I’ve come across two books by Peter Grose, both of them myth-busters. An Awkward Truth is the story of the Japanese raid on Darwin during World War II in 1942, and A Very Rude Awakening is about the three midget submarines that entered Sydney Harbour on May 31st 1942, and sank HMAS Kuttabul, a converted ferry which was moored at Garden Island.
Both these books show just how unprepared Australia was for war. Having relied on the British Navy for security since settlement, Australia had not long realigned its foreign policy towards the US, but was still shocked by the Fall of Singapore on February 15th, 1942. However government censorship meant that civilians didn’t know much about the subsequent bombing of Darwin on February 19th and according to Grose, the war still seemed remote and there was no rush to enlist in Australia’s defence.
Grose painstakingly recounts the catalogue of errors that enabled three Japanese midget submarines sneaked through the harbour defences. Past indicator loops, navy patrols and an anti-submarine net across the entrance. When the subs were finally observed and a report was brought to the attention of the navy, it was ignored. Grose’s argument is, and it seems hard to refute, that the only reason there was so little loss of life that night was sheer luck. Although there were instances of courage, there was also crass stupidity, laziness and incompetence, and the damage that could have been done to Allied shipping should give everyone pause for thought. The 27 men who died, should not have; heads should have rolled, and didn’t.
Unfortunately Grose’s scorn sometimes gets the better of him, and it makes me wonder a bit about his objectivity.
If you are interested in learning more about the attack, Australia’s War 1939-1945 is an excellent site with maps, images, animations and video.
Author: Peter Grose
Title: A Very Rude Awakening: the night the Japanese midget subs came to Sydney Harbour, read by James Wright.
Publisher: Louis Braille Audio, 2007
ISBN: 978 0 7320 3349 1
Source: Casey-Cardinia Library
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