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DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251112T180000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251112T200000
DTSTAMP:20260916T092923
CREATED:20251107T044042Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251107T044042Z
UID:14477-1762970400-1762977600@www.mhhv.org.au
SUMMARY:Book Launch: Code of Silence by Diana Thorp
DESCRIPTION:Please join us to launch the publication of Code of Silence: How Australian Women Helped Win the War\, featuring author Diana Thorp in conversation with Professor Clare Wright. \n \nEighty years after the end of World War II\, intriguing stories of the crucial contributions of women on the Australian home front are emerging. \nAs war climbed to a crescendo in the Asia-Pacific\, the Australian government called in a new weapon: women. Within this female arsenal was a group so significant that the women who bravely assumed these roles were sworn to secrecy – a vow that was to outlive the war. \nAs war inched closer to home\, they became a secret weapon\, intercepting enemy messages and passing intelligence between local networks and allies across the globe\, from Bletchley Park to the United States and across the Asia-Pacific. Some information was so sensitive it was burned to ensure its security. \nThey were among the thousands of women\, many still teenagers\, who stepped up to join the army\, the navy and the air force during the war\, taking on unprecedented roles during an international crisis. Victory attained\, they demobilised and returned home. Secret work or not\, their roles have remained largely untold. Until now. \nThis is not just an extraordinary war story\, but a coming-of-age tale for the nation and its women. It is time to write these remarkable women back into our history\, where they belong. \nAbout the author \nDiana Thorp has scaled a pyramid\, excavated a Bronze Age palace and been threatened by a deadly war spy. She also wrote a thesis on forgotten women that almost included a sealed section\, all in pursuit of a good story. A journalist\, historian and teacher\, Diana has worked for The Australian\, including its weekend magazine\, and The Times in London. She has studied Australian history\, with a focus on gender\, at Macquarie University\, and ancient Egyptian literature at Monash University. After lecturing in journalism for many years\, her passion for history inspired her to become a teacher\, and she works at a Melbourne girls’ school. Her work appears widely in Australia and beyond\, and her feature article on Australian World War II spy Nancy Wake\, whose wartime story was then little known\, inspired her interest in this covert field. \nHousekeeping\nRefreshments will be served from 6pm – 6.30pm when the speakers will commence. \nThis event can be attended in-person or online via Zoom. \nAn automated confirmation email is sent to your email address when you book. If this email doesn’t turn up in your inbox please check your Spam or Junk Mail folders. Don’t worry if you cannot find it – there will be a list of names at the door so you will be able to gain entry without your ticket. \nThe RHSV Gallery Downstairs is an accessible venue.
URL:https://www.mhhv.org.au/event/book-launch-code-of-silence-by-diana-thorp/
LOCATION:Royal Historical Society of Victoria\, 239 A'beckett St\, Melbourne\, Victoria\, 3000\, Australia
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DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251112T190000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251112T200000
DTSTAMP:20260916T092923
CREATED:20250820T034650Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250820T040050Z
UID:14313-1762974000-1762977600@www.mhhv.org.au
SUMMARY:Borneo – The Last Campaign with Michael Veitch
DESCRIPTION:Wednesday 12 November 2025 7:00PM-8:00PM (Australian Eastern Standard Time) \n \n \nThe presentation \nBorneo – The Last Campaign \nBorneo: The Last Campaign tells the story of Operation OBOE\, the massive\, three-pronged assault on the vast Japanese-held island of Borneo in 1945. It was one of the largest amphibious invasions of the entire war\, and a virtually all-Australian operation. \nOver the final twelve weeks of World War Two\, the 1st Australian Army Corps chased down and fought the remnants of the Japanese army over burning oil fields\, up languid tropical rivers\, along leech-ridden jungle tracks and across endless hills\, valleys and ridges. Far from being the easy ‘mopping-up’ the men had been told to expect\, Borneo turned out to be as savage as anything the Aussies had hitherto encountered in the Pacific\, as the Japanese – despite the inevitability of their defeat – continued fighting with fanaticism\, tenacity and shocking brutality. \nImmensely complex but brilliantly planned\, OBOE called for Australia’s two most famous Infantry Divisions – the 7th and 9th – to storm ashore at three separate landing areas supported by US and Australian naval forces and local Dyak guerrilla fighters. Their objectives were to secure Borneo’s oil facilities and liberate its long-suffering people. \nAlthough now largely forgotten\, as well as mired in the controversy that it had little effect on the overall outcome of the war\, the skill\, bravery and determination showed by the average Australian soldier on Borneo – many of whom were fighting their one and only battle of the war – is beyond question. OBOE involved more than 70\,000 Australian military personnel\, of which over 2000 became casualties\, with nearly 600 killed. It was also where the two final Australian Victoria Crosses of the war were won\, as well as literally dozens of other awards for bravery. \nOBOE was superbly executed\, achieved all of its objectives\, and was the very last sustained Allied action of World War Two. \nDrawing on a myriad of firsthand sources and interviews with the two last surviving veterans\, Borneo: The Last Campaign examines the lead-up\, the landings and the campaign itself in never-before published detail. \n \nThe Presenter: Michael Veitch \nMichael Veitch is well known as an author\, actor and former ABC television and radio presenter. His books include the critically acclaimed accounts of Australian airmen in World War II\, 44 Days\, Heroes of the Skies\, Fly\, Flak\, Barney Greatrex\, Turning Point\, The Battle of the Bismarck Sea and Australia’s Secret Army. He lives in the Yarra Valley\, outside Melbourne. \n  \n \n 
URL:https://www.mhhv.org.au/event/borneo-the-last-campaign-with-michael-veitch/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
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