The Ghosts of Roebuck Bay

The Japanese attack on Broome is the second most deadly air raid on Australia soil in our history and yet it's almost entirely overlooked. On 3 March 1942, nine Japanese Zero planes strafed the small town planning to destroy the aerodrome and American planes. With no notice, the townsfolk could only put up minimal opposition and in an attack that lasted only an hour, almost one hundred men, women and children lost their lives. Not a single operational aircraft remained in Broome, but the shocking loss of human life can never be truly calculated. The Ghosts of Roebuck Bay tells the story of this tragedy, shining light on a story that has slipped through the cracks of history. A captivating tale of refugees and soldiers, of reputations made and lost, of survival and spirit that resonates to today.

Ian Shaw works as a security consultant, regularly addressing seminars and conferences on the subject of terrorism, its history and its future. He has degrees from the University of Melbourne, Monash University and the University of Michigan, and has commenced a PhD at the University of New South Wales. Ian is passionate about social history, and stories that resonate well beyond the time and place in which they occurred, and which speak of broader characteristics we associate with being 'Australian'.

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