The secret code-breakers of Central Bureau

I recently came across the Central Bureau and the codebreakers who worked there when reading The Codebreakers by Alli Sinclair. The Central Bureau was a secret organisation established to monitor and decode Japanese messages during World War II. Established in Melbourne sections were later set up in Brisbane, then in northern Australia and islands further north as the Allies moved closer to defeating the Japanese invasion.

David Dufty has written a detailed account of what is known of the chronological history of the Central Bureau. Although this was a secret organisation and much of the documentation was destroyed at the end of the war, the author has still managed to compile an informative and comprhensive account not only of the the work of the codebreakers and other signals-intelligence workers at the Central Bureau but also a history of the War in the Pacific. The book also discusses the reluctance of governments and military services in the deployment of women, regardless of their competence and expertise.There is also discussion about tensions at times between Australian and American oersonnel.

One of the chapters in The Secret Code-breakers of Central Bureau refers  to the work of Florence McKenzie who trained many women and men in the use of morse code, an important tool for intelligence workers. David Dufty has written another book, Radio Girl, on this topic. 

At the end of the book there is a detailed notes section, a comprehensive bibliography and a dictionary of names of people mentioned in the book. The Secret Code-breakers of Central Bureau is essential reading for anyone interested in Australia's involvement in the Pacific War.