1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:04,760 Speaker 1: Job mission with Jonesy and Amanda Well. Our next guest, Well, 2 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:06,440 Speaker 1: he's a friend of ours, but he just so happens 3 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:09,760 Speaker 1: to be an ex Wallaby, a journalist, one of Australia's 4 00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:12,920 Speaker 1: best authors. He's written over thirty books and he's got 5 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:16,560 Speaker 1: a new book that looks into Breaker Morant. Many of 6 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:19,200 Speaker 1: us may have seen the movie. How many years ago 7 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:19,800 Speaker 1: would that have been? 8 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:20,960 Speaker 2: It came out in the eighties. 9 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:22,800 Speaker 1: Of the movie, that's right. I think it was written 10 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:26,400 Speaker 1: by Andrew Denton's father, Kit Well. Peter fitz Simons is 11 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 1: the man of whom we speak and Peter, Hello. 12 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:32,239 Speaker 3: And Amanda, not in that order. I think of you 13 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:33,960 Speaker 3: as Amanda and Jonesy. Wow. 14 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 2: Please, it's a music to make, not a forum to 15 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 2: put your half ast radio consultancy on our show. 16 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:43,840 Speaker 3: Yes, you're my two favorites anyway, listened to you every morning. 17 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:45,879 Speaker 3: I'm delighted to be on your show and thinking, Yes, 18 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:48,559 Speaker 3: I have brought out the book. I think it's published 19 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 3: today in the book store today, break them rand. 20 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 1: Well tell us the story about Breaker Morant because I 21 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:54,800 Speaker 1: know it's bore war. I've seen the movie, but I 22 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:56,120 Speaker 1: can better remember more than that. 23 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 3: I have a funny episode. Two years ago, I went 24 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:01,440 Speaker 3: to the opening of the Boar War Memorial down in Canberra, 25 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:05,120 Speaker 3: about two hundred meter south of the on the actual war, 26 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 3: the Australian War Memorial this monument. As I approached these 27 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:10,640 Speaker 3: bronze figurines, I see a plaque in front. I see 28 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:13,320 Speaker 3: the words of an Australian trooper and I say, written 29 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 3: the words from the front Line of the Boer War, 30 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 3: written by Frederic Harperbooth to his mother Maria Safire Craigie 31 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:22,959 Speaker 3: McPherson Booth. And I thought, that's my grandfather writing to 32 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 3: my great grandmother and no I had so I had 33 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:28,560 Speaker 3: all the letters and diaries of my grandfather and that 34 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 3: prompted me to start to write the book on the 35 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:33,080 Speaker 3: boll War. I focused on breaking around and break him 36 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:36,760 Speaker 3: around like he's partly an Australian hero. He appears to 37 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:39,760 Speaker 3: be an Australian hero. And I would have loved to 38 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 3: have loved him, you know, I would have loved him 39 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:46,200 Speaker 3: to be this fantastic man man from Snowy River, cruelly 40 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:49,080 Speaker 3: put up against the wall by the Brits and shot. 41 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 3: And you know, I could do a book to say 42 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 3: he was innocent, but that's not what I found. He 43 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 3: was a poet. He was the man from Snowy River 44 00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 3: in terms of his ability to break horses and jump 45 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 3: gates and ride down mountains. But there was a touch 46 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 3: of Deliverance to the whole story. In the final part 47 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:08,800 Speaker 3: of the Boar War. The Boars were brilliant at living 48 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:11,680 Speaker 3: off the land and there were bars that simply did 49 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 3: not give up in that Bour War. And what it was, 50 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 3: the whole Boar War was a fight between the British 51 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:21,640 Speaker 3: Empire and the Dutch and the Boars over African land. 52 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 3: You know, So the African people themselves were pretty much 53 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:27,400 Speaker 3: forgotten in the whole thing, and they had this dispute 54 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 3: over the land. The Brits with the Australians pushed the 55 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:34,400 Speaker 3: Boars right into the northern reaches and Deliverance country. They 56 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:37,840 Speaker 3: formed the bushfelt carboneers that were men that could live 57 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 3: off the land to fight the bars of their own 58 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:43,880 Speaker 3: game breaking. Moran was in charge of one section of them, 59 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:47,920 Speaker 3: and they committed terrible atrocities. And the untold story is 60 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 3: the brave Australian soldiers who put their hands up and 61 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:56,760 Speaker 3: signed a lesson to say we're Australians. We don't do this. 62 00:02:56,919 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 3: We're not committing these atrocities and Breaking Moran with two others, 63 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:05,560 Speaker 3: well with several others, was arrested and tried court martial 64 00:03:05,639 --> 00:03:08,160 Speaker 3: for his crimes. And I must say, with great bravery 65 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 3: did go to his death. But I did find the 66 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 3: whole story extraordinary. 67 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:15,600 Speaker 2: Wow, because he was shot under law three three. 68 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:17,400 Speaker 3: Well not he was, but he he shot. 69 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:22,320 Speaker 2: He remember that he shot the prisoners and that was that. 70 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:24,680 Speaker 3: Was an extraordinary episode. That were They were the actual 71 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 3: words from the Bruce Berris the movie from nineteen eighty 72 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 3: one where Break Them Around was put on trial and said, 73 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:33,919 Speaker 3: you know under what rule the British prosecutor, under what 74 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:36,680 Speaker 3: rule did you shoot them? Can you show me in 75 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 3: the red book what was the rule? Yes, we got 76 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:43,840 Speaker 3: them and we shot them under rule three oh three. 77 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:47,400 Speaker 3: And they were the actual words. Very strong courtroom performance. 78 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 3: My favorite detail. I live for fine details that bring 79 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:54,600 Speaker 3: the story to life. As he and the other men 80 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:56,760 Speaker 3: that were shot were about to be shot, Peter Hancock 81 00:03:56,800 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 3: were let out in the dawn from their prison cells. 82 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:02,120 Speaker 3: They held hand. It's a moment of curious intimacy of 83 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:04,880 Speaker 3: these two men going to their deaths. There was the 84 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:08,000 Speaker 3: chair against the wall. They gave break the morand a 85 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:11,320 Speaker 3: lass with the colonel said, of the shooting party, would 86 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:14,040 Speaker 3: you like to have your last cigarette? Break him around, 87 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:18,159 Speaker 3: takes out his silver cigarette case, withdraws a cigarette, gives 88 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:20,600 Speaker 3: the silver cigarette case to the colonel fate. I won't 89 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:23,440 Speaker 3: be needing this. You may have it. And here's the thing. 90 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:27,039 Speaker 3: He shucks on the cigarette, knowing that at the end 91 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:30,800 Speaker 3: of the cigarette the man will give the order. In fact, 92 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:35,039 Speaker 3: was the sergeant major. We'll give the order to ready 93 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:39,479 Speaker 3: aim fire. He gets halfway through the cigarette and he 94 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:43,920 Speaker 3: flecks it away. The final wisps of smoke whipped away 95 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:45,479 Speaker 3: in the dawn and he was shot. 96 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:51,680 Speaker 2: Wow, holding hands with another guy. It's like break broken back, 97 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:52,520 Speaker 2: break a morane. 98 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:53,960 Speaker 1: I think you've misrepresented. 99 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:57,840 Speaker 3: I've just told you the most moving, a pockety story 100 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:01,040 Speaker 3: and you've gone back two and a half minute. Really, 101 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:02,159 Speaker 3: he was holding hands. 102 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:05,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to my life, Pete. That's great, but it isn't 103 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:07,360 Speaker 1: it interesting? I'll just say that, you know when we 104 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:09,520 Speaker 1: pass the time so quickly and we fill in time, 105 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:12,440 Speaker 1: that the length of the cigarette is the length of 106 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:14,039 Speaker 1: your life. How do you use it? 107 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:17,880 Speaker 3: So? Interesting? And the irony we all know now, we 108 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:20,159 Speaker 3: all know that if we smoke our cigarette, yeah short 109 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:21,679 Speaker 3: in our life, so we don't do it anymore. 110 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:24,760 Speaker 2: Well, this is a great book, Peter Fitzimon's book, Break 111 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 2: Him Around, or just out in time for Christmas, as 112 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 2: I like to call it, is in all good bookstores now. 113 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:32,920 Speaker 3: Peter, thank you, I thank you. It's a privilege to 114 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:33,599 Speaker 3: be on your shope. 115 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:34,279 Speaker 1: Do you soon. 116 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:36,960 Speaker 3: Bye with Jones and Amanda