Churchill and Australia

by Graham Freudenberg

Winston Churchill was a titan of the 20th century, universally acknowledged as one of the greatest leaders of his age. Yet his relationship with Australia was a troubled one, marred by conflict from the time Churchill was a junior minister in 1907 to bitter disputes over the use of Australian troops in the Second World War. The connection between the two would span the first 50 tumultuous years of the 20th century, from the Boer War through to opening salvos of the Cold War, and act as a fascinating backdrop to Australia's march from a collection of dependent colonies to full nationhood.

Graham Freudenberg's Churchill and Australia is the grand story of this relationship. Written with extraordinary narrative verve, and relying on exhaustive research and a true insider's knowledge of the political world, this is history written at its compelling best.

Genres: History, Biography, Military History, Australia, War

613 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2008

About the author

Norman Graham Freudenberg AM was an Australian author and political speechwriter for Labor leaders for over 40 years, beginning as Arthur Calwell's press secretary.

He was raised in Brisbane. His father was a soldier who fought at Gallipoli and named his son after a former colonial governor of Queensland, Field Marshal Sir Henry Norman. He was educated at Brisbane Church of England Grammar School, then studied journalism in Melbourne. He worked as a journalist for nine years before becoming Arthur Calwell's press secretary in June 1961. He was appointed Gough Whitlam's press secretary in 1967, and was special advisor to the Prime Minister from 1972 to 1975. Freudenberg was Jewish.

He wrote over 1,000 speeches for several Federal and New South Wales Labor leaders, including Arthur Calwell, Neville Wran, Bob Hawke, and Gough Whitlam. His 'It's Time' speech, which Whitlam presented at Labor's 1972 federal campaign launch, is perhaps his most well known.

(Adapted from Wikipedia.)

Reviews

[Dennis]

As well as a detailed account of Churchill's World War 2 exploits, this is also the best chronological account of the Australian world effort i have read. It also helps explain why Churchill was so hated by Australians (particularly our servicemen) for the manner in which he treated them. My father told me that Churchill's attitude was that the Australian troops should remain in the Middle East and that if Japan seized Australia, they could always go back and retake the country, after they had defeated the Germans. In some respects, it is hard to argue against this as he fought tooth and nail to keep the Australian 9th Division fighting up against Rommel in the desert. Churchill and the British Generals were always keen to break up the Australian fighting force to separate them from their officers and use them to bolster other units. This was opposed (not always successfully) by Australian Officers and politicians. It was a tactic that they had used in World War 1 and with the RAAF air crew who were mainly dispersed among RAF units and these airman were not returned to Australia until after the hostilities with Germany had cased. This is a gripping account of the up and downs of the world war and should be required reading by anyone who wants to understand the background to how the US became the predominant world power.

[Lachlan Drummond]

A unique book that takes a critical perspective on Churchill and his relationship with Australia from the Gallipoli campaign up until the end of World War Two. Churchill wasn't very popular here until after the second world war, which this book makes clear.

[Peter Corke]

Important pieces of Australian history that I only knew in a sketchy way. Gallipoli and national vulnerability in ww2 when our troops were in Africa and Europe.

[John]

Have just commenced reading it. A little heavy so far but has put some insight into Gallipoli and the fiasco it actually became. Will add further comments when I finish reading it. Interesting insight into the Churchill mind as he regards Australia