On The War-path

An Anthology of Australian Military Travel

By: Peter Pierce, Robin Gerster

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Paperback | 29 August 2025 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

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368 Pages

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23.39 x 15.29 x 2.08

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This important anthology reveals the many ways in which going to war has formed a cultural bridge between Australia and the world. From the Sudan in 1885 to Afghanistan in 2001, the connection of war to travel is illustrated in the observations of writers as varied as 'Banjo' Paterson, George Johnston, Nancy Wake, John Pilger, Lily Brett and Peter Weir. Selecting writings from combatants abroad as well as the reflections of sightseers who travel to foreign battlefields and war sites, Robin Gerster and Peter Pierce reveal how the experience of war has both broadened and refined (and sometimes distorted) Australian views of the world. Their lively collection crosses the boundaries between literature, literary criticism, travel writing, war writing and cultural commentary.

Industry Reviews

"'Between them, Robin Gerster and Peter Pierce are authorities on travel, war and literature. Their formidable talents are splendidly combined in this brilliantly conceived collection, which memorably evokes the pathos, humour, high drama, farce and tragedy of the "warpath".' Brian Matthews; 'Armistice Day in Paris, syphilis in Cairo, escape from Singapore. On the Warpath presents dispatches from arenas of war, told by men and - unusually - women, of Australia's military forces, that are sometimes terrible, often politically incorrect, but always compelling. Vivid reporting.' Pamela Bone"

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Australians 'over there'	p. 1
Out in the Soudan	p. 24
'Those Sudan days	p. 27
'The arrival of the New South Wales troops in South Africa'	p. 31
The Boer war : a perspective from the Glen Innes examiner, 1899-1902	p. 37
Australia at the front : a colonial view of the Boer war	p. 40
Tommy Cornstalk	p. 43
'Experiences of a Victorian nurse in South Africa'	p. 50
Happy dispatches	p. 57
A single flame	p. 72
The grey battalion	p. 79
'Over there' with the Australians	p. 82
What to know in Egypt : a guide for Australian soldiers	p. 85
By-ways on service : notes from an Australian journal	p. 89
'A Bedouin garden'	p. 97
The Australian imperial force in Sinai and Palestine 1914-1918	p. 100
Tucker sees India	p. 103
A woman's experiences in the Great War	p. 107
Flesh in armour	p. 112
War letters	p. 116
The middle parts of fortune : Somme & Ancre 1916	p. 121
Hell's bells and mademoiselles	p. 128
Trooper to the southern cross	p. 132
My brother Jack	p. 148
We were the rats	p. 151
The twenty thousand thieves	p. 162
'Isle of content'	p. 168
Matilda waltzes with the Tommies	p. 171
In the arms of the Japanese	p. 175
Into the smother	p. 178
'New Guinea : the twilight war'	p. 189
Green armour	p. 192
A kind of cattle	p. 199
The autobiography of the woman the Gestapo called the White Mouse	p. 206
'Tourist with Haiku'	p. 212
Korean diary : a journey to Japan and Korea in 1950	p. 232
The tall man	p. 237
Heroes	p. 241
When the buffalo fight	p. 244
House of love : life in a Vietnamese hospital	p. 247
In good company : one man's war in Vietnam	p. 252
The odd angry shot	p. 256
'A holiday at the war'	p. 259
A dirty little war	p. 267
Our woman in Kabul	p. 275
Crosses of sacrifice	p. 285
'Gallipoli pilgrimage - 1965'	p. 287
'Gallipoli - the idea'	p. 294
'Beaucoup Australians ici'	p. 296
No moon tonight	p. 301
'Travelling in memories'	p. 304
Tarakan : an Australian tragedy	p. 307
Too many men	p. 310
Legless in Ginza	p. 316
Again Korea	p. 322
Ceremony at Lang Nho	p. 326
Not going to Vietnam : journeys through two wars	p. 333
'Open for business'	p. 338
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

On The War-path

An Anthology of Australian Military Travel

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

More in History

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