The story of Changi, told by those who lived through it. In the tradition of The Anzac Book comes this fascinating collection of accounts of life in the notorious Changi prison camp. Changi is synonymous with suffering, hardship and the Australian prisoner-of-war experience in WWII. It is also a story of ingenuity, resourcefulness and survival. Containing essays, cartoons, paintings, and photographs created by prisoners of war, The Changi Book provides a unique view of the camp: life-saving medical innovation, machinery and tools created from spare parts and scrap, black-market dealings, sport and gambling, theatre productions, and the creation of a library and university. Seventy years after its planned publication, material for The Changi Book was rediscovered in the Australian War Memorial archives. It appears here for the first time along with insights from the Memorial’s experts. ‘A moving insiders’ account of life in Changi.’ —Peter FitzSimons ‘A fresh perspective on Changi: illuminating stories from the inside.’ —Les Carlyon

How flawed planning, dysfunctional personalities and empirical arrogance took Australia down the long road to Changi. In the 1930s while war raged in Europe, Australians were assured by politicians that the country was safe as long as the Union Jack fluttered over 'Fortress Singapore'. the reality was so different: Britain, over-stretched and under threat, skimped on the forces it needed to hold the base. When Japanese forces began flexing their muscles in the Pacific, a hasty defence plan was put in place. Australian troops, aircrews and sailors were dispatched to Singapore as much for purposes of propaganda as anything else. the understanding was that bronzed Aussies would soon put the Japs in their place. But it was so much wishful thinking. While most books centre on the horrors of the death camps, historian Peter Ewer asks how we came to be in this mess in the first place. Why was an untested Australian military contingent expected to play a leading role in halting the cream of the Japanese army? Why did British commanders and politicians send them there - then blame them for the inevitable defeat? Could this disaster have been averted? Drawing on fresh archival research, Ewer uncovers a story of incompetent planning, powerful but flawed characters and national trauma which resonates to this day. Writing from the perspectives of foot soldiers and generals, politicians and socialites, he constructs a riveting picture of a war which was lost before it began.

This is the moving, powerful and surprising story of a group of Australian POWs who organise an Australian Rules Football competition under the worst conditions imaginable - inside Changi prison. After Singapore falls to the Japanese early in 1942, 70 000 prisoners including 15 000 Australians, are held as POWs at the notorious Changi prison, Singapore. To amuse themselves and fellow inmates, a group of sportsmen led by the indefatigable and popular `Chicken? Smallhorn, created an Australian Football League, complete with tribunal, selection panel, umpires and coaches. The final game of the one and only season was between `Victoria? and the `Rest of Australia?, which attracted 10 000 spectators, and a unique Brownlow Medal was awarded in this unlikely setting under the curious gaze of Japanese prison guards. Meet the main characters behind this spectacle: Peter Chitty, the farm hand from Snowy River country with unfathomable physical and mental fortitude, and one of eight in his immediate family who volunteered to fight and serve in WW2; `Chicken? Smallhorn, the Brownlow-medal winning little man with the huge heart; and `Weary? Dunlop, the courageous doctor, who cares for the POWs as they endure malnutrition, disease and often inhuman treatment. Changi Brownlow is a story of courage and the invincibility of the human spirit, and highlights not only the Australian love of sport, but its power to offer consolation in times of extreme hardship.

Architecture - documents the creation of one of the world's premier airports, Jewel Changi Airport Safdie Architects - illuminate the process of building the new central connector between the existing airport terminals at Singapore Changi Airport Planning - features detailed diagrams of the building's conceptual design Infrastructure design - includes descriptions regarding composition of lifestyle/retail amenity, cultural attraction, and transportation infrastructure Architecture - monograph of a project by internationally renowned global practice, Safdie Architects.

Popular perceptions of life in Japanese prisoner of war camps are dominated by images of emaciated figures, engaged in slave labour, and badly treated by their captors. This book, based on extensive original research, shows that this view is quite wrong in relation to the large camp at Changi, which was the main POW camp in Singapore.

Early twentieth-century Singapore is a place where a person can disappear, and Harriet Gordon hopes to make a new life for herself there, leaving her tragic memories behind her--but murder gets in the way. Singapore, 1910--Desperate for a fresh start, Harriet Gordon finds herself living with her brother, a reverend and headmaster of a school for boys, in Singapore at the height of colonial rule. Hoping to gain some financial independence, she advertises her services as a personal secretary. It is unfortunate that she should discover her first client, Sir Oswald Newbold--explorer, mine magnate and president of the exclusive Explorers and Geographers Club--dead with a knife in his throat. When Inspector Robert Curran is put on the case, he realizes that he has an unusual witness in Harriet. Harriet's keen eye for detail and strong sense of duty interests him, as does her distrust of the police and her traumatic past, which she is at pains to keep secret from the gossips of Singapore society. When another body is dragged from the canal, Harriet feels compelled to help with the case. She and Curran are soon drawn into a murderous web of treachery and deceit and find themselves face-to-face with a ruthless cabal that has no qualms about killing again to protect its secrets.