Dunera Lives: Profiles

The story of the 'Dunera Boys' is an intrinsic part of the historyof Australia in the Second World War and in its aftermath. The injustice these2000 men suffered through British internment in camps at Hay, Tatura and Orangeis well known. Less familiar is the tale of what happened to them afterwards. Followingon from volume one Dunera Lives: A VisualHistory (2018), Dunera Lives:Profiles continues the saga in life stories. This second volume of Dunera Lives presents the voices, faces, and lives of20 people, who, together with nearly 3000 other internees from Britain andSingapore, landed in Australia in 1940. All over the world there were Dunera lives,those of men and women who passed through the upheavals of theSecond World War and survived to tell the tale. Here are some of their stories. A contribution to the history of Australia, to the history ofmigrants and migration, and to the history of human rights, these two volumesput in the public domain a story whose full dimensions and complexity havenever been described. 'In the way it traces the lives of 'Dunera boys'before, during and after internment, Dunera Lives: Profiles is narrativehistory in one of its most engaging and moving forms.' - Raimond Gaita

About the Author :
Carol Bunyan studied history at the Australian National University, and later was a public servant. She was born in Hay; this link led to her interest in researching the Dunera story. Her association with Ken Inglis began when they met at a Dunera anniversary function in 2011. Bill Gammage was a student, colleague and friend of Ken Inglis. He studied at the Australian National University, and taught Australian and Pacific history at the Australian National University and the universities of Papua New Guinea and Adelaide. Ken Inglis (1929–2017) was an Adjunct Professor at Monash University, and Emeritus Professor at the Australian National University. He was one of Australia’s most admired and warmly regarded historians. Volume 2 of Dunera Lives concludes the path-breaking project begun by Ken. It is a testimony to the enduring legacy of his work. Seumas Spark is an Adjunct Fellow in History at Monash University. He is a co-author of Dunera Lives: Profiles  and Dunera Lives: A Visual History, and co-editor of ‘I Wonder’: The Life and Work of Ken Inglis and Shadowline: The Dunera Diaries of Uwe Radok. Jay Winter is Charles J. Stille Professor of History Emeritus at Yale University, and Honorary Professor at the Australian National University. He is a historian of the First World War.

Review :
In the way it traces the lives of “Dunera boys” before, during and after internment, Dunera Lives: Profiles is narrative history in one of its most engaging and moving forms.