David Forrest, The Last Blue Sea (Melbourne: Heinemann, 1959; Penguin Books Australia, 1985; Australian Large Print, 1989) hardcover, 301 pages, ISBN 0947072659, historical fiction
“You will do for us, what we will do for you. When we speak, we will tell you the truth. When you die, we will bury you. When you fall wounded on a track, we will rescue you.”
[This book was written by the late Dr David Denholm who served in New Guinea during the Second World War and later used the pen-name David Forrest in some publications.]
The book is set in Wau in early 1943 as a platoon of mainly inexperienced soldiers fight aggressive Japanese soldiers in the jungle leading towards their objective of Salamaua. The very difficult geography, the supply and communication problems, officers of varying quality, and a fearless enemy are all brought to bear on the members of one Militia infantry platoon with tragic and heroic results. The author focusses on sober portrayals of a dozen servicemen reacting physically and responding mentally to danger, to orders, and to what their future might be. The clever title carries several nuances: for some soldiers it means the Solomon Sea at their destination; for other soldiers it represents home when the war is over; for the unlucky it represents their final resting place.
One of the most-featured soldiers is a former Teacher who, although popular, is intelligent but sceptical of military culture and refuses opportunities for leadership until it becomes necessary. He is an Owen gunner, and his bravery is surpassed by a younger Bren gunner. The Bren gunners in the text display great courage in the face of the enemy and the author may have been inspired by Private Bruce Kingsbury VC whose valour with a Bren gun occurred on the Kokoda Track in 1942. The setting of this book is not the Kokoda Track although the battle actions have evocative similarities. This fictional 83rd militia battalion is given an auxiliary role in the Wau-Mubo conflict south of Lae; it suffers the loss of experienced officers and soldiers, and yet it perseveres.
Clearly this is an introspective novel about infantry servicemen at war. The motivations, attitudes, and fears of the servicemen, and of some local people, are well drawn and credible. The author is convincing in describing the physical and emotional stress of fighting in the New Guinea jungle. It is highly likely that the author channelled his own perceptions from serving in those same battles in 1943. Those chapters presenting the patrol clashes against Japanese forces are very realistic.
I felt small discomforts at only three points in the book: the beginning, the middle, and the end. At the beginning, it takes four chapters before the setting is confirmed as Wau. In the middle, the relentless focus on A Company at Bobdubi Ridge became tiresome. At the end, the account of two soldiers walking over torturous mountains towards hospital treatment became repetitive. But perhaps this was all intentional on the author’s part – the “fog” of a War that was relentless, repetitive, and required great endurance. So, these are minor quibbles because this is a powerful and memorable book: a vehicle for the reader to understand jungle warfare in New Guinea; and the debt we in Australia owe to the men who went through such warfare and to those who lost their lives or were scarred by these brutal conflicts.
This book feels authentic thanks to the author’s war experience in the campaign for Salamaua which is central to this book. It won a national award here and was praised overseas. Sadly, it is now out of print, but it is available from some public libraries or rare copies may be purchased online.
(I am grateful to Norm Hunter for encouraging me to read this book.)
Gregory J. Ivey
About the Author: David Forrest / Denholm
David Forrest was the pseudonym used by David Denholm, Ph.D. (1924-19 June 1997) an Australian author and teacher.
David Denholm was born in Maryborough, Queensland, in 1924. Thanks to a good teacher at his one teacher school, he won a scholarship to study at Brisbane’s Church of England Grammar School, where he passed his Junior certificate. The failure of his widowed mother’s business forced his withdrawal from school before he completed his senior certificate. Equipped with a junior certificate he was immediately employed by the Queensland Public Service in the Department of Public Instruction, where he remained until 1942, when he was called up for war service.
With the 58/59th Battalion he fought in New Guinea and on Bougainville, returning at the war’s end to the Public Service in Brisbane. From there he transferred to the Commonwealth Bank, learned Russian at night classes, and got involved with the Brisbane Realist Writers’ Group and the Fellowship of Australian Writers. Under the nom de plume of David Forrest, he wrote numerous short stories and two novels, The Last Blue Sea (1959), which won the first Dame Mary Gilmore Award, and The Hollow Woodheap (1962).
With the encouragement of his wife, Zita, and with some apprehension, David enrolled as an undergraduate in history at Queensland University in 1964, graduating with first class honours in 1967. He completed a PhD in history at the Australian National University in 1972, and then taught at the University of New England, before being appointed a lecturer in history at Riverina College of Advanced Education in 1974.
In 1979, Penguin Books published his best-selling history book, The Colonial Australians.
David died on 19 June 1997, after a short illness.
(this summary courtesy of Good Reads)