest membership of any AFL team but because there is a distinct and special culture within the club which affects the on field and off field performances of the team. Richmond Football Club has faced many ups and downs and for years there was a feeling of 'not 9th again' at the end of each season. However good club management, long term goals, faith in the coach and players (even in tough times) and a feeling of inclusion and support among team members has resulted in a cohesive team of skilled, dedicated and successful players.

George Megalogenis has written this book analysing the history and development of the club since its inclusion in the VFL / AFL and equating it with how leaders in Australian politics and economics could learn from observing how the Richmond Football Club is managed.

The book is divided into three time periods - 1850s to 1960s, 1970s to 2000s and 2010-2017. The author looks initially at the development of Australian Rules Football from its beginnings to the place it holds in many states today. Starting in Victoria it has grown into a natioanl sport although the stronghold is primarily in the southern states. Megalogensis looks at the suburb of Richmond and the relevance of football to that suburb over the years.Support for Richmond Football Club has now extended across the state of Victoria.

The author argues that, as in sport, tribalism has become a part of Australian politics with policy often driven by opinion polls rather than by sound management. He compares this with the changes made in the management the Richmond in 2010 which included the introduction of collaborative management, stable leadership plus  long term goals to improve the perfomance of the club. Despite criticism from the public at one stage the board continued to back the coach and players and, as they say, the rest is history.

Buckley's chance - #BRPreview

Buckley's chance: the incredible true story of William Buckley and how he conquered the world was written by Garry Linnell and recently published by Michael Joseph (Penguin) Books.

Growing up in Victoria I occasionally heard mention of a convict, William Buckley, who lived in the bush with Aborigines for more than 30 years before approaching a party of white men, part of the European settlement of Port Phillip in 1835. In this book Garry Linnell brings the story of William Buckley to life.

 At 6 foot 6 inches, Buckley was a man who stood out in a crowd. In the army he stood head and shoulders above his fellow soldiers. The Aborigines who discovered him in the bush were astonished by this huge white ghost and thought that he was one of their tribe who had returned from the dead. Among the settlers in the new colony at Port Phillip and later in Hobart the large frame of William Buckley was always noticed, although he probably preferred to be left in peace.

William Buckley's life could never be described as dull. Buckley was born in Cheshire, England, in 1776. His first job was that of a bricklayer before enlisting in the army encountering the carnage of the Napoleonic Wars in August 1799. Three years later Buckley was charged with stealing fabric, a crime he may or may not have committed, and sentenced to death, commuted to transportation for life. He arrived at Sullivan Bay in Port Phillip aboard the Calcutta in October 1803 where David Collins planned to establish a convict settlement. It was soon obvious that this was not the best location for a new settlement but before the convicts could be taken to Van Diemen's Land a number of convicts, including William Buckley, had escaped into the bush. The other escapees eventually returned to the camp but Buckley was to spend the next 32 years living with the local Aborigines.

When Buckley left the bush to live again in a white community it took time before he could understand and speak English but eventually he acted as an interpreter between the Europeans and the Aborigines. After several years in the fledgling settlement that was to become Melbourne, Buckley relocated to Hobart where he eventually married and attempted to lead a normal life. Newspaper articles about William Buckley and his life with the Aborigines attracted huge interest and in 1852 the newspaper editor, John Morgan, wrote a book about Buckley's life - The life and adventures of William Buckley, thirty-two years a wanderer amongst the Aborigines of the then unexplored country round Port Phillip, now the Province of Victoria. James Bonwick also wrote a book about Buckley's life - William Buckley, the wild white man and his Port Phillip Friends - in 1856. William Buckley died in Hobart in January 1856.

Garry Linnell has written this book in a conversational style as if he is discussing Buckley's life with Buckley himself.

But this is not just a book about the life of William Buckley; it is also an account of life in the Port Phillip District in the initial days of European settlement plus a description of life in Hobart Town from 1838 to 1856. Many of the characters involved in those settlements are described in detail, particularly the rivalries between John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner. The initial contact between Aborigines and white settlers is also a theme of this book.

The book is therefore a useful, readable, contribution to the history of Victoria and Tasmania.

Earlier this year I read a copy of Strandloper by Alan Garner, a fictional account of William Buckley's life comparing the influence of legends and folklore of Cheshire, which would have been part of Buckley's early life, with his experiences of living with Aboriginal culture for 32 years.

Many thanks to Better Reading for providing a preview copy of this book. #BRPreview

Preview reviews of Buckley's Chance

Fairvale Ladies Book Club

Fairvale, a cattle station out of Katherine in the Northern Territory was a  property owned by Joe and Sybil Baxter who worked the station with the aid of their son, Ben, and his English born wife, Kate, plus additional full time and part time staff, primarily members of local Aboriginal communities.

When Sybil decided to start an occasional book club she invited Della (an American working on a neighbouring property), Rita (a long time nursing friend living in Alice Springs and working with the Royal Flying Doctor Service), and Sallyanne (a mother of three young children living in Katherine and a member of the CWA where she met Sybil) plus Kate to join. Due to distance and the extreme seasons experienced in the Northern Territory it was decided that they would try and meet at the beginning and end of the Dry Season.

The book club proved to be not only a place where the women could discuss books but also offered the opportunity for friendship among the five women helping to reduce the loneliness which often occurred when living in isolated area. Gradually the reader, as well as the book club members, learn more about the lives, past and present, of each book club member and the challenges they face. Racial discrimination is also a sub-plot.

This book is primarily about friendship as the women learn that when times are tough support is readily available and they are not alone.

The Railway Children

This children's classic by E (Edith) Nesbit was originally published in 1906 though originally it had been serialised in The London Magazine during 1905. I is the story of the adventures of three children, Roberta (Bobbie), Peter and Phyllis who move with their mother to a cottage in the country. The cottage, Three Chimneys, is near a railway line and the children enjoy the experience of watching the trains pass and getting to know the station master and the porter. They also enjoy the experience of roaming around the countryside and the village. and having adventures.

The author has the talent of describing real children who argue often but also help each other and work together when the need arises. The book however has different levels. As well as the adventures of the children the author based part of the story on incidents that occurred shortly before the writing of the book - a man being framed and gaoled for being a spy and the persecution of a  Russian author for criticising life in Russia.

Currently I am doing the Future Learn course - Living Lives on British Railways. The Railway Children was mentioned so I decided to read it and found that it provides an interesting account of how the public may have observed and used the railways at the end of the nineteenth century. E Nesbit must have liked trains. This is a book that is still being enjoyed more than 100 years after publication.

Voyages of the South Seas: in search of Terres Australes

While in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the English were exploring the Pacific Ocean and establishing a penal colony on the east coast of Australia the French  also sent scientific expeditions into the region. In this book Danielle Clode explores the voyages of a number of French explorers including Bougainville, Laperouse, dEntrecasteaux, Baudin, Freycinct and Dumont d'Urville between the years 1768-1828. The names of some of these explorers are commemorated as place names in Australia and and other countries in the region.

The author examines the reasons for the voyages and the discoveries made. Her writing provides different perspectives of a voyage by showing the significance of the voyage for different people. For example the first section on the explorer Laperouse imagines the thought of Louis XVI as he is about to be executed wondering about the fate of the explorer and his ship as news of the expedition was long overdue. The next person imagined in this section is the botanist Labillardiere  who wanted to amass a collection to rival the British botanist, Joseph Banks. The next person is d'Entrecasteaux who was commissioned with the task of searching for Laperouse in 1791. The journals of d'Entrecasteaux were completed and published, after his death by Rossel. There is also a section on the thoughts of Joseph Banks about the French expedions undertaken at the time. This style of writing by the author provides an interesting insight into French explorations in the Pacific, adding another layer to nineteenth century history in this region.

The Boy from Brunswick: Leonard French - a biography

The Australian artist, Leonard French (1928-2017), in Melbourne is possibly best known for the stained glass window forming the ceiling of the Great Hall, National Gallery of Victoria since the opening of the building in August 1968. He used the glasswork in the ceiling 'to paint with light' and the work has become a feature of the art gallery. It is not unusual to see people lying on the floor gazing at the magnificent ceiling.

 

Reg MacDonald, in this impressive publication, has attempted to write a history of this Australian artist and his work. This is a detailed biography of the artist who was born in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick.

Autumn in the garden 1960

 The book contains photographs showing examples of some of his work which included colourful abstracts using enamels on hessian or board as well as his work in stained glass.

The stained glass window at Robert Blackwood Hall at Monash University is another of his stained glass masterpieces.

This book makes a useful contribution to the telling of the story of the history of Australian art.

When roads were tracks

The subtitle of this book, produced by the Monbulk Historical Society, is 'a history of the roads of Monbulk, Kallista, The Patch & Sherbrooke'. This is a largely pictorial work with photographs, maps plus a brief history of the community at the beginning of the chapter. Information is also provided about individual streets in the area plus details of walking tracks, particularly in Sherbrooke. At the back is an index to streets plus an index to tourist teacks as well as a general index. This is an excellent addition to the history of communities in the Dandenong Ranges near Melbourne.

Winner of the 2019 Community History Awards - Local History Project Award

The rich man's house

In The Rich Man's House Andrew McGahan has created a world surrounding the overpowering presence of a gigantic mountain located between Tasmania and Antarctica. Included in the story are names of famous explorers and mountain climbers that become involved in the author's imagined world.

The Wheel is a huge, imposing, mountain, three times the height of Mount Everest, rising from the ocean. Many mountaineers have attempted to climb its slopes but only Walter Richman succeeded. Ten miles away is an island where Richman later built his home, The Observatory. Much of The Observatory is built inside the mountain on this island and provides excellent views of The Wheel. It was designed by Richard Gausse who died during the construction of the building. Gausse's daughter, Rita, was surprised when she received and invitation demanding that she stay at the The Observatory for several days before its official opening.

This book is largely the story of Rita as she is confronted with past experiences and fears that she has tried to forget. Once on the island she is aware of the power of The Wheel in the distance and that extreme danger is not far away. Confronted by the extravagance of Richman's new accommodation Rita becomes aware of the The Wheel's growing displeasure with events occurring on the island and impending doom.

Reading this novel I became immersed in much of the story, especially at the beginning and end of the novel, but generally I thought that the book was far too long, especially in the middle section. In the first sections of the book the author also includes articles about the mountain and attempts to conquer it plus chapters from Rita's book that she wrote ten years previously together providing background to the story.

In The Rich Man's House Andrew McGahan has produced a powerful novel involving the foibles of humanity and the power of presences beyond our understanding.

Peterloo

2019 is the 200th anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre which occurred in Manchester on St Peter's Field on 16 August 1819. Four years earlier the British army had defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. The returning soldiers, however,  found an England where jobs were scare and wages were low. There was a shortage of grain not helped by the implementation of Corn Laws prohibiting the import of grain from other countries. Price of food was high. People were starving.

This was an environment ripe for ordinary people banding together demanding parliamentary representation for all men. Sixty thousand of men, women and children gathered at St Peter's Field to show their support for reforms improving the lifestyle of ordinary people and to listen to the guest speaker, Henry Hunt. It was a peaceful meeting but unfortunately many of the magistrates and business men in the city were unnerved by the event and the militia was called in. Eighteen people were killed and hundreds were injured.

Earlier this year Royal Holloway, University of London, ran a four week course on Future Learn - Perterloo to the Pankhursts: Radicalism and reform in the 19th century which explored how suffrage for all was obtained in Britain and examined the various political movements, plus their leaders, which enabled this to happen.

The Peppermint Tea Chronicles

Another look into the lives of the inhabitants of 44 Scotland Street and the surrounding area in this thirteenth book in the series by Alexander McCall Smith.

Since the last installment Bruce Anderson has decided that perhaps he should settle down but with whom? Big Lou considers selling her shop and the Duke of Johannesburg decides to build a seaplane. Matthew, Elspeth and the twins, Pat, Angus and Domenica also feature in this collection of episodes. But, as usual, it is Bertie who is the standout character as he revels in his new found independence when his mother leaves home to study at Aberdeen University providing her husband and two sons the freedom to live their own lives. Bertie and Ranald Braveheart Macpherson go on a series of adventures while Stewart renews an old friendship over peppermint tea.