Researching A Distant Land

History informs and influences writers of historical fiction, and sometimes novelists aim to dramatise real historical events. That wasn’t my goal in A Distant Land, which was set in 1971, towards the end of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. Instead I wanted to be informed by events of the period, and to this end I read numerous histories and personal accounts. Two books that were particularly inspiring were Paul Ham’s history Vietnam: The Australian War, and David McKnight’s book Australia’s Spies and Their Secrets.

After conceiving the plot of A Distant Land, I discovered several books written by war correspondents – Antipodean and American - about their time in Cambodia when they were captured during the Vietnam War. Once I found these sources – in particular the books by Kate Webb and Richard Dudman - it was impossible not to be influenced by them. They provided vivid first-hand descriptions of their experiences.

While A Distant Land is a work of fiction, the quotation at the end of the first chapter 1 of the novel isn’t fictitious, and I’d like to repeat it here. The quotation comes from the former politician, Jim Cairns, who was an important player in the Australian moratorium marches.

‘Democracy begins on the farms, in the factories and in the streets, and if people will not, often at risk to themselves, stand up for their rights there will be no democracy.’

These words were spoken to the House of Representatives in April 1970. I still find them both chilling and inspiring every time I read them.

Vietnam: The Australian War
A Distant Land
Australia's Spies and Their SecretsOn The Other Side: 23 Days With The Viet Cong
Forty Days with the Enemy