Australian Soldiers in Asia-Pacific in World War II

The hidden story of how Australian troops’ close encounters with the cultures of our nearest neighbours altered our national identity.

Half a million Australians encountered a new world when they entered Asia and the Pacific during World War II: different peoples, cultures, languages and religions chafing under the grip of colonial rule.

This book paints a picture not only of individual lives transformed, but of dramatically shifting national perceptions, as the gaze of Australia turned from Britain to Asia.