Overview

'Utterly gripping. It reads like a thriller.' JON FAINE This edition contains a new author note with shocking new material that has come to light as a result of the groundbreaking original publication. Investigative journalist Frank Walker's MARALINGA is a must-read true story of the abuse of our servicemen, scientists treating the Australian population as lab rats, and politicians sacrificing their own people in the pursuit of power. During the Menzies era, with the blessing of the Prime Minister, the British government exploded twelve atomic bombs on Australian soil. RAAF pilots were ordered to fly into nuclear mushroom clouds, soldiers told to walk into radioactive ground zero, sailors retrieved highly contaminated debris - none of them aware of the dangers they faced. But the betrayal didn't end with these servicemen. Secret monitoring stations were set up around the country to measure radiation levels and a clandestine decades-long project stole bones from dead babies to see how much fallout had contaminated their bodies - their grieving parents were never told. This chilling expose drawn from extensive research and interviews with surviving veterans reveals the betrayal of our troops and our country.

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Reviews

An original and compelling account that succeeds in exposing the subterfuge and myopia of both British and Australian governments - SATURDAY PAPER Demonstrates powerfully why, regardless of the context in which the testing took place, the emotional legacy of Maralinga will linger in the Australian psyche - WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN Excellent examination of a dark chapter in Australian history - AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE MAGAZINE an extraordinary yarn ... finely researched - SUN-HERALD on THE TIGER MAN OF VIETNAM thoroughly researched and compelling ... a chilling account - SUN-HERALD on GHOST PLATOON one of those great untold stories ... Walker tells it with verve and excitement and with meticulous attention to detail - SYDNEY MORNING HERALD on THE TIGER MAN OF VIETNAM Walker, and others like him, are doing their country a great service by bringing both the bad and good deeds of Aussie diggers out of the shadows and into the light. - SUNDAY AGE on GHOST PLATOON

[Walker] demonstrates powerfully why, regardless of the context in which the testing took place, the emotional legacy of Maralinga will linger in the Australian psyche, just as do Gallipoli, Bodyline and Singapore. The Weekend Australian Walker's book is a well written unmasking of a dirty secret that remains a black stain on our history Law Society Journal Review APN Network deeply engrossing, often enraging, read. City Messenger original and compelling account that succeeds in exposing the subterfuge and myopia of both British and Australian governments The Saturday Paper Walkers book is a well written unmasking of a dirty secret Law Society Journal An amazing tale - utterly gripping, it reads like a thriller ABC Radio Melbourne The story reaches out and grabs you by the throat See Jaki Frank Walker's book will shock you, but you'll also be enlightened. This book forces you to question our government and its role in what is described by one interviewed veteran as one of the greatest miscarriage of justice this country has ever seen. Good Reading Magazine This book will contribute to a much greater awareness and perhaps much more action on this issue ABC National Radio Walker demonstrates powerfully why, regardless of the context in which the testing took place, the emotional legacy of Maralinga will linger in the Australian psyche, just as do Gallipoli, Bodyline and Singapore. The cost in terms of damage to health, the environment and public trust in government will remain with us for generations to come. The Australian Walker, drawing on his own interviews with surviving servicemen and the evidence presented to the 1984 Royal Commission, has written an original and compelling account that succeeds in exposing the subterfuge and myopia of both British and Australian governments. The details he elicits from servicemen who witnessed the explosions give the narrative its power. The Saturday Paper Shocking revelations... ABC Classic FM An extraordinary story - there are things here that would make your hair stand on end ABC Radio Canberra The dusty file dragged from thousands stored in the archives at Kew in London seemed innocuous enough. But its contents made the hairs on author Frank Walker's neck prickle to attention... Titled Nuclear Nightmare The Daily Telegraph This book will make you angry, and the details of the botched clean-up will make you nervous about the Abbott government's plans to make Australia the world's dumping ground for nuclear waste. The Morning Bulletin, Queensland This book will make you angry, and the details of the botched clean-up will make you nervous about the Abbott government's plans to make Australia the world's dumping ground for nuclear waste titled: Explosive Findings The Morning Bulletin, Queensland Frank Walker's Maralinga is a highly critical account of the British testing. Walker, a veteran journalist and author, argues that the shameful neglect of the safety and wellbeing of the victims of the above-ground tests was evident not only in the poor treatment of servicemen and their families - to say nothing of the local indigenous population - but also manifested in the attitude shown towards everyone living on the Australian mainland at the time The Australian BRITISH scientists secretly used the Australian population to test for radiation contamination after the nuclear tests at Maralinga in the 1950s, a new book confirms. Its author, Frank Walker, has obtained the minutes of a top secret meeting in England where the UK Atomic Energy Research Establishment approved a program to determine the long-term effects of the tests on Australia and its citizens. The Adelaide Advisor This account, which Walker has pieced together from previously secret files and interviews with surviving veterans, sparks a rage in the reader that human beings could be treated with such contempt, such cold-blooded, Nazi like calculated evilness by a nation that, at the time, was regarded as our best friend and ally. It's simply horrifying. Walker's book is a well written unmasking of a dirty secret that remains a black stain on our history Law Society Journal This book should be on the school syllabus Channel 7, Weekend Sunrise I have read your book Maralinga through for the first time and it is a must for me to read it for a second time. Believe it or not but this is now my Bible. It is an eye-opening story, a story that just about every Australian should be made aware of, a frightening truth of what those who were at ground zero were subjected to and the aftermath Reader Review Maralinga is a top read...a disgraceful saga - thank you again for the book Reader Review chilling expose ... excellent examination of a dark chapter in Australian history. Australian Defence Magazine a must-read true story Country News Shepparton Review West Australian Review Chain Reaction Magazine

[Walker] demonstrates powerfully why, regardless of the context in which the testing took place, the emotional legacy of Maralinga will linger in the Australian psyche, just as do Gallipoli, Bodyline and Singapore. The Weekend Australian Walker's book is a well written unmasking of a dirty secret that remains a black stain on our history Law Society Journal Review APN Network deeply engrossing, often enraging, read. City Messenger original and compelling account that succeeds in exposing the subterfuge and myopia of both British and Australian governments The Saturday Paper Walkers book is a well written unmasking of a dirty secret Law Society Journal An amazing tale - utterly gripping, it reads like a thriller ABC Radio Melbourne The story reaches out and grabs you by the throat See Jaki Frank Walker's book will shock you, but you'll also be enlightened. This book forces you to question our government and its role in what is described by one interviewed veteran as one of the greatest miscarriage of justice this country has ever seen. Good Reading Magazine This book will contribute to a much greater awareness and perhaps much more action on this issue ABC National Radio Walker demonstrates powerfully why, regardless of the context in which the testing took place, the emotional legacy of Maralinga will linger in the Australian psyche, just as do Gallipoli, Bodyline and Singapore. The cost in terms of damage to health, the environment and public trust in government will remain with us for generations to come. The Australian Walker, drawing on his own interviews with surviving servicemen and the evidence presented to the 1984 Royal Commission, has written an original and compelling account that succeeds in exposing the subterfuge and myopia of both British and Australian governments. The details he elicits from servicemen who witnessed the explosions give the narrative its power. The Saturday Paper Shocking revelations... ABC Classic FM An extraordinary story - there are things here that would make your hair stand on end ABC Radio Canberra The dusty file dragged from thousands stored in the archives at Kew in London seemed innocuous enough. But its contents made the hairs on author Frank Walker's neck prickle to attention... Titled Nuclear Nightmare The Daily Telegraph This book will make you angry, and the details of the botched clean-up will make you nervous about the Abbott government's plans to make Australia the world's dumping ground for nuclear waste titled: Explosive Findings The Morning Bulletin, Queensland This book will make you angry, and the details of the botched clean-up will make you nervous about the Abbott government's plans to make Australia the world's dumping ground for nuclear waste. The Morning Bulletin, Queensland Frank Walker's Maralinga is a highly critical account of the British testing. Walker, a veteran journalist and author, argues that the shameful neglect of the safety and wellbeing of the victims of the above-ground tests was evident not only in the poor treatment of servicemen and their families - to say nothing of the local indigenous population - but also manifested in the attitude shown towards everyone living on the Australian mainland at the time The Australian BRITISH scientists secretly used the Australian population to test for radiation contamination after the nuclear tests at Maralinga in the 1950s, a new book confirms. Its author, Frank Walker, has obtained the minutes of a top secret meeting in England where the UK Atomic Energy Research Establishment approved a program to determine the long-term effects of the tests on Australia and its citizens. The Adelaide Advisor This account, which Walker has pieced together from previously secret files and interviews with surviving veterans, sparks a rage in the reader that human beings could be treated with such contempt, such cold-blooded, Nazi like calculated evilness by a nation that, at the time, was regarded as our best friend and ally. It's simply horrifying. Walker's book is a well written unmasking of a dirty secret that remains a black stain on our history Law Society Journal This book should be on the school syllabus Channel 7, Weekend Sunrise I have read your book Maralinga through for the first time and it is a must for me to read it for a second time. Believe it or not but this is now my Bible. It is an eye-opening story, a story that just about every Australian should be made aware of, a frightening truth of what those who were at ground zero were subjected to and the aftermath Reader Review Maralinga is a top read...a disgraceful saga - thank you again for the book Reader Review chilling expose ... excellent examination of a dark chapter in Australian history. Australian Defence Magazine a must-read true story Country News Shepparton Review West Australian Review Chain Reaction Magazine

An original and compelling account that succeeds in exposing the subterfuge and myopia of both British and Australian governments - SATURDAY PAPER Demonstrates powerfully why, regardless of the context in which the testing took place, the emotional legacy of Maralinga will linger in the Australian psyche - WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN Excellent examination of a dark chapter in Australian history - AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE MAGAZINE Utterly gripping. It reads like a thriller. - Jon Faine, ABC MELBOURNE This book forces you to question our government and its role in the greatest miscarriage of justice this country has ever seen. - GOOD READING an extraordinary yarn ... finely researched - SUN-HERALD on THE TIGER MAN OF VIETNAM thoroughly researched and compelling ... a chilling account - SUN-HERALD on GHOST PLATOON one of those great untold stories ... Walker tells it with verve and excitement and with meticulous attention to detail - SYDNEY MORNING HERALD on THE TIGER MAN OF VIETNAM

Author Information

Frank Walker has been an Australian journalist and foreign correspondent in Germany and the United States for forty years, covering wars and coups, floods and fires, terrorist attacks and political brawls, movie stars and street crime. His first two bestselling books - The Tiger Man of Vietnam and Ghost Platoon - revealed uncomfortable truths about Australia's actions in the Vietnam War. His third bestselling book, Maralinga, lifted the veil of secrecy thrown over the British atomic bomb tests in the outback and shocking human experiments in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s. His fourth book, Commandos, examined the most daring secret raids behind enemy lines by Australians and New Zealanders in World War II. In 2017 Frank wrote Traitors, an expose on how Australia and its allies betrayed our Anzacs and let Nazi and Japanese war criminals go free. His most recent book is The Scandalous Life of Freddie McEvoy: The true story of the swashbuckling Australian rogue. He can be contacted via his website www.frankwalker.com.au

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