Patrick's Interview with Carpe Librum

Interview with Tracey Allen, author of Carpe Librum blog:

Patrick Lindsay is a prolific Australian author, having published 18 books on the back of an extremely successful career as a journalist, TV reporter and presenter.  In December I reviewed his book Back From The Dead - Peter Hughes' Story of Survival and Hope After Bali, giving it 5 stars.

Patrick joined me recently to answer some interview questions.

Patrick, what inspired you to write about the Bali bombings of 2002 and survivor Peter Hughes in particular?
I was working on a book called The Spirit of The Digger when, like all Australians, I was stunned by the reports of the Bali bombing. I watched transfixed as the chilling images unfolded on the TV. As I watched, I was struck by the spirit of the survivors and their rescuers. I realised I was watching the same spirit I was researching. Gen Peter Cosgrove had told me that you didn't have to wear the slouch hat to have the spirit of the Digger. It occurred to me that we all have that spirit within us and that it came out in times of crisis - terrorism, bush-fires, floods, etc. I decided I should explore it further by writing about the story behind the main face of the Bali attack, Peter Hughes. Of course, I didn't know whether he would survive: it was touch and go then and he actually died a number of times and was brought back to life. I contacted him when I heard he was recuperating. He agreed to let me tell his story. We're good mates now.

What was the hardest part of writing or researching Back From The Dead? How did the book change you?
It was a very emotional journey. Peter was still in the early stages of his recovery when I started interviewing him. He endured great pain and he suffered many doubts but his spirit always shone through. His son Leigh was an extraordinary support and became his rock. It was difficult to reconcile the callous violence and fanaticism of the bombers with the gentle humanity of the Balinese and the idyllic beauty of their country. I was intrigued by the intersecting time lines of the lives of the perpetrators and the victims and I decided to use that as a device to unfold the central storyline. The hardest part was pushing on with the work when I knew how painful it often was for Peter. I learned much as a person from observing Peter, his fellow survivors and their remarkable healing angels, especially Dr's Fiona Wood and John Greenwood.

Publishing 18 books is an incredible achievement in any author's career.  Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
I think persistence is a writer's greatest asset. I was a journalist and a TV reporter and presenter for more than 25 years before I started writing books full time. I have always been telling stories of some kind or another. Books require a special determination - to secure an overview of the scope of the work involved and to doggedly fight through the research and writing to completion. But if you know what you want to say then you'll find a way to do it. Treat your writing with respect, find a haven where you can work without distraction and then just start. Also read voraciously and write as often as you can.

What can you tell us about your research and writing process?  Does your background in journalism assist you in your research?
Yes, I think being a journalist, especially starting as a newspaper journalist before computers and the Internet, taught me the value of relentless research and gave me a healthy scepticism. Unlike a lot of journos today, we had to sniff out our own stories, not wait for press releases. I learned not to accept things at face value and to cross check facts and statements. I love the benefits brought by the digital age but the downside can be the lure of Google and the unquestioning acceptance of facts, just because they are on the screen. Whenever possible I dig back to primary sources, rather than relying on someone else's interpretation of them.

Patrick Lindsay's newest release

How long do you spend on each book and how do you decide what you will write about next?
On average I would spend about three months intensively researching and around the same time writing a book. This can vary widely. I spent almost two years on my last book, True Blue, 150 Years of NSW Police Force. It was a far bigger project than I first imagined. It's often difficult to accurately assess the size of projects as the research can take you down unexpected paths. That book was commissioned by the NSW Police; the first I've done that way. All the other books have come from an idea I've developed or from a suggestion from the publisher. 

A large portion of your books are related to the Australian Defence Force and military history; can you tell us more about your interest in these areas?
It started with my interest in Kokoda, or more accurately my love for the men who fought there. I wrote, produced and directed a documentary for the Australian Army on the Kokoda Campaign back in 1991 and many of the Diggers I interviewed for it became treasured friends. My first book was The Spirit of Kokoda and the other books, like The Spirit of The Digger, Cosgrove, Fromelles, The Coastwatchers, etc seemed like natural progressions. It's not that I have a love of war or military history so much: rather I have a fascination with what war does to people and how they respond to it. It prompts the most remarkable responses from ordinary men and women. But I also write on very different subjects and I'm passionate about my It's Never Too Late series of inspirational books.

After such a successful career in journalism and television, are you ever pulled in too many directions or turn down interesting projects in favour of writing?
Yes, I've spent a dozen years now writing books and in that time I've declined quite a number of interesting opportunities in TV and other areas of the media. I created  the format for the reality TV series, In Their Footsteps, which Nine broadcast last year. It was a ratings success and I'm working on some similar programs. I'm aiming to expand my work in that field next year. 

Do you have a favourite bookshop you'd like to tell us about?
My favourite is Helen Baxter's lovely little bookshop in McMahon's Point in Sydney [Blues Point Bookshop].  Helen is a prodigious reader and a great source of literary advice.

What's next?  Do you have anything in the pipeline for 2013?
I'm working on another inspirational book and a number of television projects. 2013 is shaping as a very busy year.

Anything else you'd like to add?
Like most authors (and publishers) I'm trying to come to terms with the often bewildering changes to the publishing world. I'm trying to understand the e-book options.  I'm very optimistic about the future. I think it may open opportunities for authors to take greater control of their own work and destinies.
Thank you Tracey for your blog and for all your work to spread the word on the pleasures of reading and writing.  I'm delighted you enjoyed Back From The Dead.

topicTALKS is coming

Three old stagers have joined forces to create an exciting new series of programs of live talks that will inspire, inform and challenge you on subjects that matter in your lives.

TV legend Ray Martin, presenter and author Patrick Lindsay and promoter Colin McLennan have called the programs topicTALKS and reckon they’ll appeal to people who, like them, are “passionately curious”.

Patrick Lindsay sees the programs as an opportunity to shine a light into areas of our lives, which are generally ignored by mainstream media in their endless pursuit of the youthful dollar.

“Remember when spinners played cricket, not spent their time crafting one-liners and news grabs for politicians? Remember when social media meant journos who liked a drink? We see topicTALKS as an antidote to the pre-packaged, passionless presentation of ideas we have thrust at us,” he says.

“We reckon people are longing to see storytellers who speak from the heart, who conceive their own ideas, believe in them and present them with spontaneity, authenticity and passion. We want to explore topics that are vital to us and our families and to the future of our planet. We want to hear our storytellers speak in person and we want to have the chance to challenge their views.”

Ray will host the series and will introduce four other top storytellers, who will each speak for 20 minutes, followed by an all-in Q & A:

Tom Keneally                                     “Five great novels you haven’t read yet”

Australian Living Treasure, one of our greatest storytellers and most decorated living authors, having won a Booker Prize, two Miles Franklin Awards and received honorary doctorates from six universities.

Ray Martin                                    “One cranky, profane saint”

One of Australia’s most respected and experienced journalists. Along with a diverse television career, he’s long been involved in charity work and has written two national best-selling books.

Gretel Killen                                    “Why happiness is like nits”

TV provocateur , stand-up comic, advertising voice-artist and author of more than twenty books. Hosting Big Brother made her a household name in Australia.

Patrick Lindsay                  “Fromelles … voices from the graveyard”

After a long career in television, now one of Australia’s leading non-fiction authors, having written 17 best-selling books since 2002. The chairman of the Kokoda Track Foundation since 2005

Seb Robertson                  “Giving a voice to the elephant in the room”

Young Australian social entrepreneur, who formed his own foundation, Batyr, to educate and empower young people to confront and accept difficult social issues. Sydney’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year .

topicTALKS will debut at three venues over three Sunday mornings:

Sunday April 22, 10am-12.30pm, @ Cremorne Orpheum

IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS

The first series of IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS will be 10 one-hour episodes. In each episode viewers will join a descendant of our veterans is they take an uniquely personal journey of discovery - literally walking in their forebears' footsteps - to learn what their loved ones endured as they served our nation.

The first episode features searcher, Julie Bryce, as she retraces the remarkable experiences of her great uncle Tommy Johnson, who survived the sinking of the HMAS Perth only to suffer the horrors of the Thai-Burma Railway, then another hellish trip to Japan, during which he was again shipwrecked, to be taken to a POW camp in Tokyo, then to meet an astonishing fate.

Subsequent episodes will take us to the sacred shore at Gallipoli, to the killing fields of the WWI's Western Front in France, up the deadly Kokoda Track, to relive Spitfire dogfights over Malta, the secret world of the Z Specials in Borneo, the terrifying bombing raids on Darwin and to Vietnam and Korea.

Patrick conceived the format for IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS as he watched the growing number of Australians who were making pilgrimages to honour their forebears to iconic battle sites like the Kokoda Track, to Gallipoli, Fromelles and Villers-Bretonneux.

"I firmly believe that you can't know where you're heading unless you know where you've come from," Patrick said. "The service and sacrifice of our veterans is deeply embedded in our national DNA and a growing number of Australians want to find out more about their stories.

"IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS will give all Australians the chance to watch over the searchers' shoulders s they make their emotional journeys. Each family's story reveals the devastating impact of war on those who stayed at home and waited and it traces the impact on subsequent generations." 

Shine Australia is producing IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS. The Executive Producer is Michael Caulfield (Australians At War) and the Series Producer is former ABC and 60 Minutes' Producer, Jonathan Harley.

VALE Stan Bisset MC OAM (1912-2010)

Stan Bisset, who died on the Sunshine Coast on 5 October, aged 98, was one of the heroes of the Kokoda campaign in WWII, and Australia’s oldest Wallaby rugby international.

I’ll never forget watching Stan as he stood in front of his beloved brother Butch’s grave at Bomana War Cemetery outside Port Morseby. It was August 1998 during what Stan and his fellow Kokoda Diggers called The Last Parade, their pilgrimage to say a final farewell to the mates they left behind. 

It was the first time Stan had visited the grave since Butch had died in his arms on the Track 56 years earlier. He stood there silently for a long time.  I could see the emotions surging through him.  As always, he stood ramrod straight but tears welled in his noble eyes as the memories flooded back. 

There before him lay Butch, his life cut short by the terrible random selection of war like so many others on the Track. Stan had vowed to lead a good and productive life to honour Butch’s sacrifice. And he had been as good as his word.  He had raised a fine family, forged a long and successful career and had done all in his power to keep Butch’s memory and the story of Kokoda alive. 

While I watched, Stan gently wiped the tears from his eyes with his powerful hands and then brought them to his side. He squared his shoulders and paused. Then he swept his right arm up in a crisp, practised salute: an homage from a warrior, a farewell from a brother.

Stan has a deep rooted sense of duty and an unshakeable sense of honour. He had, and still has, star quality: that indefinable amalgam of physical presence and character that sets the remarkable ones apart. He was a genuine sporting hero who blossomed into a military hero in the cauldron of war. 

I vividly remember when I met him for the first time, doing interviews with the veterans for a documentary. My immediate thought was that they’ve ordered a hero from Central Casting and they’ve sent the perfect specimen.

Stan’s former commanding officer and lifelong friend, the late Phil Rhoden, told me that Stan had no time to grieve for Butch during the battles along the Track and took many years to recover from the loss. Like so many other Kokoda veterans, the campaign was one of the defining experiences of Stan’s life. Somehow, Stan dealt with the blows and got on with his life. 

Stan Bisset is quite simply one the finest men I have met. I have been privileged to call him a friend and a mentor for twenty years. He personified so many attributes of the Digger to me: courage (both moral and physical); compassion; selflessness; independence; loyalty; resourcefulness; devotion; coolness; and humour.

He carried himself with the bearing of a natural leader and a champion sportsman.  Even as he neared his century, he continued to inspire me and all those who know him with his dogged refusal to surrender any ground to Father Time. 

Since the rediscovery of the Kokoda story about 15 years ago, barely a day would go by without someone wanting to contact Stan and meet him. Without fail, he gave his time and his support.

In 2000, Stan was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to veterans, particularly through the 2/14^th Battalion Association.

Stan is survived by Gloria and his children and grandchildren

Stan Bisset, like his story, is timeless.

Time for a Fair Go for Fuzzy Wuzzy Descendants

The people of Oro Province, at the northern end of the Kokoda Track in PNG, have been waiting for more than two years for their government to help rebuild the roads, bridges, schools and villages destroyed by Cyclone Guba in November 2007.

Hundreds were killed and tens of thousands lost their homes when Cyclone Guba hit the province. Around 60 bridges and almost 100 schools were lost in the disaster.

Two years on, and just a handful of temporary bridges have been put in place. Thousands still live under tarpaulins in temporary shelters and kids are being taught in bush lean-tos. Much of the province is still cut off from the main thoroughfare for food and basic supplies – the road to Kokoda from the port of Oro Bay and the town of Popondetta.

Just when you think things couldn’t get worse, two things happen: first, the region suffers more floods during last month’s torrential rain; and second, it now seems the government has lost the funds it committed for the province’s rebuilding.

Yes, that’s right, the Kina 60 million earmarked for the restoration of the province’s infrastructure has apparently disappeared in Port Moresby!

In the latest issue of his PNG Attitude newsletter, respected commentator, Keith Jackson, writes:

“Over K60 million allocated by the PNG Government for relief and restoration efforts after Cyclone Guba devastated Oro Province in 2007 has ‘gone missing’. Provincial authorities briefed Public Services Minister Peter O’Neill of the situation but were not able to say where the money had gone.”

The Province’s administrator, Owen Awaita, was quoted as saying that K11 million had been allocated for restoration work during the state of emergency declared following the disaster and another K50 million had been “parked” at the Treasury Department in Port Moresby. Unbelievably, apparently all this money has disappeared.

In addition, a further K600,000 committed to land owners in Girua village, north east of Kokoda, allegedly had not been paid, prompting the villagers to ban authorities from their land until the payment is made.

The time has come for the PNG to show some political will and some transparency. Any qualified accountant could trace the missing funds within days.

While this disgraceful abrogation of responsibility continues, the people of Oro – many of whom are the descendants of the beloved Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels – are relying on NGOs like the Kokoda Track Foundation and the Anglican Church for food and water. They are being denied justice and access to basic resources. Their children are being denied a future.

The PNG Government cannot proclaim its success in securing massive gas projects while turning a blind eye to massive fraud and ignoring the plight of so many of its people.