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Past The Headlands
Past the Headlands is a sweeping story of north-west Australia and south-east Asia at the beginning of the Pacific War in 1941. The fall of Malaya and Singapore and the bombing of Darwin—what looked like the invasion of Australia—ebb and crash over a man’s long search to find a home and a woman’s determination to keep hers, connected by old memories and new betrayals. It is a thriller and a romance, a story of earth and water, air and metal—an unforgettable ride through the most precarious time in our region's recent history.
Garry Disher writes:
‘Past the Headlands came from the same World War 2 research as The Stencil Man. I was struck by the power of two documents. The first was a letter written by a woman alone on a cattle station near Broome in 1942, at the time the Japanese were overrunning Malaya and Singapore and bombing areas of northern Australia. One day she found herself giving shelter to Dutch colonial officers and their families, who were fleeing Sumatra and Java ahead of the Japanese advance (many people like them lost their lives when Japanese planes shot up their waiting seaplanes in Broome Harbour in March, 1942). This woman stuck in my head (the isolation, the danger, the efforts to communicate, her bravery, etc).
The second document was a war diary written by an Australian army surgeon who escaped Singapore ahead of the Japanese and was stuck in Sumatra, trying to get out. Here he treated many of the civilians (and Australian Army deserters) fleeing from Singapore. He was captured by the Japanese, but survived the war. But his last few diary entries detail how he and a mate were waiting for a plane or a ship to take them out, then one day he wrote, “Davis [his mate] left last night without telling me”. So much for mateship.
I spent years trying to find my way into their stories. At one stage I spent a year writing 40,000 words before realising it wouldn’t work. I put it aside, then realised one subplot didn’t belong, so extracted it and turned it into a separate novel The Divine Wind, which has sold 100,000 copies around the world, won a major award and been published as both a young adult and a general market novel.
But cutting it out like that freed me up to write about the woman and the man betrayed by his mate, in Past the Headlands.’
Garry Disher writes:
‘Past the Headlands came from the same World War 2 research as The Stencil Man. I was struck by the power of two documents. The first was a letter written by a woman alone on a cattle station near Broome in 1942, at the time the Japanese were overrunning Malaya and Singapore and bombing areas of northern Australia. One day she found herself giving shelter to Dutch colonial officers and their families, who were fleeing Sumatra and Java ahead of the Japanese advance (many people like them lost their lives when Japanese planes shot up their waiting seaplanes in Broome Harbour in March, 1942). This woman stuck in my head (the isolation, the danger, the efforts to communicate, her bravery, etc).
The second document was a war diary written by an Australian army surgeon who escaped Singapore ahead of the Japanese and was stuck in Sumatra, trying to get out. Here he treated many of the civilians (and Australian Army deserters) fleeing from Singapore. He was captured by the Japanese, but survived the war. But his last few diary entries detail how he and a mate were waiting for a plane or a ship to take them out, then one day he wrote, “Davis [his mate] left last night without telling me”. So much for mateship.
I spent years trying to find my way into their stories. At one stage I spent a year writing 40,000 words before realising it wouldn’t work. I put it aside, then realised one subplot didn’t belong, so extracted it and turned it into a separate novel The Divine Wind, which has sold 100,000 copies around the world, won a major award and been published as both a young adult and a general market novel.
But cutting it out like that freed me up to write about the woman and the man betrayed by his mate, in Past the Headlands.’
342 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2001
About the author
Garry Disher
86 books634 followersGarry Disher was born in 1949 and grew up on his parents' farm in South Australia.
He gained post graduate degrees from Adelaide and Melbourne Universities. In 1978 he was awarded a creative writing fellowship to Stanford University, where he wrote his first short story collection. He travelled widely overseas, before returning to Australia, where he taught creative writing, finally becoming a full time writer in 1988. He has written more than 40 titles, including general and crime fiction, children's books, textbooks, and books about the craft of writing.
He gained post graduate degrees from Adelaide and Melbourne Universities. In 1978 he was awarded a creative writing fellowship to Stanford University, where he wrote his first short story collection. He travelled widely overseas, before returning to Australia, where he taught creative writing, finally becoming a full time writer in 1988. He has written more than 40 titles, including general and crime fiction, children's books, textbooks, and books about the craft of writing.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 25, 2022
Neil Quiller had been sent to Australia, to cousins who lived on a property - Haarlem Downs - not far from Broome in Western Australia, when he was a youngster. He always felt he didn't fit in, but when the father, Leonard, had shown Neil the workings of his plane - a Gull - Neil was hooked. Flying was in his blood. When war began with the Japanese invading Malaya and Singapore, Quiller was part of the RAF squad, flying investigative missions, passing on the information of where the Japs were, and how close they were. When the Japs arrived and his plane was shot down, he managed to walk through the dense bush, getting assistance from natives, until he made it back to his base.
The invasion was brutal and as one then another aerodrome was shot to pieces, evacuation was vital. Through the towns and bush, keeping away from Japs and any military, Quiller gradually made his way to safety. But would he ever make it back to Australia? Would he find his way, with little food and water, injuries and worse?
Past the Headlands by Aussie author Garry Disher is a work of fiction but aspects of it were inspired by real people and actual events. Heartbreaking and sad, the brutality of the Japs toward civilians was horrific. Quiller managed to rescue an eight year old orphan girl, Maisie, while he was treated wrongly by his own cousin. I do feel this is a little drawn out and long winded, but I thoroughly enjoyed it all the same. Recommended.
The invasion was brutal and as one then another aerodrome was shot to pieces, evacuation was vital. Through the towns and bush, keeping away from Japs and any military, Quiller gradually made his way to safety. But would he ever make it back to Australia? Would he find his way, with little food and water, injuries and worse?
Past the Headlands by Aussie author Garry Disher is a work of fiction but aspects of it were inspired by real people and actual events. Heartbreaking and sad, the brutality of the Japs toward civilians was horrific. Quiller managed to rescue an eight year old orphan girl, Maisie, while he was treated wrongly by his own cousin. I do feel this is a little drawn out and long winded, but I thoroughly enjoyed it all the same. Recommended.
September 22, 2014
I really enjoyed this book. I am a big fan of writer Garry Disher - he gets categorized as a mystery genre author but he is so much more than that. This is a novel that is not a mystery. The setting is Australia's "top end" (Darwin, Broome, etc) during WWII. I am fairly familiar with WWII but this was a side of the conflict that I knew nothing about - remote outback ranches, the evacuation of whites and the life of the remaining minorities during wartime, fighting in the Malay peninsula, refugees from Asia (both colonial powers and their subjects), racial and class disparities. Disher always draws interesting characters. This was an excellent read.
January 14, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. Disher is one of those rare writers who is able to immerse the reader in a particular place and time. In this case WW2 in a remote station outside Broome and at the fall of Singapore. In this regard he is like my other favourite writer Alex Miller. You can actually feel the hot humid air, smells and perspiration build as the tension rises and is palpable. A great read.
February 23, 2024
All's fair in love and war. A WW 2 drama set in the Far East
This is a very complex, detailed book. It is almost two books in one.
One part is set on a property,Haarlem Downs in far NW West Australia, the domain of our heroine, Jeannie Verco. The rest shifts between England, Singapore, Malaya, Sumatra and Darwin as it follows the fortunes of our hero, Neil Quiller aka Quill. The narrative alternates from chapter to chapter, even within chapters, where the backstories of the characters are conveyed through flashbacks..
The lives of those who remained on Haarlem Downs, and those of the characters who battle to survive the fall of Singapore, are starkly contrasted. The property in WA is prey to the vicissitudes of climate and harsh weather events; the manner of dealing with these events an eye-opener for this city dweller. The inventiveness, adaptability and tenacity of these people is a story in itself. Likewise the fate of the native people for whom life is a constant lottery depending on who they are dependent on for survival..
In contrast are the struggles of the civilians and military personnel stationed in Singapore and Malaya as they face inevitable defeat at the hands of the Japanese, and the ignominious surrender of the British leaving thousands stranded in complete anarchy. If you aren't already apprised of this history it will shock and horrify you..My husband's uncles were captured in Singapore by the Japanese. Even knowing their fate didn't prepare me for what I read in this book..
This is a confronting, sometimes difficult book to read. It is well worth the effort.
This is a very complex, detailed book. It is almost two books in one.
One part is set on a property,Haarlem Downs in far NW West Australia, the domain of our heroine, Jeannie Verco. The rest shifts between England, Singapore, Malaya, Sumatra and Darwin as it follows the fortunes of our hero, Neil Quiller aka Quill. The narrative alternates from chapter to chapter, even within chapters, where the backstories of the characters are conveyed through flashbacks..
The lives of those who remained on Haarlem Downs, and those of the characters who battle to survive the fall of Singapore, are starkly contrasted. The property in WA is prey to the vicissitudes of climate and harsh weather events; the manner of dealing with these events an eye-opener for this city dweller. The inventiveness, adaptability and tenacity of these people is a story in itself. Likewise the fate of the native people for whom life is a constant lottery depending on who they are dependent on for survival..
In contrast are the struggles of the civilians and military personnel stationed in Singapore and Malaya as they face inevitable defeat at the hands of the Japanese, and the ignominious surrender of the British leaving thousands stranded in complete anarchy. If you aren't already apprised of this history it will shock and horrify you..My husband's uncles were captured in Singapore by the Japanese. Even knowing their fate didn't prepare me for what I read in this book..
This is a confronting, sometimes difficult book to read. It is well worth the effort.
March 22, 2018
The Siege of Singapore from the point of view of an Australian airman by an author who is often thought of as a mystery writer but in this book has a clear sense of and knowledge of WW II history.'
Two cousins (one having grown up in Britain but shipped off to an aunt and uncle in Australia after the death of his mother) find each other in Singapore. One is a pilot in the British Air Force, the other a foot soldier. The story of their escape from Singapore and Malaysia is the framework of the more extensive story of their lives before and shortly after the war. Lots of betrayal, heartbreak, death, destruction and love told by a wonderful story teller.
Two cousins (one having grown up in Britain but shipped off to an aunt and uncle in Australia after the death of his mother) find each other in Singapore. One is a pilot in the British Air Force, the other a foot soldier. The story of their escape from Singapore and Malaysia is the framework of the more extensive story of their lives before and shortly after the war. Lots of betrayal, heartbreak, death, destruction and love told by a wonderful story teller.
March 7, 2019
This is a story that movingly captures the sentiment that not every man returns from war a hero. Although I thought the prose in Farrell’s “Singapore Grip” and in Shute’s “A Town Like Alice” was better, this novel’s description of Broome and Darwin during WWII had much to commend it.
All in all, this is an engaging story.
All in all, this is an engaging story.
November 22, 2023
Not the usual mystery that I enjoy from Gary Disher but a story set in Singapore and Indonesia and northern Australia during WW2 when the Japanese were making huge advances through Asia. Portrays very well the chaos in the Allies retreat and the uncertainty of life in Northern Australia when an invasion seemed imminent.
March 23, 2024
There are some books you never want to end - there is so much more story to be told. This was a nail-biting, harrowing description of the Japanese invasion of the East; survival and the best and worst of Australian society. Disher is a master in engaging the reader with his characters. His writing allows the reader to taste and feel the character's experiences. It's hard and wonderful to read.
August 25, 2017
A familiar story, but so well told it was a pleasure to read. And sufficiently different to be very absorbing.
February 3, 2021
Well-conceived, taut drama. Recommended.
December 24, 2022
Great read
Enjoyed reading what it would have been to be in Malaya and Singapore in 1940. Also fascinating descriptions of the top of Western Australia
Enjoyed reading what it would have been to be in Malaya and Singapore in 1940. Also fascinating descriptions of the top of Western Australia
Read
August 28, 2023A bit of a slow burner but in the end I thoroughly enjoyed the book
August 8, 2014
This book provided a sweeping and very different perspective of World War II. The main storyline begins on a ranch in northern Australia (Broome). Eventually, the story is told in alternating chapters taking place in wartime Malay Peninsula and the ranch (in an area of Australia that has largely been evacuated of white Australians). As an American, these were sides of the second World War that I was unfamiliar with. The story was excellent and provided a look at the Japanese attack on the peninsula, the stark isolation (and vulnerability) of Australia's northern coast in wartime, colonial race relations in Asia, and race and class relationships in Australia. Garry Disher is one of my favorite authors and this was my first foray into his non-mystery fiction -and I loved it.
April 24, 2015
I didn't finish this book, it just did not have enough going for it. I gave it a fair go but the only good thing about this book would be a few interesting historical details. Other than that the writing was not good and characters very boring. I just did not care about any of them. And there was some bits I skipped over entirely.
February 12, 2017
Broad, sweeping. Opinions on Australian soldiers and their behaviour that flies in the face of the jingoism that is part of our National Psyche. Brutal depictions of loss and betrayal, and the way we rationalise our relationships to make sanity of the conflicts therein.
My favourite Disher novel. The partner novel, The Stencil Man, did not grab me in the same way.
My favourite Disher novel. The partner novel, The Stencil Man, did not grab me in the same way.
January 1, 2020
Bit of a slog
April 12, 2017
Disher usually writes excellent crime novels, but this one is a WW2 saga, set in Singapore and Australia. I found the story a page turner with great characters and an interesting perspective on the fall of Singapore.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews