Ken Inglis, Jay Winter & Seumas Spark, with Carol Bunyan
Dunera Lives: A Visual History, Monash University Publishing, Melbourne, 2018
In July 1940, around 2000 refugees, most of whom were Jewish and from Germany or Austria, were sent from Britain to Australia on the HMT Dunera. The story of the “Dunera boys” is an intrinsic part of the history of Australia in the Second World War and in its aftermath. The injustice these men suffered in internment camps at Hay, Tatura and Orange is well known. Less familiar is the tale of what happened to them afterwards.
This book tells that story primarily through images. The images, beautiful and powerful, reveal tales of struggle, sadness, transcendence, and creativity, and describe the lives of these men and of the society in which they lived, first as prisoners and then as free men. A contribution to the history of Australia, to the history of migrants and migration, and to the history of human rights, this book helps to tell a story the full dimensions and complexity of which have never been described. (blurb)
The book is reviewed for Honest History by David Stephens. Launch speeches by Frank Bongiorno and Raimond Gaita. Review in Inside Story by Peter Mares. Another launch speech from Nick Gruen, son of Dunera boy, Fred.
The National Archives has some Dunera records. Jay Winter on Late Night Live with Phillip Adams. Review on UK blog, Kitchener Camp. Seumas Spark in Inside Story about Ken Inglis’s long involvement with the Dunera saga. Ken Inglis on Dunera in The Monthly, 2010.
Other Dunera material on the Honest History site can be found using our Search engine, with the search term ‘Dunera’. Similarly, for other material by Frank Bongiorno and Raimond Gaita, use our Search engine. Although the Dunera story is not just about Jews, see also our post on the (admirable) Holocaust exhibition at the Australian War Memorial.
Update 30 September 2020: Dunera Lives, Volume 2, details and reviewed.
12 July 2018 updated
