Alan Moorehead - National Library of Australia

Transcription

AN AUSTRALIAN LIFE
ALANarediscovery
MOOREHEADAnnMo
A l a n Moorehead
A Rediscovery
ANN
MOYAL
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NATIONAL L I B R A R Y OF AUSTRALIA
CANBERRA
2005
Published by the National Library of Australia
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia
®National Library of Australia and A n n Moyal 2005
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Moyal, A n n (Ann Mozley), 1926- .
Alan Moorehead : A Rediscovery.
ISBN 0 642 27616 1.
1. Moorehead, Alan, 1910-1983. 2. War c o r r e s p o n d e n t s Australia—Biography. 3. Journalists—AustraliaBiography. 4. Historians—Australia-Biography. I.
National Library of Australia. II. Title. (Series : An
Australian life).
070.92
Publisher's editor: Leora Kirwan
Designer:
K a t h r y n Wright
Printer:
van Gastel Printing Pty Ltd
Every reasonable endeavour has been made to contact relevant copyright
holders. Where this has not been possible, copyright holders are invited to
contact the publisher.
iv
Contents
Illustrations
vi
Acknowledgments
ix
Preface
xi
Chapters
T h e M a k i n g o f a Journalist
I
' T h e Prince of War C o r r e s p o n d e n t s '
II
Echoes of Battle
27
T h e Mediterranean M a n
39
Gallipoli
53
A Love A f f a i r with A f r i c a
67
Cooper's Creek
8I
T h e Australian
95
T h e Writer
III
Notes on Sources
I2I
Endnotes
I24
Index
I34
V
List of Illustrations
Cover: Portrait
Page ii: Portrait
of Alan Moorehead
of Alan Moorehead
b y Karl Pollak
[1965] by Louis K a h a n
Page xiv: First passport to t h e rest of t h e world, with Herald letter 1936
Page 8: A l a n M o o r e h e a d a n d Lucy in Rome on t h e i r w e d d i n g day 1939
Page 10: A l a n Moorehead with his friend and colleague A l e x a n d e r
Clifford in t h e Western Desert, 1940s
Page 2 5 : Letter from Alan Moorehead
to Lord B e a v e r b r o o k , J u l y 1946
Page 2 6 : Field M a r s h a l M o n t g o m e r y , 1940s
Page 3 8 : A l a n M o o r h e a d r e c e i v i n g t h e Duff Cooper M e m o r i a l Prize for
Gallipoli from Winston Churchill, 1956
Page 5 2 : Cover of
Gallipoli
Page 6 3 : A n g u s £t Robertson w i n d o w display of b o o k s by A l a n
M o o r e h e a d , 1956
Page 6 6 : A l a n M o o r e h e a d on t h e Nile
Page 8 0 : Cover of Cooper's
Creek
Page 8 8 : H a n d - c o r r e c t e d t y p e s c r i p t page of t h e first draft of
Cooper's
Creek
Page 9 4 : A l a n M o o r e h e a d in A n t a r c t i c a , 1964
Page 9 8 : A l a n M o o r e h e a d w i t h Sidney Nolan in S h a c k l e t o n ' s h u t ,
A n t a r c t i c a , 1964
Page 110: A l a n M o o r e h e a d at t h e Great B a r r i e r Reef, 1965
vi
Books by Alan
Moorehead
Mediterranean
London: Hamish Hamilton, 1941
Front,
A Year of Battle,
The End in Africa,
African
Trilogy:
New Y o r k : H a r p e r a n d B r o t h e r s , 1 9 4 3
The North
African
Campaign
1940-43,
London: Hamish Hamilton, 1 9 4 4
Eclipse,
Montgomery,
The Rage
of the Vulture,
The
Villa
Diana,
The
Traitors:
L o n d o n : H a m i s h H a m i l t o n , 1951
The Double
Life of Fuchs,
Pontecorvo
and Nunn
May,
Rum
Jungle,
A Summer
Winston
Night,
Churchill
Gallipoli,
in Trial and in Triumph,
B o s t o n : Houghton Mifflin, 1955
The Russian
Revolution,
G e n e v a : E d i t o - S e r v i c e ; d i s t r i b u t e d b y Heron
Books, 1958
No Room
in the Ark,
Churchill:
A Pictorial
The
Nile,
White
The Blue
Nile,
Cooper's
Creek,
The Fatal
Biography,
London: T h a m e s and Hudson, 1 9 6 0
New Y o r k : H a r p e r , 1 9 6 0
New Y o r k : H a r p e r a n d Row, 1 9 6 2
Impact:
New Y o r k : H a r p e r a n d Row, 1 9 6 3
An Account
of the Invasion
of the Pacific
1767-1840,
Darwin
A Late
and the Beagle,
Education,
vii
T o M a n n i n g and D y m p h n a C l a r k ,
in m e m o r y
viii
Acknowledgments
I h a v e m u c h c a u s e for grateful a c k n o w l e d g m e n t s to m a n y people for
t h e i r a s s i s t a n c e a n d s t i m u l u s to me in t h e w r i t i n g of t h i s b o o k .
I first d i s c u s s e d t h e idea of such a book w i t h Helen Kon, A s s i s t a n t
D i r e c t o r - G e n e r a l a n d head of t h e National Library of A u s t r a l i a ' s Public
P r o g r a m s Division, a n d received h e r lively e n c o u r a g e m e n t . T h e r e a f t e r
Dr Paul H e t h e r i n g t o n , Director of P u b l i c a t i o n s a n d a self-confessed
a d m i r e r of A l a n M o o r e h e a d ' s w r i t i n g s since his y o u t h , i n v i t e d me to
w r i t e a short b i o g r a p h y in t h e Library's new series, A n A u s t r a l i a n Life.
My t h a n k s a r e due to t h e m b o t h .
G r a e m e Powell, M a n u s c r i p t Librarian, gave me his k n o w l e d g e a b l e
help a n d g u i d a n c e d u r i n g my r e s e a r c h on t h e large collection of A l a n
M o o r e h e a d p a p e r s held in t h e Library. I h a v e also been most ably assisted
by t h e staff of t h e M a n u s c r i p t Reading Room, a n d , as a l w a y s , I h a v e
benefited from t h e s u s t a i n e d and friendly a s s i s t a n c e of t h e P e t h e r i c k
Room l i b r a r i a n s .
My editor, Leora K i r w a n , h a s added m e t i c u l o u s l y a n d i m a g i n a t i v e l y
to t h e book's p r o d u c t i o n .
My t h a n k s a r e also due to J i n x Nolan for a l l o w i n g privileged access
to C y n t h i a Nolan's p a p e r s held in t h e M a n u s c r i p t Collection of t h e
National Library a n d for h e r p e r m i s s i o n to publish several e x t r a c t s
from t h e c o r r e s p o n d e n c e of A l a n M o o r e h e a d and Sidney Nolan.
Late in 2 0 0 3 , in t h e c o u r s e of d r a f t i n g its c h a p t e r s , I had t h e great
pleasure
of
a
three-week
residential
General
Retreat
Fellowship
at V a r u n a , t h e Eleanor Dark F o u n d a t i o n at K a t o o m b a . There, in t h e
b e a u t i f u l s e t t i n g of t h e Blue M o u n t a i n s , t h e peaceful c o n c e n t r a t i o n a n d
t h e w o n d e r f u l food a n d a c c o m m o d a t i o n afforded by t h e Fellowship,
t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e c o m p a n y of a small g r o u p of o t h e r w r i t e r s , offered
s i n g u l a r e n c o u r a g e m e n t to w r i t i n g . It w a s an e n l i v e n i n g and m e m o r a b l e
e x p e r i e n c e and a privilege which I a c k n o w l e d g e w i t h g r a t i t u d e .
ix
My particular thanks are due to Caroline Moorehead who has provided
me with insightful reflections about her father and her mother, and
to John Moorehead for his recollections about a father who was often
absent but maintained contact with his children during his travels
through 'excellent letters' that gave advice and suggestions 'always
worth reading'.
Other stimulus and encouraging ideas have also come from a number of
people who have read and been influenced, professionally or personally,
by Alan Moorehead's books. They include Sir David Attenborough,
who started his career of travelling the globe and producing wildlife
documentaries for the BBC after reading Moorehead's 'wonderful book,
The White Nile'; Phillip Knightley, who, being given Moorehead's war
publications African
the Sydney Telegraph,
Trilogy and Eclipse
to read as a young cadet on
determined to set off for Britain and a career
as a distinguished journalist and writer; and Patrick Walters of The
Australian
who was profoundly influenced by A Late Education
when he
was a student at The King's School, Parramatta and set his sights on a
career as a journalist, reader and traveller, all of which he has become.
Others have been very constructive and helpful to me in various
ways. Jamie Mackie has been a vital discussant, reader and editor
and I thank him for his invaluable contribution. I would also like to
thank Professors Bernard Smith, Ken Inglis, and A.G.L. Shaw, Dr John
Thompson, Dr Carolyn Rasmussen, Jan Nicholas, Mimi Hurley and
Anna Lanyon for their timely and most useful communications.
ANN
MOYAL
Canberra,
x
2004
Preface
Across t h e first q u a r t e r c e n t u r y t h a t blossomed after World War 2,
A l a n M o o r e h e a d w a s a l i t e r a r y star, one of t h e most successful w r i t e r s
in English of his day. Born in M e l b o u r n e in 1910 a n d e d u c a t e d at
Scotch College and M e l b o u r n e University, he had b y t h e 1960s built
a larger i n t e r n a t i o n a l r e p u t a t i o n t h a n a n y o t h e r A u s t r a l i a n
writer.
As Britain's most r e n o w n e d w a r c o r r e s p o n d e n t , t h e a c c l a i m e d a u t h o r
of a series of o u t s t a n d i n g works on t h e c a m p a i g n s of World W a r 2,
t h e b i o g r a p h e r of M o n t g o m e r y a n d C h u r c h i l l , a prolific i n t e r n a t i o n a l
j o u r n a l i s t , a historical writer, novelist, a n d a major travel w r i t e r of his
t i m e , M o o r e h e a d w a s a h o u s e h o l d n a m e in Britain a n d widely a d m i r e d
in t h e United States of A m e r i c a for b o t h his b o o k s a n d his articles in
t h e New
Yorker. At t h e s a m e t i m e , t h e t r a n s l a t i o n of h i s works into
a m e d l e y of E u r o p e a n l a n g u a g e s - F r e n c h , G e r m a n , Italian, Swedish,
D a n i s h , Dutch, P o r t u g u e s e a n d Spanish—and into Hebrew, E g y p t i a n ,
A r a b i c a n d J a p a n e s e , e n g a g e d a u d i e n c e s a r o u n d t h e world.
Yet as an A u s t r a l i a n e x p a t r i a t e l i v i n g in Britain a n d Italy a n d a major
c o n t r i b u t o r to A u s t r a l i a n and world history, A l a n M o o r e h e a d h a s been
less r e c o g n i s e d in his o w n c o u n t r y t h a n abroad. By t h e early 1960s,
several A m e r i c a n u n i v e r s i t i e s , b u i l d i n g t h e i r collections of significant
w r i t e r s of t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y , s o u g h t to m a k e h i s p e r s o n a l p a p e r s
t h e core of i m p o r t a n t new A u s t r a l i a n collections in t h e i r k e e p i n g . In
A u s t r a l i a , by c o n t r a s t , e n t r i e s on M o o r e h e a d in a n t h o l o g i e s of A u s t r a l i a n
w r i t e r s and h i s t o r i a n s a r e s c a n t . Few r e a d e r s t o d a y a r e f a m i l i a r w i t h his
b o o k s , and even fewer a m o n g t h e y o u n g e r g e n e r a t i o n k n o w his n a m e .
D u r i n g his l i f e t i m e - h e died in 1983—Moorehead's b o o k s w e n t into
multiple e d i t i o n s . D u r i n g t h e last decade, several of his historical
works were r e p r i n t e d in Britain w h i l e Text P u b l i s h i n g ,
reissued his o u t s t a n d i n g Desert W a r collective, African
a n d his a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l , A
Late
Education.
Melbourne,
Trilogy,
However, a p a r t
Eclipse
from
xi
Michael H e y w a r d ' s d i s c e r n i n g i n t r o d u c t i o n to t h e latter, Peter Sekuless'
o v e r v i e w of w a r c o r r e s p o n d e n t s in A Handful
of Hacks,
' W a r C o r r e s p o n d e n t a n d W a r H i s t o r i a n E x t r a o r d i n a r y ' in
Communication
my
own
Australian
Lives, a n d t h e brief echo of h i s n a m e in a few edited
travel w r i t i n g s , M o o r e h e a d h a s been c r i t i c a l l y overlooked.
In 1990, Tom Pocock, a y o u n g e r w a r c o r r e s p o n d e n t from
World
W a r 2, published a h i g h l y p r a i s e d a n d i l l u m i n a t i n g biography,
Moorehead,
Alan
c e l e b r a t i n g M o o r e h e a d ' s c a r e e r as a w a r c o r r e s p o n d e n t a n d
h i s a c t i v e a n d a d v e n t u r o u s life. But while it t r a c e s M o o r e h e a d ' s p e r s o n a l
t r a j e c t o r y a n d his r e l a t i o n s w i t h w a r t i m e friends a n d colleagues a n d his
wife a n d f a m i l y (to w h o s e p r i v a t e p a p e r s in London, t h e M o o r e h e a d
family c o r r e s p o n d e n c e , he had v a l u a b l e access), it p a y s s c a n t e v a l u a t i v e
a t t e n t i o n to t h e b o o k s t h a t m a d e A l a n M o o r e h e a d such a n o u t s t a n d i n g
w r i t e r of history.
This p o r t r a i t a i m s to r e d r e s s t h e b a l a n c e a n d to p r o v i d e a n A u s t r a l i a n
v i e w p o i n t . In t h i s it h a s b e e n g r e a t l y aided b y t h e fact t h a t , w h i l e A l a n
M o o r e h e a d ' s c a r e e r w a s c o n d u c t e d p r i n c i p a l l y in E n g l a n d a n d Europe,
he i g n o r e d t h e e a g e r offers received from abroad and c h o s e to deposit
his e x t e n s i v e p e r s o n a l p a p e r s in t h e National Library of A u s t r a l i a . '
The e x i s t e n c e of t h e p a p e r s w a s a m o t i v a t i n g force for t h i s biography,
for t h e National Library, a n d for me. However, my interest in M o o r e h e a d
r a n deeper. I h a d b e e n g i v e n a copy of Gallipoli
by m y p a r e n t s at its
p u b l i c a t i o n in 1956 a n d it m o v e d a n d m a r k e d me. Nine y e a r s later, in
early 1965, w h e n M o o r e h e a d w a s v i s i t i n g t h i s c o u n t r y , I w a s invited by
M a n n i n g a n d D y m p h n a Clark to d i n e at t h e i r C a n b e r r a h o m e w h e r e t h i s
d i s t i n g u i s h e d m a n , w i t h his s t r o n g d a r k b r o w s , his c a n d i d blue eyes, a n d
i m m e n s e vitality, w a s t h e o t h e r g u e s t . M o o r e h e a d w a s t h e n in A u s t r a l i a
w r i t i n g articles on t h e local fauna for t h e A u s t r a l i a n press a n d I w a s on
a visit from a period of residence in t h e United States of A m e r i c a . There,
as D y m p h n a s e r v e d one of h e r great boeuf bourguignons,
our meeting
s t r u c k lively s p a r k s . Both of u s , at one t i m e in o u r c a r e e r s , had worked
xii
for t h a t powerful a n d influential press proprietor, Lord Beaverbrook,
M o o r e h e a d as a celebrated w a r c o r r e s p o n d e n t for The Daily
Express
from 1939 to 1945, a n d I, from 1954 to 1958, as Beaverbrook's p e r s o n a l
research assistant when this dynamic septuagenarian was preparing
to b e c o m e a h i s t o r i a n w i t h his s t u d y of t h e p o l i t i c i a n s a n d g e n e r a l s of
World W a r 1, Men and
Power.
Together we found m u c h a g r e e m e n t , a n d some differences. M o o r e h e a d
j u d g e d Lord Beaverbrook a d o m i n a n t a n d i m p e r i o u s master, politically
a n d h u m a n l y little to h i s l i k i n g , while I, t r a v e l l i n g t h e world w i t h h i m
a n d p l u n g i n g into his r e m a r k a b l e p a p e r s a n d p a r t i c i p a n t recollections,
found ' t h e Lord' a n e n t h r a l l i n g e m p l o y e r a n d r e w a r d i n g friend. I did
not meet A l a n M o o r e h e a d a g a i n b u t I c a r r i e d a v i v i d r e m e m b r a n c e
of h i m a n d his w r i t i n g s a n d , in t h e late 1990s, b e c a m e involved in
a p o s t h u m o u s c o l l a b o r a t i o n w h e n invited, by t h e S y d n e y p u b l i s h e r s
Mead a n d Beckett, to c o n t r i b u t e c a p t i o n s a n d new b o x e d i n f o r m a t i o n to
t h e i r superbly illustrated editions of his Gallipoli
a n d The Fatal
Impact.
The work, full of old a n d new i n s i g h t s , confirmed m y o p i n i o n as a n
h i s t o r i a n t h a t A l a n M o o r e h e a d w a s one of t h e most gifted w r i t e r s of
h i s t o r y of t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y .
It is t i m e for his rediscovery.
xiii
First passport to the rest of the
world
1936
Alan Moorehead Papers, MS5654
National Library of Australia
nla.ms-ms5654-0-9x-m-vl
The Making of a Journalist
A
LAN MOOREHEAD was born into 'printer's ink'. His journalist
father, Richard Moorehead, worked sequentially for the Melbourne
newspapers The Age and The Herald,
while his mother, Louise (nee
Edgerton), was the daughter of a prosperous Melbourne printer and
publisher. Alan, the youngest of three children, was born on 26 July
1910 in Melbourne in the middle-class suburb of Croydon. Together with
his sister, Phyllis, and brother Bernard, he enjoyed a happy, if peripatetic
family life as the Mooreheads shuttled through some dozen different
houses—all with the obligatory tennis court. Moving, he reflected
later of his parents, 'was a compulsion with them', but looking back
he realised that 'there was great distress behind this restlessness'. His
family were 'the genteel poor' and, for a journalist writing on property
and investment on the low pay of that period, as his father was, their life
became a humiliating struggle to keep up appearances.
Perhaps for these reasons, Alan's memory of his urban childhood, his
comings and goings with the neighbourhood children and the details of
everyday pastimes remained a blur. It was the Australian countryside,
with its sense of infinite oldness, the dry, bare plains of the Riverina,
dust rising from the horses' hooves, the scent of eucalyptus and the
sheepdogs barking that he remembered from bush holidays and which
coloured his happiest recollections.
I
His own craving for printer's ink was apparent early. He knew at
the age of 15 that he wanted to be a writer. His youthful diary of 1926
proclaimed'Seize the day' along with a firm copyright warning, 'All rights
reserved. A. McCrae Moorehead'. He was educated for 10 years as a day
boy at one of Melbourne's leading private schools, Presbyterian Scotch
College, which, for his part, Moorehead remembered unflatteringly:
'those crowded classrooms in the long droning afternoons, those
second-rate masters brought out from England with their harassed and
defeated faces, those windy red brick corridors with their clanging
metal shutters'. There, self-declared, he was 'a most unsuccessful
schoolboy, invariably at the bottom of my class' and, short in stature
(only a worrying 5 feet at the age of 16 when a much desired spurt
lifted him to 5ft 7 inches), was unable to get into any of the sporting
teams. He decided at an early age to set up 'a facade between myself and
the world', a determination to take charge of his own destiny, and 'to
make things happen'. Nevertheless it was at Scotch, with its motto, Deo
Patriae
Litteris,
interpreted by the school as 'For the glory of God, for
the good of one's country and for the advancement of learning', that a
discerning English teacher urged him, on the strength of his essays, to
consider journalism as a career.
2
In 1928, Moorehead enrolled for a Bachelor of Arts degree at
Melbourne University. Without financial backup and with the oncoming
Depression in Australia, he provided for himself and his fees by offering
to write a weekly column on university social and sporting events for
the magazine Table Talk, an enterprise he soon transferred to the daily
Herald.
Magazine
He was also editor, for a year, of the Melbourne
University
where, he remembered, 'we were all for Karl Marx and the
brotherhood of man'.
His studies for the degree focussed on history—ancient history in his
first year, European history in the second, and the history of philosophy
in his final year. While he makes no mention of it in his writings, it
2
was clearly Moorehead's good fortune to be a student in his second
year under professor of history, Ernest Scott, himself a former London
journalist and Hansard writer, an elegant penman and researcher. Scott
was remembered by Kathleen Fitzpatrick, a few years Moorehead's
senior, as a splendid teacher who impressed on his students that the
study of history was not the mastering of an agreed body of knowledge
but 'a process of discovery-an absorbing occupation'. This was a view
that Moorehead's writing richly reflected in later years.
With the BA behind him at the end of 1930, Moorehead moved on,
no doubt under some parental persuasion, to study for a law degree,
the analytical framework of which would also bear its fruit. But sitting
in the Great Hall with his final exam paper before him in 1933, he
was acutely aware that he was not interested in becoming a lawyer,
nor would he make a good one. With prescience and characteristic
determination, he left the exam hall and his blank exam sheets and
took a tram to the Herald office where he asked for, and got, a staff job.
His career as a journalist had begun.
3
'I had a nose for news', he records, 'the trick of knowing just what
will interest people and attract attention', and it was at The Herald,
grappling with reports from the courts and the morgue and stories of
floods and droughts, locust plagues and bushfires that periodically
patterned the countryside, that Moorehead cultivated his eye for action
and honed his lively short-term memory, interviewing without a pen,
learning quickly that people talk more freely if you don't take notes,
and, as he put it, 'rejoicing in the sour smell of printer's ink'.
In the mid-1930s, Australia was emerging only slowly from
the Depression and the need for security-shaped aspirations and a
conventional style of life. But for bright, ambitious young men educated
in British literature, with a mounting awareness of world history, the
spread of Fascism, and of art and theatre in Europe, Melbourne loomed
as a cultural wilderness where opportunities to spread one's wings and
4
3
find t h e s t i m u l u s a n d c h a l l e n g e of professional a d v a n c e m e n t were low.
Like t h e later g r o u p of b r i l l i a n t y o u n g A u s t r a l i a n s , G e r m a i n e Greer,
Robert H u g h e s , Clive J a m e s a n d B a r r y H u m p h r i e s , M o o r e h e a d found
t h e a t m o s p h e r e stifling, 'a l a n d w h e r e n o t h i n g h a p p e n e d ' . 'I y e a r n e d to
go abroad', he w r o t e later, 'to get to t h e c e n t r e of t h i n g s a n d e v e n t s t h a t
I had been h e a r i n g about at s e c o n d h a n d all m y life ... To s t a y at h o m e
w a s to c o n d e m n y o u r s e l f to n o n e n t i t y ' .
5
He w a s not alone. His u n i v e r s i t y friend, t h e a d v e n t u r o u s T a s m a n i a n
Noel M o n k s , for a brief t i m e t h e s h i p p i n g n e w s r e p o r t e r on t h e M e l b o u r n e
Sun,
had set forth in
1935 w i t h J o h n
Hetherington,
Moorehead's
colleague on t h e The Herald, to work his w a y to E n g l a n d as a c r e w m a n
and—he hoped—to Fleet Street. M o n k s w a s t h e c a t a l y s t . M o o r e h e a d
saved £ 5 0 0 a n d a y e a r later, c a r r y i n g a g l o w i n g reference from
chief-of-staff,
Herald
F r a n k M u r p h y , p r a i s i n g h i m as 'an e x c e l l e n t a l l - r o u n d
r e p o r t e r ... w i t h i n i t i a t i v e , i m a g i n a t i o n a n d a flair for s e e i n g t h e n e w s y
6
side of things', he set out on t h e Ormonde
w i t h a o n e - w a y ticket.
M o o r e h e a d would find his s p i r i t u a l h o m e l a n d w h e n t h e p a s s e n g e r s
l a n d e d for t h e i r first t a s t e of Europe at Toulon. 'I date m y life from t h i s
m o m e n t ' , he w r o t e in A Late Education.
' E v e r y t h i n g in my m e m o r y
e i t h e r falls into t h e period before I r e a c h e d Toulon, or b e l o n g s to t h e
y e a r s since t h e n , a n d in fact my life a b r u p t l y took a different c o u r s e
that morning'.
You stepped from y o u r boat s t r a i g h t onto t h e cobblestones,
and all a b o u t you y e l l i n g w o m e n were s e l l i n g oysters a n d
m u s s e l s , lobsters a n d c r a b s , s h r i m p s and l i m p e t s and sea
u r c h i n s ... Beyond t h e s e stalls w a s a short open space a n d
t h e n t h e cafes b e g a n , d o z e n s of rickety little tables in t h e
s u n s h i n e w i t h coloured s u n s h a d e s a n d , s i t t i n g t h e r e , idly
s u r v e y i n g t h e u n i v e r s e , sipping t h e i r v e r m o u t h - c a s s i s , were
t h e b o t t o m l e s s c y n i c a l F r e n c h clientele. W o n d e r f u l l y
4
gay
little men, c h a t t e r i n g like m o n k e y s . A n d girls, d o i n g t h i n g s or
h a v i n g t h i n g s done to t h e m , right t h e r e in t h e open in a w a y
t h a t would h a v e caused a riot back in Park Villas, M e l b o u r n e
... Beyond t h e cafes, t h e facades of
topsy-turvy
b u i l d i n g s rose
up ... p a i n t e d in t h e brightest possible pale blues a n d yellows
with w i n d o w boxes a n d s t r i n g s of c o r n - c o b s h a n g i n g out
from t h e balconies to d r y ... I had come h o m e . This w a s w h a t
I h a d c o m e for. This w a s w h e r e I w a n t e d to b e .
7
It w a s 1936.
M o o r e h e a d enjoyed a n o t h e r s t r o n g t a s t e of Europe after his a r r i v a l
in E n g l a n d , t r a v e l l i n g to F r a n c e a n d e m b a t t l e d Spain with a y o u n g
S o u t h African j o u r n a l i s t he h a d m e t , a n d back to G e r m a n y w h e r e t h e
Olympics were in full s w i n g in Berlin. T h e r e he w a t c h e d Hitler r i d i n g up
t h r o u g h a forest of o u t s t r e t c h e d h a n d s a n d g l i m p s e d t h e r a p t u r o u s look
of e c s t a s y on t h e face of t h e y o u n g girl t h e y h a d picked u p . 'It was', he
notes, ' t h e look of a girl m e e t i n g h e r lover'.
Professionally, f o r t u n e smiled. N e t w o r k s were i m p o r t a n t . By 1937
M o n k s h a d m a n a g e d to l a n d a j o b at The Daily Express,
Fleet Street's
l e a d i n g m a s s c i r c u l a t i o n n e w s p a p e r o w n e d a n d r u n by t h e powerful
Lord B e a v e r b r o o k . By t h e late 1930s, t h e d o m i n a n c e of t h e British
n e w s p a p e r world by t h e Express
w a s s u c h t h a t it p u b l i s h e d
some
2 300 000 copies a day, w h i l e from t h e s a m e stable The Sunday
Express
had a c i r c u l a t i o n t o u c h i n g 1 377 000. T h e success of The Daily
Express
took its s t a m p from Beaverbrook's o w n tried a n d t r u e journalisticp h i l o s o p h y : ' p u t t h e c h e r r y on top', s h o r t s t a c c a t o s e n t e n c e s , a d a i l y
n e w s p a p e r t h a t paid t h e h i g h e s t w a g e s to
journalists
and garnered the
most t a l e n t e d a n d a s p i r i n g .
Under
the
legendary
Arthur
Christiansen's
editorship,
the
e n t e r p r i s i n g M o n k s h a d b e e n a s s i g n e d to r e p o r t on t h e S p a n i s h Civil
s u r p r i s e , a fast pace, a n d a s t r o n g s e n s e of o p t i m i s m . It w a s also t h e
5
W a r a n d , w h i l e t h e r e w e r e no a v a i l a b l e staff j o b s g o i n g at t h e p a p e r
w h e n M o o r e h e a d a p p e a r e d , C h r i s t i a n s e n , a l e r t to h i s m a s t e r ' s l i k i n g
for keen y o u n g m e n from t h e Empire, offered h i m a r e t a i n e r w i t h h i s
e x p e n s e s a n d p a y m e n t on r e s u l t s , to r e p o r t on e v e n t s from F r a n c o ' s
frontier a n d in Gibraltar.
After six m o n t h s of q u i e t u d e in Gibraltar, h i s o p p o r t u n i t y c a m e
at last on S u n d a y 30 M a y 1937 w h e n t h e G e r m a n pocket b a t t l e s h i p
Deutschland
sailed slowly into h a r b o u r . W i t h o t h e r foreign
ships,
i n c l u d i n g t h e British, she h a d b e e n l y i n g outside territorial w a t e r s w i t h
t h e d e c l a r e d a i m of p r e v e n t i n g foreign a r m a m e n t s r e a c h i n g either
Franco's N a t i o n a l i s t s or t h e R e p u b l i c a n s in S p a i n . A Republican plane,
clearly identified, had a p p e a r e d a n d d r o p p e d b o m b s on t h e
Deutschland,
k i l l i n g 23 men a n d i n j u r i n g 85 more. As ' t e m p o r a r y c o r r e s p o n d e n t ' in
Gibraltar, M o o r e h e a d alone w a s in a position to o b s e r v e t h e f l a g - d r a p e d
coffins on t h e deck a n d t h e a m b u l a n c e s a r r i v i n g to collect t h e w o u n d e d .
S p e c u l a t i o n s u r f a c e d : w a s G e r m a n y g i v i n g aid to F r a n c o ? Next day
'Nazi B a t t l e s h i p Bombed' c o m m a n d e d t h e Daily Express
The M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s tell t h e s t o r y of t h e
reporter. Some 65 crisp Daily
Express
nurturing
headlines.
of a foreign
cables in t h e collection reveal
t h e g r o w i n g r a n g e of h i s a c t i v i t i e s a r o u n d t h e c o v e r t
international
i n v o l v e m e n t in Spain a n d t h e r e s p o n s e s a n d e n c o u r a g e m e n t he received
from h e a d q u a r t e r s . W h e n , in return for t h e a t t a c k on her sister-ship, t h e
Graf Spee b o m b a r d e d t h e R e p u b l i c a n - h e l d port of Valencia, M o o r e h e a d
w a s d e s p a t c h e d t h e r e to identify t h e v e s s e l s s h i p p i n g supplies to t h e
R e p u b l i c a n s in Valencia a n d Barcelona, a n d , in t u r n , t h e G e r m a n a n d
Italian v e s s e l s s e n d i n g supplies to t h e S p a n i s h G o v e r n m e n t .
On 5 July, a British ship w a s r e p o r t e d to h a v e b e e n t o r p e d o e d 50
miles off Barcelona. In t h e House of C o m m o n s , Foreign
Anthony
Secretary
Eden d e m a n d e d to k n o w w h e r e F r a n c o ' s c o a s t l i n e
w e r e s i t u a t e d a r o u n d Gibraltar. ' M a k e t h i s good story', t h e
guns
Express
e d i t o r - i n - c h i e f cabled M o o r e h e a d . He did. As t h e w e e k s moved on, his
6
d e s p a t c h e s w o n front page a t t e n t i o n . Sutton, t h e a c t i v e h a n d s - o n editor
in London, soon identified h i m as p r o m i s i n g
journalist
m a t e r i a l . 'Editor
c o n g r a t u l a t e s y o u on y o u r c a m p e a s o r [sic] i n t e r v i e w s y e s t e r d a y Stop',
he cabled 16 A u g u s t . 'I h a v e w a t c h e d y o u r e x c e l l e n t work c u m g r e a t
p l e a s u r e A m a n x i o u s get s t o r y b e h i n d e x t r a o r d i n a r y series b o m b i n g s
t o r p e d o i n g M e d i t e r r a n e a n Stop Send early t o d a y R o u n d u p all r e c e n t
i n c i d e n t s g i v i n g G i b r a l t a r gossip w h o responsible e n u m e r a t e F r a n c o
s u b m a r i n e s t r e n g t h c o m p a r e d c u m b e g i n n i n g w a r activities
Italian
8
s u b m a r i n e s Stop A n x i o u s get t h i s piece secret w a r history.' It w a s a
t i m e l y a p p r e n t i c e s h i p for t h e y o u n g A u s t r a l i a n .
M o o r e h e a d w a s n o w u s i n g t h e s a m e t e c h n i q u e for r e p o r t a g e t h a t he
had developed at The Herald. T h e b a c k s of the cables h e received from
London b e a r h i s s c r a p p y notes, a ship's n a m e , a m e e t i n g place, a vivid
five-word impression from w h i c h he d e v i s e d h i s story. It w a s a m e t h o d
of rapid jotting t h a t w o u l d prove v i t a l t o him in w a r . A p a r t from h i s
g l a n c i n g visit to Valencia a n d a swift t r i p to B a r c e l o n a , Spain eluded
him. T h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n w a s h i s bailiwick a n d , r e c e i v i n g i n s t r u c t i o n s
to find a ship to t a k e h i m to t h e D a r d a n e l l e s a n d I s t a n b u l , a n d t h e n c e
on to A t h e n s a n d M i n o r c a - l o n g bereft of a
reporter-he
despatched his
exclusive stories. ' C o n g r a t u l a t i o n s Fella', M o n k s cabled from h i s w a r
post, ' y o u ' v e d o n e me proud'.
At t h e Express,
M o o r e h e a d ' s r e p u t a t i o n grew. He w a s a p p o i n t e d to
t h e editorial staff at a s a l a r y of £10 a week, w h i l e at t h e e n d of h i s
M e d i t e r r a n e a n furlough, Sutton, n o t i n g h i s r e a d y c o m m a n d of t h e
'Express
s t y l e ' a n d t h e t r u s t t h e s u b e d i t o r s p u t in h i s ' a u t h o r i t a t i v e '
stories, a p p l a u d e d ' t h e terrific work y o u h a v e p u t in d u r i n g t h e crisis
9
Christiansen had plans
to employ h i m in London. Instead, i n 1938, he n o t c h e d up a prized
a p p o i n t m e n t at t h e Daily
Express
office i n P a r i s a s a s s i s t a n t to t h e
b u r e a u head, New Z e a l a n d e r Geoffrey Cox. ' M o o r e h e a d a l w a y s had an
air of d e s t i n y a b o u t him', a n A u s t r a l i a n c o l l e a g u e o b s e r v e d dryly.
period a n d t h e e x c e l l e n c e of y o u r stories'.
7
Alan Moorehead with his wife Lucy on their w e d d i n g day in Rome [1939]
Tom Pocock Papers 1 9 8 7 - 1 9 9 0 , MS8377
nla.ms-ms8377-0-3x-vl
Reproduced with permission from the Moorehead family
W h i l e B e a v e r b r o o k c o n f i d e n t l y predicted, 'There will be no g r e a t w a r
in E u r o p e in 1939', i n t e r n a t i o n a l t e n s i o n s m o u n t e d . G e r m a n y i n v a d e d
C z e c h o s l o v a k i a , t h e v i c t o r y of Franco's forces e n d e d t h e
unhappy
s t r u g g l e in S p a i n . In April 1939, Italy i n v a d e d A l b a n i a a n d Nazi t h r e a t s
to P o l a n d grew. In A u g u s t , w i t h w a r i m m i n e n t , C h r i s t i a n s e n selected
M o o r e h e a d to s t a r t up a n Express
8
b u r e a u in Rome, a E u r o p e a n capital
e x c e e d e d o n l y in i m p o r t a n c e by London, P a r i s a n d B e r l i n .
10
It w a s a far
step from t h e c o u r t s a n d t h e m o r g u e r o u n d s at t h e M e l b o u r n e
When
w a r w i t h G e r m a n y broke o u t in September,
cocksure,
ambitious,
with
a strong
streak
Herald.
Moorehead,
of o p p o r t u n i s m ,
was
c o n t e m p l a t i n g b e c o m i n g a w a r c o r r e s p o n d e n t . At 29, h e w a s also
t a k i n g a significant step into m a r r i a g e . T h e p r e v i o u s year, back briefly
at The Daily Express
from h i s M e d i t e r r a n e a n v e n t u r e , he h a d met t h e
poised a n d e l e g a n t Lucy Milner, editor of t h e w o m e n ' s a n d fashion
pages, t w o i n c h e s taller, t w o y e a r s h i s s e n i o r a n d considered s o m e w h a t
u n a p p r o a c h a b l e . If it w a s n o t quite love at first sight, M o o r e h e a d found
her c h a l l e n g i n g a n d a t t r a c t i v e a n d t o t a l l y u n l i k e t h e n u m e r o u s y o u n g
w o m e n he h a d lightly c o u r t e d or seduced. M o n k s , in a jesting letter,
c h a r a c t e r i s e d h i m as 'Alan t h e Great Lover' a n d h i s s t r o n g libido w a s an
a s p e c t of his p e r s o n a l i t y t h a t M o o r e h e a d i n d u l g e d t h r o u g h o u t h i s life.
Lucy, t h e clever d a u g h t e r of a c o u n t r y d o c t o r in Dorset, a r e t i c e n t a n d
r e s e r v e d E n g l i s h w o m a n , h i g h l y successful professionally, w a s deeply
in love w i t h h i m . W h i l e d r e a m i n g a l w a y s t h a t h e would love h e r as
she loved h i m , s h e r e c o g n i s e d early t h a t h e would n e v e r be t h e total,
c o m m i t t e d lover. W r i t i n g to h i m a few d a y s after h i s d e p a r t u r e to F r a n c e ,
she recalled a historical figure w h o h a d d e c l a r e d to h i s p a r a m o u r of four
y e a r s his 'deep, faithful a n d u n s w e r v i n g love', a d d i n g wistfully, ' W h a t
a pity y o u a r e n o t like t h a t ' . "
T h e y w e r e m a r r i e d in Rome in October 1939. Eight m o n t h s later, o n
11 June 1940, t h e d a y after Italy d e c l a r e d w a r on B r i t a i n , M o o r e h e a d
w a s t r a n s f e r r e d from Rome to Cairo to b e c o m e t h e Daily
Express
chief foreign c o r r e s p o n d e n t in t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n . He h a d b e e n m a d e
b e g i n n i n g of J u n e a n d , d o n n i n g h i s c a p t a i n ' s u n i f o r m w i t h its t a b
of b r i g h t g r e e n - a n d - g o l d a n d t h e w o r d s 'British W a r C o r r e s p o n d e n t '
e m b r o i d e r e d on it, he e m b a r k e d u p o n t h e g r e a t f o r m a t i v e p e r i o d of
his career.
a n a c c r e d i t e d w a r c o r r e s p o n d e n t at t h e British W a r Office at t h e
9
Alan Moorehead [right] with his friend and colleague Alexander Clifford
[standing, left] and military personnel in the Western Desert
[1940s]
Tom Pocock Papers 1987-1990, MS8377
nla.ms-ms8377-0-lx-m-vl
Imperial War Museum photograph
'The Prince of War
A
Correspondents
LAN MOOREHEAD was to become the most renowned
war
correspondent in Great Britain. Despatched to Cairo in 1940, at
a moment of supreme importance as Britain faced the Axis powers
alone on land in the Middle East, he was in the right place at the right
time, and through enterprise, proximity, ability and good fortune, was
destined to become a key eye-witness of some of the most epic events
in British history.
Australia
enjoys
correspondents
12
a
distinctive
historical
register
of
war
—'Banjo' Paterson in the Boer War; Charles Bean in
World War 1; Chester Wilmot, Damien Parer, Kenneth Slessor, George
Johnston, Osmar White in the North African, European and Pacific
theatres in World War 2; Denis Warner in the Pacific and Vietnam; and
a band of talented others in Korea, the Gulf War and Iraq. Conditions of
modern warfare have evolved and changed dramatically since World
War 1, through many phases and advancing technology into short or
protracted and always uncertain engagements, as death rains from
the air and is delivered in diverse guise by rebel fighters. In the long
history of reportage from the battlefields, Moorehead stands as one of
the most pre-eminent recorders.
At the height of the war, the New Statesman
and Nation
critic,
W.P. Rilla wrote of the role of the war correspondent in these terms:
II
'Despite the early roots of war reporting reaching back to Herodotus and
Homer, there is no groove into which a modern war correspondent can
fit. He is like the child learning to walk; he needs moreover to be a jack
of all trades, a soldier and writer, adventurer, political commentator
and artist, thinker and man ofaction'."13Moorehead combined all these
qualities in high degree and would use them to make his mark on the
international scene.
Assigned
formally
as
Daily
Express
Foreign
Correspondent
Mediterranean, Moorehead was there from the start of fighting and,
although a relatively junior member of Fleet Street's team, there was
no question, after his first reports from the battlefront, of superseding
him. He had already demonstrated to Arthur Christiansen that he had
the capacity 'of seeing copy in a flower growing by the wayside'. He now
joined this observational skill with a maturing understanding of the
challenge, tactics, politics, endurance, and the human face of war.
The war in North Africa—the Desert War—which Moorehead covered
for almost three years, was a war of swift movements, lulls, setbacks and
successes. From mid-1940 until mid-1943, through the arid northern
rim of Africa between Egypt and Benghazi, Tobruk, El Alamein,
Tripoli, and finally Tunisia, the pendulum of battle swung back and
forth as three successive British commanders-in-chief—General Wavell,
General Auchinleck, and General Alexander—directed their British and
Imperial forces into fierce campaigns against the Italian Army and
Rommel's Afrika Korps. After General Montgomery's decisive victory at
El Alamein in November 1942, the British Eighth Army drove Rommel
back to Tripoli and then Tunisia, just before US amphibious forces
landed to the west of Algeria and joined them to drive the Germans
from North Africa.
Moorehead's first despatch from the battlefield on the Western Desert
frontier of Egypt and Libya (Cyrenaica), on 4 July 1940, displayed his
mettle. 'Tonight', he told his British readers, 'I can tell the first complete
I2
s t o r y of t h e first t h r e e week's fighting in t h e Libyan desert, as it w a s
told to m e by h a l f - a - d o z e n British c o m m a n d e r s d u r i n g a t h o u s a n d - m i l e
t o u r of t h e firing line'. Success w a s s t a g g e r i n g at first. W i t h i n t e n d a y s
h a l f - a - d o z e n Italian forts a n d key posts w e r e o v e r w h e l m e d , w i t h b a r e l y
h a l f - a - d o z e n British soldiers lost. It w a s , he w r o t e , ' t h e L a w r e n c e of
A r a b i a kind of w a r f a r e - m e c h a n i s e d ' . A t t i m e s t h e m e n fight in a n eerie
y e l l o w i s h light, like t h e p e a - s o u p fog of t h e late w i n t e r ' s a f t e r n o o n .
Sand fills t h e e a r s a n d nostrils.' Desert w a r f a r e , h e w a s t h e first to note,
'is m u c h like n a v a l fighting'. Each force visited w a s o p e r a t i n g as a s e m i i n d e p e n d e n t u n i t , s o m e t i m e s h u n d r e d s of miles from a base. 'In half
an hour', he records, 'I saw a g e n e r a l t a k e h i s whole force of t a n k s a n d
d i s a p p e a r over t h e h o r i z o n ... like a n a d m i r a l in his flagship'. It w a s w a r
of a d i s t i n c t i v e kind, 'a K n i g h t s ' t o u r n a m e n t in e m p t y space'.
14
From t h e outset, M o o r e h e a d ' s w r i t i n g s from t h e battlefront
were
u r g e n t a n d i m m e d i a t e , w i t h a s e n s e of n e w s u n f o l d i n g into history.
Alert to t e l l i n g detail, he w r o t e from t h e g r o u n d u p , d e s c r i b i n g t h e
v a r i o u s sweeps of b a t t l e , i n t e r w e a v i n g h i s stories w i t h t h e w o r d s of
t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s , t h e fighting soldiers, s o m e t i m e s a p r i s o n e r of war,
b r i n g i n g t h e w a r in g r a p h i c a n d c o m p e l l i n g d e s p a t c h e s to t h e b r e a k f a s t
tables of Britain. He h i m s e l f felt ' m a r v e l l o u s l y a l i v e ' in t h e desert. 'The
first y e a r in t h e desert w a s a n annus
mirabilis
for me', he w r o t e later.
'For t h e first t i m e in m y life, I w a s e n t i r e l y a b s o r b e d in w h a t I w a s
d o i n g ... Like a b a c k w a r d s a p l i n g t h a t is t r a n s p l a n t e d into a rich soil,
I b e g a n to s p r o u t w i t h n e w g r o w t h ' . His v e r y A u s t r a l i a n n e s s w a s a n
f a m i l i a r from c h i l d h o o d h o l i d a y s in t h e b u s h so t h a t , r a t h e r more t h a n
his English c o l l e a g u e s , he felt at h o m e in t h e W e s t e r n D e s e r t .
15
' W i t h i n a n h o u r of a r r i v i n g in t h e desert', he related, 'ideas c a m e
c r o w d i n g into one's m i n d , a n d if t h e r e w a s no action for d a y s t o g e t h e r it
m a d e no difference ... t h e first e l e m e n t of a n e w s p a p e r s t o r y w a s a l w a y s
p r e s e n t : t h e element of c o n t r a s t , t h e spectacle of f a m i l i a r people (in t h i s
'The Prince of War Correspondents'
a d v a n t a g e in t h a t e n v i r o n m e n t . It w a s the physical life of t h e open air,
13
case the soldiers) reacting to a strange place ... Consequently the small
incident (as distinct from the set-piece battles) achieved a significance
it would never have had in Europe or the tropics, and we saw it clearly,
we saw all round it, we knew its beginning and its effect'.
Keeping up
a constant
cover of the
fast-moving
16
action
was
nonetheless hard-going. The very strung-out nature of the desert war
meant journeying out from his Cairo base, usually in a convoy of trucks
and jeeps, to a front at times 5 0 0 miles away; steering by compass
across the featureless landscape and scanning the horizon for other
vehicles, friend or foe. 'Forever, the forward troops vanished ahead of
us as we sat stranded in our broken vehicles', he records:
Messages went astray for days or were lost altogether.
We scraped what food we could from the desert or went
without. We hitchhiked when our vehicles broke down.
Often we abandoned sleep in order to catch up ... It was a
new kind of reporting: exasperating, exciting, fast moving,
vivid, immense and slightly dangerous. And what we had to
say had such interest at that time that our stale descriptions
were published fully when at last they did arrive in London
and New York. It was a j o b that was ever a little beyond
one's reach."
Moorehead enjoyed a particular advantage. Unlike, for example, that
other remarkable Australian reporter, Chester Wilmot, who roamed
about the desert bivouacking and reporting for the BBC-'the lowest
paid correspondent in the Middle East'—Moorehead shared a flat in
Cairo on the Nile's Gezira Island with Alexander Clifford, the serious
and gentle English Daily Mail correspondent with whom he developed
a deep and rewarding friendship, and his wife Lucy, who arrived seven
months pregnant from London in late September 1940. They made a
I4
c o n g e n i a l t r i o : Clifford, h i g h l y e d u c a t e d , a l i n g u i s t a n d i n t e l l e c t u a l
from w h o m Moorehead d r e w s t i m u l u s a n d k n o w l e d g e a n d w h o b e c a m e
his i n s e p a r a b l e
partner
in t h e i r w a r t i m e
sorties; Moorehead, the
a s s e r t i v e , d o w n - t o - e a r t h , still b r a s h , b u t decisive c o m m u n i c a t o r , a n d
t h e s e r e n e a n d witty Lucy. A n d w h e n later, to t h e suspicion a n d e n v y of
his c o l l e a g u e s , Lucy, in fierce c o m p e t i t i o n , l a n d e d t h e j o b as s e c r e t a r y
to t h e n e w C o m m a n d e r - i n - C h i e f ,
General Auchinleck,
Moorehead's
r a n g e of useful c o n t a c t s grew.
In D e c e m b e r 1940, as Wavell l a u n c h e d a major attack in t h e W e s t e r n
Desert, M o o r e h e a d found h i m s e l f c a m p e d outside Bardia w h e r e 4 5 0 0 0
I t a l i a n s , routed at Mersa M a t r u h , were crowded a n d u n d e r siege. 'For
t h r e e d a y s a n d n i g h t s now', he told h i s w a i t i n g readers on 21 December,
' t h e g u n s a r o u n d Bardia h a v e b e e n in m y ears'.
Lying on open g r o u n d in t h i s bitter w i n d I w a k e at n i g h t
to see flashes a g a i n s t t h e b r i l l i a n t m o o n a n d w a k e a g a i n
at d a w n to feel t h e d e s e r t floor t r e m b l i n g w i t h t h e impact
of high explosives ... We a r e all dirty, cold, u n s h a v e n a n d
enthusiastic.
Men p r e s s i n g u p t h a t filthy road from Sidi B a r r a n i in
t h o u s a n d s h a v e faces c a k e d w h i t e w i t h dust a n d t w o s t a r i n g
eyes p e e r i n g o u t u n d e r each t i n h a t . S o m e t i m e s , as we did
a n h o u r ago at dusk, we pressed d o w n a m o n g icy r o c k s for
safety. Twelve I t a l i a n b o m b e r s , p l a y i n g t h e old g a m e of
t h e s k y l i n e w i t h t w e l v e fighters ... But ... y o u c a n ' t d e s t r o y
a n a r m y s c a t t e r e d a l m o s t invisibly o v e r h u n d r e d s of miles
of d e s e r t .
18
It w a s this c a p a c i t y to record a n d c o n v e y a p a r t i c i p a n t i n v o l v e m e n t
a n d t h e noise a n d feel of b a t t l e t h a t g a v e h i s v a s t a u d i e n c e a s e n s e of
c o m i n g s t r a i g h t at u s o u t of the s u n s e t , s u d d e n l y shot across
15
direct connection with the fighting soldiers and made Moorehead a
household word in Britain. His own personal danger lent immediacy
to his writing. While travelling in a convoy of armoured cars in the
British pursuit of the Italians through Libya in February 1941, he was
ambushed by the Italians between Barce and Benghazi. With Clifford
beside him and their wounded driver, whom they had carried to safety,
Moorehead tasted the threat of death. Pressed to the ground, he thought
in anger, 'This is too cruel, they cannot realise what they are doing to
us ... There could be no hatred or anger in the world which would
want to hurt us so much'. I did not pray or think of my past life or
my family', he wrote candidly later. 'I simply wanted to get away ...
Whenever I went into danger I did it as a duty or because I thought that
others were watching me.'
19
This was not the general view. Colleagues saw Moorehead and
Clifford as 'fearless' and as 'hustlers to get out into the forward areas'.
They were mentioned in despatches for their action near Benghazi, the
first war correspondents to be so honoured.
In April 1941, with General Rommel's arrival in Africa, Britain's
fortune turned. The British Army was driven out of Benghazi and
from most of Cyrenaica. Germany invaded Greece and Crete—though
Moorehead, caught without sea transport, was not present at either of
these bitter conflicts—and, in June, Wavell was replaced as commanderin-chief by Auchinleck. Late in November 1941, with the Germans in
the ascendant, Moorehead transmitted his compelling account of how
Tobruk fell to the enemy in a day.
There is no front line. British and German tanks have met
and wiped each other out. That is all. On both sides there are
thousands of prisoners, thousands of casualties ... Just this
is definite ... The hard, armoured casing around both armies
has been pierced and broken and the soft inner core of the
I6
i n f a n t r y , light g u n n e r s a n d supply c o l u m n s s t a n d opposed
a n d at places hopelessly i n t e r m i n g l e d . Occasionally, t a n k s
from b o t h sides a r e cutting loose in t h i s soft stuff... It is like
a shark among the mackerel.
20
W r i t t e n in a crisp, often c o n v e r s a t i o n a l t o n e t h a t spoke d i r e c t l y to
h i s r e a d e r s , his d e s p a t c h e s offered r e p o r t s of
extraordinary
range and
v i v i d n e s s in w h i c h he m i x e d t h e i m p o r t a n t action of t h e d a y w i t h a n
A u s t r a l i a n lack of r e v e r e n c e for h i e r a r c h y , h i s o w n a d v e n t u r e s , a s e n s e
of history, a n d a l w a y s t h e eye of pity. 'It is t h e s t i l l n e s s of t h e dead', h e
w r o t e in o n e d e s p a t c h , ' t h a t is so s h o c k i n g . Even t h e i r b o o t s don't seem
to lie on t h e g r o u n d a s t h o s e of a sleeping m a n w o u l d ... T h e y s e e m to
s l u m p into t h e e a r t h w i t h s u c h u n n a t u r a l o v e r w h e l m i n g t i r e d n e s s ' .
21
In London, Moorehead's c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , s t r e t c h i n g from 1000 to
2 0 0 0 w o r d s , d o m i n a t e d t h e front pages of The Daily Express
s y n d i c a t e d in The Times a n d The News
Chronicle.
a n d were
They d r e w cables of
r e s o u n d i n g praise from editors at The Daily Express—'Splendid
desert stuff
front paged t o d a y ' ; 'You're once more miles a h e a d of y o u r c o m p e t i t o r s ' ;
'the
most
brilliant
battle
reporter
t h e w a r h a s produced';
while
C h r i s t i a n s e n , a m a z e d by h i s ' m a t u r e j u d g m e n t ' a n d 'indefatigable zest
for work', c r o w n e d his A u s t r a l i a n s t a r ' t h e p r i n c e of w a r c o r r e s p o n d e n t s ' .
A l t h o u g h Express
foreign editor, Charles Foley, k n e w t h a t Moorehead
and Clifford ignored t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e employer's d e m a n d s for 'exclusive
beats', he considered t h e i r p a r t n e r s h i p a n d t h e i r i n t e g r i t y set a s t a n d a r d
b e g i n n i n g of a Moorehead despatch', a Yorkshire
Post
commentator
r e m e m b e r e d , ' a n d read it t h r o u g h to t h e e n d w i t h o u t h a v i n g t h e need to
turn
back. It w a s a clear s t r e a m of t h o u g h t a n d it did more t h a n m i r r o r
e v e n t s - i t gave t h e m a n i m a t i o n a n d it gave t h e m h e a r t ' .
As
campaigns
and
generals
changed,
22
Moorehead
was
soon
offering keen a n a l y t i c a l c o m m e n t a r y on s t r a t e g y a n d l e a d e r s h i p a n d ,
of c o n d u c t a n d 'did Fleet Street good'. 'One could a l w a y s b e g i n at t h e
'7
outspokenly, on the inadequate state of British tanks and guns compared
with superior German armaments. By July 1942, Rommel, the 'Desert
Fox', had carried the day eastward along the coast from Tobruk to El
Alamein and was threatening to advance upon Alexandria and Cairo.
Now the Australians, who had held Tobruk defiantly in the first siege
from April to November 1941, 'men from the dockside of Sydney and
the sheep stations of the Riverina', were pressed into service. Moorehead
portrayed his fellow countrymen as 'a picture of downright toughness
with their gaunt dirty faces, huge boots, revolvers stuffed in their
pockets, gripping their rifles with huge shapeless hands, shouting and
grinning—always grinning'.
23
But Moorehead was not present to report their triumph in the struggle.
As Daily Express foreign correspondent for the whole of the Mediterranean
and North Africa he covered a domain that stretched from Kenya, the
Sudan, Lebanon, Libya, Syria and Tunisia to India, Ceylon, Persia and
on to Baghdad. As El Alamein fell, suffering acute war fatigue from his
almost daily despatch of news and feeling that he knew 'every grain of
sand ... and all the moods of this monotonous yet not monotonous war',
he was then on respite assignment en route to New York. His remorse
at his absence from Rommel's defeat ran deep. Yet, leaving for America
that August 1942, his memory was less of the triumphs and bitter
disappointments of the war than of the human face of battle, 'the barebacked, begoggled and dusty trooper perched on the open turret of his
tank, having a last cigarette before he goes into action'.
At the beginning of 1943 Moorehead was assigned to Algiers, thence
to report the conference of Churchill and Roosevelt at Casablanca and
then on to Tunisia where, with the German success against American and
British forces, the war had moved to an unexpected height. Recording the
attacks and counter-attacks and the set-piece battles in those bleak hills
in a series of Express articles on 'The Lessons of Tunisia', he reported the
eventual British defeat of the Germans late in May when their commander
I8
u n e x p e c t e d l y capitulated to General Freyberg of t h e New Zealand
infantry. There w a s , Moorehead noted, n o t h i n g w r o n g with their troops,
t h e y were ' u n t i r e d a n d well-fed'. W h a t , he asks in his final despatch,
' c a n we say about t h i s fantastic debacle?' 'The enemy', he s u m m e d up,
'lost c o m m a n d of air a n d sea, a n d so t h e r e w a s no e v a c u a t i o n . They
had a m m u n i t i o n . No ... They lost c o m m a n d of t h e m s e l v e s . It w a s t h e
c o n c e n t r a t e d blitz, rightly t i m e d a n d b a l a n c e d t h a t delivered t h e knock
out a n d t u r n e d what m i g h t h a v e been a siege of m o n t h s into a decisive
battle of one day. We had genius in our a r m y t h a t d a y ' . "
It w a s
j u s t y e a r s since M o o r e h e a d a r r i v e d in t h e Western Desert
to see t h e first shots fired in t h e African c a m p a i g n . Now t h e w a r in
North Africa had e n d e d . It h a d been a w a r fought in a b a r e , p a r c h e d
l a n d s c a p e w h e r e v e r y few c i v i l i a n s were i n v o l v e d ; yet, in r e t r o s p e c t , all
t h e w a r c o r r e s p o n d e n t s realised t h a t t h e Desert W a r h a d a far g r e a t e r
i m p a c t a n d influence on t h e i r lives t h a n t h e s u b s e q u e n t s t r u g g l e in
Europe. As it d r e w to its close, Moorehead s a w it as 'all of a piece', a n d
believed t h a t ' n o o n e c o m m a n d e r , no o n e stroke of luck or j u d g m e n t , no
one a r m y ' had b r o u g h t t h e British forces to final success in T u n i s .
Little by little, w i t h m u c h bitter p a i n , new m e n a n d m a c h i n e s
c a m e in a n d now at last it is a l m o s t impossible to r e c o g n i s e
t h e seed of t h i s host of m e n . But t h e spirit w a s t h e r e in t h e
b e g i n n i n g , a n d it m a d e it possible.
A s a s p e c t a t o r I w o u l d o n l y ask t h a t if y o u h a v e p r a i s e to
long t i m e .
25
A u t h o r i t a t i v e , confident, c u m u l a t i v e in t h e i r k n o w l e d g e a n d o b s e r v a t i o n ,
Moorehead's despatches and reviews had an excellence that was plainly
The Prince of War
Halifax Pass as well a s to t h e l i v i n g in Tunis. It h a s b e e n a
I
p a r a c h u t i s t s on t h e Sedjenane Hills; to t h e dead soldiers on
Correspondents'
give it should go e q u a l l y to t h e defenders of Tobruk a n d t h e
I9
a c k n o w l e d g e d by t h e s p a c e afforded h i m in his n e w s p a p e r . Back in
E n g l a n d , a w a i t i n g t h e Second Front in 1944, he enjoyed s o m e t h i n g of
his o w n success, m o u n t i n g a Daily Express
c o l u m n on t h e p r o g r e s s of t h e
w a r titled simply, 'Alan M o o r e h e a d , London'. In a letter to M o o r e h e a d ' s
father, A r t h u r C h r i s t i a n s e n shed light on t h e m a n he had elevated to
special p r o m i n e n c e . ' W h e n A l a n first c a m e to t h e Express
before t h e
war', he confided, 'I did not d r e a m I w a s t a k i n g on s u c h a d y n a m i c
c h a r a c t e r ... But once he b e c a m e a w a r c o r r e s p o n d e n t ,
something
h a p p e n e d to h i m . His s e n s e of o b s e r v a t i o n , his gift of w o r d s , b r o u g h t
t h e b a t t l e of t h e d e s e r t clearly before t h e eyes of e v e r y o n e in Britain ...
I a m not flattering h i m , but merely t e l l i n g you t h e facts w h e n I say t h a t
he is r e g a r d e d as p r e - e m i n e n t l y t h e N u m b e r One W a r C o r r e s p o n d e n t of
t h e whole British P r e s s ' .
26
M o o r e h e a d w a s w i t h t h e D-Day l a n d i n g in N o r m a n d y on 6 J u n e 1944.
We c a n follow h i m t h r o u g h his small, w o r n w a r t i m e d i a r i e s ,
jotting
d o w n t h e v i v i d , swift word p i c t u r e s t h a t formed t h e scaffold of his
despatches—'converted T h a m e s barges', 'lines of t e n s i n g k h a k i at rail,
faces p e e r i n g ' , 'no b a n d s , no flags', ' d i s t a n c e ships like g r e y smudges',
' b a l l o o n s like d a n c i n g silver insects'. A n d , as he m o v e s into N o r m a n d y
w i t h t h e British forces, t h e diaries yield up t h e g r a p h i c pencilled notes,
'tanks
a s l a n t , jamming roads', ' a d v a n c i n g over bodies', ' G e r m a n s g u a r d
each pylon', 'slit t h r o a t s w i t h razors', 'idolisation of Hitler', 'roses on
graves', ' w o m e n s n i p e r s ... killed in a c t i o n ' .
27
W h e n , after fierce a n d d e s t r u c t i v e fighting, t h e r u i n s of Caen were
o c c u p i e d b y t h e British on 9 September, w i t h t h e loss of 4 0 0 t a n k s ,
he c o n f r o n t e d
a d e s o l a t i o n s t r i k i n g l y different
from
anything
he
e x p e r i e n c e d in t h e desert. Yet, despite fear at t i m e s a n d s c e n e s of horror,
t h e r e r e m a i n s a c l e a r p e r c e p t i o n a n d c o n f i d e n c e in all he w r i t e s . As
t h e G e r m a n c o l u m n s a r e c a u g h t b e t w e e n t w o Allied thrusts at Falaise,
he r e c o r d s :
20
We h a v e b e g u n to see t h e e n d of G e r m a n y t o d a y a n d here
in t h e apple o r c h a r d s a n d t h e v i l l a g e s t r e e t s o n e turns sick
to see w h a t h a s h a p p e n e d to t h e m . T h e best of Field M a r s h a l
von Kluge's a r m y h a s m e t t h e British a n d Allied
troops
head on a n d t h e y were just obliterated. Until now, 1 had no
c o n c e p t i o n of w h a t t r a i n e d a r t i l l e r y m e n a n d i n f a n t r y c a n do
a n d c e r t a i n l y t h i s is t h e most awful sight t h a t h a s come m y
w a y since w a r b e g a n ' .
28
He w a s in Paris for its liberation, t h o u g h i n s t a n t o u t g o i n g r e p o r t a g e
w a s denied, a n d also in Belgium as t h e people rose in revolt a g a i n s t t h e
G e r m a n g a r r i s o n s , t h e i r ' p a s s i o n of h a t r e d a n d e x u l t a t i o n ' , he noted,
less c o m p l e x than t h e a m b i v a l e n t F r e n c h r e s p o n s e . All t h i s , he informed
his faithful readers, 'is t h e r e w a r d for
everything
England has endured
... t h e e x p r e s s i o n of all t h e a d m i r a t i o n a n d friendship that people in
Europe feel t o w a r d s E n g l a n d at t h i s m o m e n t ' .
Nine a r d u o u s m o n t h s of fighting a n d r e p o r t i n g later, Hitler w a s dead
a n d G e r m a n y ' s defeat w a s sealed w i t h t h e I n s t r u m e n t of S u r r e n d e r
signed by M o n t g o m e r y w i t h G e r m a n officers at L u n e b u r g Heath on
4 May 1945. At field h e a d q u a r t e r s , M o o r e h e a d sat at h i s t y p e w r i t e r t h a t
day to c o n v e y t h e p o r t e n t o u s e v e n t to a w a i t i n g Britain.
Here on a wild s t r e t c h of h e a t h j u s t s o u t h of L u n e b u r g at
precisely six t w e n t y five p m t o d a y M o n t g o m e r y signed peace
stood b e h i n d t h e i r c h a i r s at a table over w h i c h a g r e y a r m y
blanket had been thrown. Presently Montgomery arrived and
as he took h i s place at t h e end of the table t h e G e r m a n s saluted
and in silence t h e y sat d o w n together. M o n t g o m e r y took o u t
his spectacles a n d in a slow careful voice—his voice is n e v e r
s t r o n g at a n y time—read o u t t h e ... t e r m s of surrender.''
1
with G e r m a n y . Five G e r m a n officers w a l k e d into the t e n t a n d
21
It w a s M o o r e h e a d w h o w r o t e t h e letter to M o n t g o m e r y on b e h a l f of t h e
w a r c o r r e s p o n d e n t s , p a y i n g t r i b u t e to t h e field m a r s h a l ' s a c h i e v e m e n t
a n d t h a n k i n g h i m for his deed t h a t day. A n d it w a s M o o r e h e a d w h o
g r e e t e d r e a d e r s of The Sunday
Express
n e x t d a y w i t h his e y e - w i t n e s s
a c c o u n t of t h e final d e m i s e of a v i g o r o u s a n d c h a l l e n g i n g e n e m y .
G e r m a n y as a c o u n t r y had ceased to exist.
Everywhere
t h e e n e m y soldiers h a d o n l y one object—mass s u r r e n d e r to
t h e British ... A n d so all day we h a d been w a t c h i n g t h e m
p o u r i n g in. Men r i d i n g bicycles. Men d r i v i n g s t e a m - r o l l e r s
a n d t r a c t o r s . Men c l i n g i n g like flies to t h e sides of h a y c a r t s
and h o r s e - d r a w n w a g o n s . A n d m e n t r a m p i n g b r o k e n l y a l o n g
t h e road. All G e r m a n s ... We saw all t h i s in Africa, a n d a g a i n
at t i m e s in Italy a n d F r a n c e . But t h i s is a colossal landslide
... This is the c l i m a x of England's
war-utterly
unconditional
surrender—and on a colossal scale.
V i e w i n g M o o r e h e a d ' s e x p e r i e n c e in t h e light of t h e Iraq W a r in 2 0 0 3 ,
w h e n w a r c o r r e s p o n d e n t s f o u n d t h e m s e l v e s ' e m b e d d e d ' b y the m i l i t a r y
c o m m a n d w i t h a c o n s p i c u o u s loss of i n d e p e n d e n c e , it is i l l u m i n a t i n g
to n o t e how British w a r c o r r e s p o n d e n t s w e r e officially t r e a t e d in
World W a r 2. R e c a l l i n g t h e c e n s o r s h i p a n d r e s t r a i n t s i m p o s e d on w a r
c o r r e s p o n d e n t s in World W a r 1, t h e y w e r e w e l l - s e r v e d b y a flow of
m i l i t a r y d a t a . T h e British M i n i s t r y for I n f o r m a t i o n , c o n f r o n t e d b y a
s t r u g g l e for n a t i o n a l s u r v i v a l a n d o n e w h e r e freedom of e x p r e s s i o n
w a s a freedom t h e y w e r e f i g h t i n g for, p u b l i c l y a c k n o w l e d g e d
correspondents
as a n ' i n t e g r a l
p a r t of o u r f i g h t i n g
activities
l a n d , on t h e sea, a n d in t h e a i r ' a n d , w h i l e M o o r e h e a d
the
on
reflected
t h a t 'at t i m e s t h e y o u n g British c o m m a n d e r s w e r e s u s p i c i o u s of w a r
c o r r e s p o n d e n t s a n d n o n e too k e e n to e x p l a i n t h e i r m o v e m e n t s to us',
senior c o m m a n d e r s provided briefings, maps and information,
22
and
a s s i g n e d r e p o r t e r s , e n l i g h t e n e d b y w e e k l y b r i e f i n g s , w e r e free to
m o v e a r o u n d as they c h o s e .
Major General Sir F r a n c i s (Freddie) de G u i n g a n d , in c h a r g e of press
c e n s o r s h i p a n d g u i d a n c e as d i r e c t o r of m i l i t a r y i n t e l l i g e n c e in t h e
Middle East from 1939 to 1940 a n d s u b s e q u e n t l y M o n t g o m e r y ' s chiefof-staff of t h e E i g h t h A r m y in North Africa a n d Europe, a d m i t t e d to
t h e 'greatest a d m i r a t i o n ' for t h e w a r c o r r e s p o n d e n t s at t h e front, a n d to
t h e i r i n t e g r i t y a n d t h e w a y t h e y worked. In b o t h t h e a t r e s , h e enjoyed a
s i n g u l a r l y close r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h M o o r e h e a d , Clifford, a n d C h r i s t o p h e r
Buckley, t h e s c h o l a r l y c o r r e s p o n d e n t for The Daily Telegraph w h o m a d e
up s o m e t h i n g of a trio w i t h t h e t w o close friends, all m e m b e r s of t h e
W a r C o r r e s p o n d e n t s C o m m i t t e e of w h i c h Moorehead w a s t h e c h a i r m a n .
'We k n e w each o t h e r well', de G u i n g a n d recalled in his Generals
at
War, ' a n d h a d m e t t o g e t h e r m a n y a t i m e to find a solution to s o m e
k n o t t y p r o b l e m . Once a m o n t h t h e y would i n v i t e m e to d i n n e r , a n d
w h e r e v e r we h a p p e n e d to b e [in C a i r o ] , or w h e t h e r in t h e shell a n d
b o m b d e s t r o y e d a r e a of t h e N o r m a n d y Bridgehead or in Brussels itself,
t h e food a n d w i n e p r o d u c e d w e r e all o n e could desire'. 'These people',
he added p u t t i n g a n adroit finger on t h e trio's f a m o u s ability to c o m b i n e
t h e d a n g e r o u s a n d t h e good life, ' c e r t a i n l y k n e w t h e i r w a y a b o u t ' .
30
Despite a tacit u n d e r s t a n d i n g of c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y a n d some privilege,
t h i s did n o t p r e v e n t t h e c o r r e s p o n d e n t s from w r i t i n g critically or, as
in M o o r e h e a d ' s case, of c o n v e y i n g a c o n t e x t u a l , s o m e t i m e s historical
u n d e r s t a n d i n g of w h a t w a s o c c u r r i n g . In N o r t h Africa, it w a s t h e
g a t h e r a c o h e r e n t p i c t u r e w a s by d r i v i n g h a r d from one h e a d q u a r t e r s to
a n o t h e r , a n d b y p i c k i n g u p r e p o r t s from t h e m o s t f o r w a r d u n i t s as t h e y
c a m e t h r o u g h on radio t e l e p h o n e . '
31
M o o r e h e a d in p a r t i c u l a r h a d t h e r e p u t a t i o n of d e v e l o p i n g especially
good r e l a t i o n s w i t h t h e h i g h c o m m a n d . Energetic a n d direct, w i t h
d i s t a n c e s t h a t proved a n obstacle to t h e best c o m m u n i c a t i o n . 'We never
"saw" a battle in t h e desert', he w r o t e later. 'The o n l y w a y we could
23
his t a c t i c a l k n o w l e d g e a n d s t r i k i n g b i r d s - e y e cover of t h e c a m p a i g n
s t r a t e g i e s , he c o m m a n d e d a t t e n t i o n . 'Most of t h e o t h e r c o r r e s p o n d e n t s ' ,
Pocock w r i t e s , ' w e r e in s o m e awe of him'.
32
Called in by t h e c o m m a n d e r
w i t h t h e o t h e r r e p o r t e r s for a p r e - b a t t l e briefing, he a c q u i r e d
the
r e p u t a t i o n of l e a d i n g t h e q u e s t i o n s . His m a n n e r w a s 'correct r a t h e r t h a n
c o u r t e o u s ' a n d he a p p e a r e d to be w i t h o u t fear. The g e n e r a l s responded
to his d i r e c t n e s s , a n d h i s r e p o r t i n g won repute.
W h i l e he w a s a b s e n t from t h e t r i u m p h at El A l a m e i n , M o o r e h e a d
met G e n e r a l
Montgomery personally
in A u g u s t
1943. It w a s
the
b e g i n n i n g of a f r i e n d s h i p t h a t w o u l d lead to h i s b i o g r a p h y of t h e feisty
g e n e r a l at t h e w a r ' s e n d . Back in L o n d o n , M o n t g o m e r y i n v i t e d h i m to
t o u r a r m y c a m p s w i t h h i m in E n g l a n d a n d , after S a r d i n i a , M o o r e h e a d
followed h i m to m a i n l a n d Italy to w i t n e s s t h e first v i c t o r i e s of t h e
Italian c a m p a i g n .
W i t h L u n e b u r g , t h e d e m a n d i n g , d r a m a t i c y e a r s on t h e b r i n k of b a t t l e
were over for A l a n M o o r e h e a d . In t h o s e y e a r s , this ' t r i m , slight figure,
d a r k and j a u n t y , w i t h s t e a d y eyes ... a n d a c e r t a i n r u t h l e s s c h a r m ' ,
as Tom Driberg d e s c r i b e d h i m at t h e w a r ' s end, had moved from a
l i t t l e - k n o w n press r e p o r t e r to b e c o m e a media s t a r ' w i t h a t o u c h of
genius'. Together w i t h t h e o t h e r m a i n British w a r c o r r e s p o n d e n t s , he
w a s a w a r d e d an OBE in 1946 for his s e r v i c e s as a w a r c o r r e s p o n d e n t .
'It should h a v e been a K!', friends p r o t e s t e d . In t h e event, it fell to his
proprietor, Lord Beaverbrook, steeped in h o n o u r for h i s c r u c i a l role as
M i n i s t e r for A i r c r a f t P r o d u c t i o n d u r i n g t h e Battle of Britain, to offer a
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y u n e m b e l l i s h e d word. 'You w e r e t h e best of all t h e w a r
c o r r e s p o n d e n t s ' , he w r o t e to M o o r e h e a d in J u n e 1946. 'And t h e millions
w h o got a fair, e x c i t i n g a n d a c c u r a t e p i c t u r e of t h e b a t t l e f r o n t s from
y o u r d e s p a t c h e s will w e l c o m e t h e d i s t i n c t i o n t h a t h a s been g i v e n you
as m u c h as I do'.
24
33
Savile Club,
69, Brook Street,W.l.
25
Field Marshal Montgomery
[1940s]
Alan Moorehead Papers MS5654, National Library of Australia
nla.ms-ms5654-0-2x-o-vl
War Office photograph
Echoes
of
Battle
MOOREHAD
ONCEexplainedtoArthur Christiansen the
difference between writing with timely speed for a newspaper
and writing in a form that captured the full resonance of an occasion
and conveyed it to the reader. 'We've got to give the news, quick and
straight and clear. That governs everything. But the reader's power
to absorb and the journalist's power to see and think and write and
transmit don't keep pace with one another ... So what do we do? ... some
of us say "Can I write a book? I never had time to tell the story."
Between 1941 and 1945 Moorehead published three books on the war
in North Africa—Mediterranean Front (1941), A Year of Battle (1942),
and The End in Africa (1943)—and in 1945 released his large sequel on
the European war, Eclipse. Written at breakneck speed in his Cairo flat
in periods snatched between campaigning, the first three books gave
him that 'time'. Irregular as it was, he seized it fiercely, building on the
material of his despatches, writing from dawn to dusk, marshalling an
overview with breadth and penetration, transcending the censor's daily
pencil, and bringing the scope and ambience of war and battle into
exciting and reflective prose.
The war in Africa and the Mediterranean fell naturally into three
phases. The first book, Mediterranean Front, subtitled The Year of
Wavell, 1940-41, dealt with General Sir Archibald Wavell's year as
27
British Chief-of-Staff,
t h e a t r e s of
war-the
M e d i t e r r a n e a n , a c o m m a n d t h a t took in five
W e s t e r n Desert, Greece, Crete, I t a l i a n East Africa
a n d Syria—and s m a l l s i d e s h o w s like Iraq a n d British S o m a l i l a n d . It
w a s a y e a r of t r e m e n d o u s e x p e r i m e n t s , of fast a n d e x c i t i n g c a m p a i g n s
p r e s i d e d o v e r by a m a n of t a c t a n d i n n o v a t i v e a p p r o a c h e s , y e t a y e a r ,
M o o r e h e a d s u m m e d up g r a p h i c a l l y , of
'thursting
a b o u t in t h e d a r k ;
t h e y e a r of bluff a n d q u i c k m o v e m e n t [when] n o b o d y k n e w
what
w a s g o i n g to h a p p e n , w h e n w h o l e a r m i e s w e r e flung a b o u t from o n e
place to
another...
M i d d l e East'.
in a f r a n t i c effort to find a new e q u i l i b r i u m in t h e
35
The second book, A Year of Battle, w h i c h H a m i s h H a m i l t o n l a u n c h e d
with 7 5 0 0 copies, focussed on The Year of Auchinleck
1941-42,
when
t h e Desert W a r b e c a m e ' t h e y e a r of set b a t t l e s a n d e v e n t u a l retreat', a
w a r of m o d e r n , more a d e q u a t e l y e q u i p p e d a r m i e s fighting 'in a s t r a i g h t
out issue b e t w e e n m a n a n d m a n , tank and t a n k , a r m y a n d a r m y '
36
and
c o n d u c t e d by G e n e r a l Sir Claude A u c h i n l e c k , a m a n of c o n t r a d i c t i o n s ,
at t i m e s r u t h l e s s , yet w i t h a m i n d of ' e x t r a o r d i n a r y freshness
and
originality'.
The t h i r d book, The End in Africa:
and
Montgomery
1942-43,
The Year of Eisenhower,
Alexander
covers a large a r e n a . It s t r e t c h e s
over
M o o r e h e a d ' s o w n visit to t h e USA in late 1942, a brief o b s e r v i n g t i m e
in E n g l a n d , a n d his r e t u r n to N o r t h Africa to follow t h e riddle of tactics
a n d t h e m o m e n t o u s new i n p u t s of e q u i p m e n t t h a t c h a r a c t e r i s e d t h i s
t h i r d stage of fighting and t h e final d e s p a t c h of t h e G e r m a n s
from
Africa in 1943.
M o o r e h e a d ' s b o o k s filled an i n s t a n t gap for r e a d e r s w h o , fuelled
by d a i l y r e p o r t s of action, s o u g h t o v e r a r c h i n g i n s i g h t s into, and
i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of, t h e Desert War. T h e r e w a s s o m e criticism
Moorehead
Manchester
accepted
Guardian,
gladly.
His
friend
and
colleague
from
which
The
Evelyn M o n t a g u e , i n v a l i d e d on leave, w r o t e h i m
f r a n k l y in J a n u a r y 1944: 'Your first book w a s plain b u t g o o d ; y o u r
28
second w a s s o p h i s t i c a t e d , a m u s i n g , and not so g o o d ; t h i s one is fretful,
worried, p a t c h i l y b r i l l i a n t a n d bad ... Do come h o m e a n d not w r i t e a
book ... give y o u r s e l f t i m e to relax a n d t a k e stock ... a n d t h e n , w h e n you
w r i t e s o m e t h i n g , don't r u s h it'.
It w a s not a view t h e p u b l i s h e r or r e v i e w e r s s h a r e d . For war, as t h e
celebrated A m e r i c a n w a r c o r r e s p o n d e n t , M a r t h a G e l l h o r n ,
insisted,
'is o u r c o n d i t i o n and o u r h i s t o r y ' . M o o r e h e a d ' s b o o k s a n d t h e i r s t u d y
of m e n in all c o n d i t i o n s of action a n d r e s p o n s i b i l i t y w h e n t h e fate
of t h e British Empire h u n g in t h e b a l a n c e , were a t e s t a m e n t to t h a t
history. B r o u g h t out by H a m i s h H a m i l t o n
as African
Trilogy
in
1944, t h e publication
in a collected
omnibus
had i m m e n s e
'Alan M o o r e h e a d ' s e y e - w i t n e s s a c c o u n t of t h e A f r i c a n
impact.
campaign',
d e c l a r e d The Observer t h a t December, 'is a classic ... Some of his b a t t l e
scenes s t a n d c o m p a r i s o n w i t h t h e f a m o u s battle d e s c r i p t i o n s of S t e n d h a l
a n d Tolstoy'. V.S. Pritchett, w r i t i n g in The New Statesman
and
Nation
declared, 'Not o n l y h a s he fine control of l a n g u a g e , a c o n s t a n t c u r i o s i t y
t h a t keeps h i m f e r r e t i n g out t h e c a m p a i g n e v e r y m i n u t e of his t i m e , a n d
a s t i m u l a t i n g j u d g m e n t , b u t he h a s a b a l a n c e d s e n s e of p e r s p e c t i v e ...
I c a n n o t t h i n k of a more s p a c i o u s a n d more bitterly l i v i n g t r e a t m e n t ' .
Despite imperfections, M o o r e h e a d saw t h e v o l u m e as 'a complete and
e x p l a n a t o r y p i c t u r e ' of t h e North African w a r a n d , a w a i t i n g t h e o p e n i n g
of t h e Second Front, he rejoiced in his celebration as a successful author.
As a u t h o r and editor Michael H e y w a r d s u g g e s t s , j o u r n a l i s m had won
Moorehead ' t h e kind of readership most a u t h o r s o n l y d r e a m about'. But
w r i t i n g s u b s t a n t i a l w a r histories w a s a different task. Of wide d i m e n s i o n
and peopled by g e n e r a l s , c o m m a n d e r s , a d m i r a l s , air force and naval
p e r s o n n e l , world leaders and politicians, African
Trilogy
links a v a s t
t e r r i t o r y of c a m p a i g n s , battles, strategy, p l a n n i n g , p e r f o r m a n c e , w a s t a g e
and resolve, and a l w a y s t h e fighting
m e n - t h e British,
Australian,
New Z e a l a n d , A m e r i c a n , Italian a n d G e r m a n soldiers—in t h e i r v a r i e d
p a r t i c i p a t i o n , e n d u r a n c e a n d sacrifice.
Echoes o
29
Here, as a s a m p l e , is M o o r e h e a d ' s a c c o u n t of t h e r e p l a c e m e n t of
t h e A u s t r a l i a n s at Tobruk in J u l y 1941 w h e n n e a r l y t h e w h o l e of t h e
N i n t h A r m y Division w a s t a k e n off a n d i n t e r c h a n g e d with t w o English
b r i g a d e s a n d a b r i g a d e of fighting Poles.
I carry still a p h o t o g r a p h i c p i c t u r e in m y m i n d of t h e d a r k
h a r b o u r of Tobruk. Over on t h e right s o m e w h e r e lies t h e
w r e c k of t h e Italian liner Marco
Polo a n d a n o t h e r vessel
t h a t b y s o m e freak of t h e w e a t h e r or h i g h e x p l o s i v e h a d
edged a good t w e n t y feet of its b o w s onto t h e yellow cliffs
on t h e s o u t h e r n side of the h a r b o u r . On the left lie the broken
b u i l d i n g s of t h e t o w n r i s i n g tier on tier up to t h e crest of the
p r o m o n t o r y w h i c h b i n d s t h e h a r b o u r on its n o r t h e r n side.
In b e t w e e n is t h e h e a v y d a r k n e s s of the h a r b o u r itself. All
a r o u n d is t h e noise a n d s h a r p light of g u n f i r e .
The dockside l a b o u r e r s s t r a i n i n g t h e i r eyes c a n just m a k e
out t h e low h u l k of a m o v i n g ship ... The decks a r e crowded
w i t h m e n in full kit. No o n e smokes. T h e r e is a n e x c h a n g e of
shouted orders from the d e s t r o y e r ' s bridgehead and a n s w e r s
from t h e q u a y a n d t h e n t h e m e n b e g i n filing off...
T h o u s a n d s of m e n h a v e stood on Tobruk q u a y s w a t c h i n g
t h i s s c e n e w h i l e they, too, w a i t e d in full m a r c h i n g kit for t h e
order to go a b o a r d ... to go a b o a r d a n d leave Tobruk a n d get
a spell of rest a n d q u i e t n e s s a n d good food back in E g y p t or
P a l e s t i n e . W h i l e t h e y p o n d e r e d ... m a n y h a v e t h o u g h t , 'Will
t h e r e be room for m e ? ' T h e r e a l w a y s w a s room.
37
W h i l e M o o r e h e a d missed t h e ill-fated c a m p a i g n s in Greece a n d Crete,
his a c c o u n t , g a r n e r e d a n d t r a n s f o r m e d at s e c o n d - h a n d , of t h e G e r m a n
a s s a u l t on Crete w h e r e s o m e 27 0 0 0 British, A u s t r a l i a n a n d New Z e a l a n d
soldiers h a d been e v a c u a t e d from Greece, h a s striking power.
30
Upon Suda c a m e s o m e t h i n g t h a t had n e v e r been seen in action
in t h e world before—glider t r o o p s . Over t h e g r e a t knoll t h a t
forms t h e s e a w a r d side of t h e b a y c a m e big, t r o o p c a r r y i n g
a e r o p l a n e s , d r a w i n g gliders b e h i n d t h e m ... each glider had
t h e w i n g s p r e a d of a large p a s s e n g e r m a c h i n e . T h e y c a r r i e d
t e n m e n . As t h e y swept up to t h e b a y t h e glider pilots slipped
t h e i r cables a t t a c h i n g t h e m to t h e m o t h e r craft a n d floated
out o v e r t h e r o c k y hills l o o k i n g for a l a n d i n g place, a n d t h e
m e n w h o saw t h e m c o m e said t h e y were more s i n i s t e r t h a n
t h e p a r a c h u t i s t s , s t r a n g e r and more m e n a c i n g . Some flew
s t r a i g h t upon Corps H e a d q u a r t e r s , as t h o u g h t h e y would
land t h e r e , a n d each soldier below felt t h e l a n d i n g would be
m a d e upon his o w n head. But t h e w i n g s tilted just over t h e
t r e e t o p s ... The m a c h i n e s c r a s h e d h e a v i l y in a s h a r p r o c k y
v a l l e y and t h e c r e w and p a s s e n g e r s were killed o u t r i g h t .
Moorehead's c o n c e p t u a l and t h e m a t i c stretch in his North
38
African
books is u n r i v a l l e d by a n y of t h e o t h e r w a r c o r r e s p o n d e n t s . 'We were
c o n s t a n t l y t r y i n g to outdo one a n o t h e r in t h e dispatches we sent to o u r
n e w s p a p e r s , and later on, in t h e books we wrote', he a d m i t t e d candidly.
This w a s c e r t a i n l y t r u e in his intense and intricate relationship with Alex
Clifford whose books Crusader a n d Three against Rommel were published
in w a r t i m e . But it w a s his fellow A u s t r a l i a n , Chester Wilmot, w h o c a m e
closest to Moorehead's a c h i e v e m e n t with his c o m m a n d i n g e y e - w i t n e s s
book, Tobruk
(1951). 'Moorehead and Wilmot', t h e d i s t i n g u i s h e d a u t h o r and
w a r o b s e r v e r Phillip Knightley affirms, 'tower above all t h e o t h e r s ' .
Undoubtedly
Moorehead's
North
African
books
added
Montgomery,
meeting
copies. After t h e war, African
him
Trilogy
in
1943, at o n c e
39
greatly
to h i s w a r t i m e r e p u t a t i o n a n d e n h a n c e d h i s s t a n d i n g at The
Express.
for
asked
Daily
for
was translated into German
Echoes of Battle
Europe
1941 (1944) and his later, d o c u m e n t e d study, Struggle
31
a n d D u t c h a n d , t i m e l e s s , c i r c u l a t e d to new g e n e r a t i o n s of r e a d e r s
t h r o u g h t h r e e r e p r i n t s in B r i t a i n , from
1965 to 2 0 0 0 , a n d t h r o u g h
Text P u b l i s h i n g ' s A u s t r a l i a n e d i t i o n in 1997. M o o r e h e a d ' s skill w a s
n e v e r to u n d e r e s t i m a t e h i s r e a d e r s . His w a r t i m e b o o k s w e r e w r i t t e n
passionately
for
audiences
that
ranged
from
the
generals
who
c o n d u c t e d t h e c a m p a i g n s , t h r o u g h t h e f i g h t i n g m e n w h o w a n t e d to
c o m p r e h e n d t h e i r o w n f r a c t u r e d s t o r i e s , to a s i g n i f i c a n t p u b l i c w h i c h ,
despite long e x p o s u r e to t h e war, w i s h e d to see it in t h e r o u n d . T h e
s t o r y of t h e A f r i c a n c a m p a i g n s , t h e c r i t i c W.P. Rilla s u m m e d up in
The New Statesman
and Nation,
w o u l d go d o w n in history as o n e of t h e
g r e a t epics of m a n k i n d . 'But', he a d d e d , 'it will do so l a r g e l y t h a n k s
to Mr M o o r e h e a d ' s a c c o u n t w h i c h m a k e s o n e of t h e m o s t r e m a r k a b l e
b o o k s of this, or a n y o t h e r m o d e r n w a r ' .
M o o r e h e a d ' s f o u r t h w a r book, Eclipse,
some very uncomfortable
40
w r i t t e n , as he a d m i t t e d , 'in
places', covered v e r y different
territory.
'Eclipse' w a s t h e code n a m e g i v e n b y t h e Allies to t h e i r last o p e r a t i o n
of t h e w a r in E u r o p e a n d his book is a t e n s e a n d c o m p e l l i n g story of
t h e relentless s t r u g g l e t h a t s p a n n e d British, C a n a d i a n a n d A m e r i c a n
m i l i t a r y efforts to defeat t h e I t a l i a n s in Sicily a n d on t h e m a i n l a n d , a n d
to w r e n c h F r a n c e , Belgium, Holland and t h e rest of occupied Europe
from t h e G e r m a n s ' g r a s p .
It b e a r s once more t h e h a l l m a r k s of his d e s c r i p t i v e b r i l l i a n c e , his pace,
his s e n s e of t e n s i o n , his p a r t i c i p a t i o n ( d a n g e r o u s , at t i m e s w i t h a touch
of s w a s h b u c k l i n g ) , his feeling for t h e soldiery of b o t h sides w a g i n g a
terrible a n d i m m e n s e l y d e s t r u c t i v e w a r in a l a n d s c a p e of v i l l a g e s a n d
t o w n s . It p r e s e n t s , too, his o v e r a r c h i n g p e r c e p t i o n a n d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of
t h o s e d r a m a t i c c a m p a i g n s t h a t t h r u s t in from all p o i n t s of t h e c o m p a s s ,
from British, A m e r i c a n , C a n a d i a n a n d Russian forces, to d r a w t h e final
net t i g h t on t h e A x i s ' m i l i t a r y m a c h i n e .
Here in Europe he e x p e r i e n c e d a s t r i k i n g l y different w a r from t h e
fleet a n d mobile b a t t l e s of t h e e m p t y desert. A s t h e f i g h t i n g m o v e d
32
t h r o u g h F r a n c e , Belgium, Holland and G e r m a n y , he e n c o u n t e r e d for t h e
first t i m e t h e c i v i l i a n people d i r e c t l y involved in war, t h e i r f a r m s a n d
v i l l a g e s a n d t h e desolation t h e y e x p e r i e n c e d from e r u p t i n g b a t t l e s . In
N o r m a n d y , at t h e b a t t l e for Caen, w h i c h t h e Allies had s e c u r e d after a
bitter s t r u g g l e , M o o r e h e a d r e c o r d s :
We bolted for t h e u n c e r t a i n cover of t h e o u t e r s u b u r b s , a n d
c a m e at once u p o n such d e s o l a t i o n s t h a t one could t h i n k
o n l y of t h e surface of t h e m o o n . W h e r e t h r e e - a n d fourstorey h o u s e s had b e e n , t h e r e were now m e r e l y hollows in
t h e g r o u n d , row after row of i m m e n s e craters ... T h e v e r y
e a r t h w a s reduced to its o r i g i n a l d u s t . . . T h e r e w e r e no longer
s t r e e t s or f o o t p a t h s or a n y decided e v i d e n c e t h a t h u m a n
b e i n g s had once b e e n h e r e a n d lived. T h e r e w a s a k i n d
of a n a r c h y in t h i s w a s t e , a t h i n g a g a i n s t w h i c h t h e m i n d
rebelled ... This w a s t h e end of t h e world, t h e end of t h e war,
t h e final e x p r e s s i o n of m a n ' s desire to destroy.
41
A n d at t h e h a m l e t of St. L a m b e r t and t h e d e s t r u c t i o n of G e n e r a l v o n
Kluge's a r m y , he d r a w s on one of his Express
d e s p a t c h e s to reflect, from
a w e l l - s t o c k e d m i n d , on t h e i m m e n s e i m p a c t of British a r t i l l e r y a n d t h e
w a n t of r e a s o n for s u c h c a r n a g e .
T h e y r a n in t h e d i r e c t i o n of t h e fire [he w r i t e s of t h e G e r m a n
a r m y ] s h o u t i n g t h a t t h e y had s u r r e n d e r e d . They g a v e up in
h u n d r e d s u p o n h u n d r e d s . T h e r e w a s no fight left in t h e m
a n y more, a n d now, here, you c a n see w h a t is left by t h e
b a t t l e in t h e w a r m m i d d a y s u n l i g h t . It is e x a c t l y like one
of t h o s e crowded b a t t l e p a i n t i n g s of Waterloo or B o r o d i n o except of c o u r s e t h e w r e c k a g e is d i f f e r e n t . . . I t h i n k I see t h e
end of G e r m a n y h e r e . This w a s t h e i r best in w e a p o n s a n d
Echoes
33
m e n , t h e i r s t r o n g e s t b a r r i e r before t h e R h i n e ... The b e a t e n
W e h r m a c h t is a pitiable t h i n g .
42
In P a r i s for its l i b e r a t i o n , w i t h t h e people's r e i t e r a t i v e cry, 'Nous
avons attendus
si longtemps',
M o o r e h e a d w a s one of the first
vous
journalists
to a t t e m p t to describe t h e a t t i t u d e of the French t o w a r d s t h e i r G e r m a n
c a p t o r s d u r i n g t h e i r y e a r s of o c c u p a t i o n . As one w h o had worked in
a n d loved P a r i s as a city m o r e w o n d r o u s t h a n all o t h e r s , he w a n t e d to
u n d e r s t a n d w h y the P a r i s i a n s , in m a n y cases so c o m p l i a n t , had come
to detest les sales Boches so intensely. The o c c u p y i n g forces, he a r g u e s ,
had kept t h e city b e a u t i f u l ; t h e people w e r e by no m e a n s in r a g s ; t h e
Metro r a n ; most people had a bicycle; t h e c i n e m a s a n d n i g h t c l u b s were
w o r k i n g ; t h e r e w a s food. Under G e r m a n rule, in fact, life w a s not o n l y
possible, it w a s profitable if y o u collaborated a little. So w h y now t h e
c o n c e n t r a t e d b l i n d i n g h a t r e d ? His c o n v e r s a t i o n s w i t h old friends a l w a y s
r e v e r t e d to the fact t h a t , in a n a t m o s p h e r e of c o n s t a n t s u r v e i l l a n c e , w i t h
t h e G e s t a p o at work a n d the enforced b e t r a y a l s a n d d e a t h , ' P a r i s i a n s fell
into a fearful a n d hateful silence w i t h one a n o t h e r ' . P a r i s had b e c o m e
d i v i d e d a g a i n s t itself, ' a n d t h e people had lost t h e i r c a p a c i t y to speak,
to l a u g h , and t h e i r pride'.
43
At t h e final eclipse of G e r m a n y , assailed by deep e x h a u s t i o n a n d
compassion
fatigue,
Moorehead
a r r i v e d w i t h t h e Allied t r o o p s
to
confront Belsen c o n c e n t r a t i o n c a m p . His d e s c r i p t i o n s , framed at firsth a n d of that d r e a d f u l place, a r e f o r t h r i g h t . Yet his reflective j u d g m e n t — a s
other
jounalists
railed a g a i n s t t h e horror—appears r e m a r k a b l y m a t u r e .
' W h a t w e w e r e seeing', he set d o w n , ' w a s s o m e t h i n g from t h e d a r k ages,
t h e b r e a k i n g up of a m e d i e v a l slave state ... It w a s all like a
journey
d o w n into s o m e D a n t e s q u e pit, u n r e a l , leprous a n d f r i g h t e n i n g . A n d
now as one e m e r g e d into t h e light a g a i n one's first c o h e r e n t r e a c t i o n s
were not of d i s g u s t or a n g e r or e v e n , I t h i n k , of pity. S o m e t h i n g else
filled t h e m i n d , a frantic desire to ask: " W h y ? W h y ? W h y ? W h y h a s it
34
h a p p e n e d ? " ' 'This is not war', he a n s w e r e d himself. 'Nor is it a n y t h i n g
to do w i t h h e r e a n d now, w i t h t h i s one place at t h i s one m o m e n t . T h i s is
timeless a n d t h e whole world a n d all m a n k i n d is involved in it ... How
did we let it h a p p e n ? '
His c o n c l u s i o n showed a w i s d o m h o n e d by w a r : 'Be v i g i l a n t ' , he
w r o t e , 'to s n a p t h e long c h a i n s t h a t lead to t h e future Belsens before
t h e y g r o w too long'. T h e n ' o n l y t h e m e n t a l d a n g e r r e m a i n s ... The d a n g e r
of i n d i f f e r e n c e ' .
Moorehead's
44
relief at t h e completion
of his w a r v o l u m e s
was
j u s t i f i a b l y great. 'Eclipse c o m e s out tomorrow,' he scribbled in his d i a r y
on 25 October 1945, ' t h e f o u r t h , a n d please God, t h e last of my w a r
b o o k s . H a m i l t o n insists it is good a n d is p r i n t i n g 30 0 0 0 ... How a n y o n e
can b e a r to read a book a b o u t t h e w a r at t h i s m o m e n t is e n t i r e l y b e y o n d
me'. A n d yet ' h e r e t h e y come—all t h e old feelings one h a s w h e n a book
is out: a n x i e t y , s m u g satisfaction, e m b a r r a s s m e n t at w h a t people say
a n d , a b o v e all, a sense of relief a n d r e l e a s e ' .
Eclipse
45
p o r t r a y e d t h e end of an era, a book t h a t would inform m e n
and w o m e n for y e a r s to c o m e . I n t r o d u c i n g t h e G r a n t a p a p e r b a c k edition
in 2 0 0 0 , more than h a l f - a - c e n t u r y later, Phillip K n i g h t l e y w r i t e s , 'This
a c c o u n t of t h e Allied v i c t o r y over Hitler, of t h o s e m a n y battles w i t h
s t r a n g e n a m e s now dim in m e m o r y is a t r i u m p h , an inspired, s u s t a i n e d
piece of w r i t i n g by a m a s t e r of his craft ... a m a s t e r p i e c e ... b r i l l i a n t a n d
i m a g i n a t i v e ' - w o r d s t h a t e c h o e d t h e refrain of r e v i e w e r s a r o u n d t h e
world at t h e book's o r i g i n a l release.
The b a t t l e s over, t h e r e w a s , however, to be a final coda to M o o r e h e a d ' s
w a r t i m e w r i t i n g s . A y e a r later, his biography, Montgomery,
b o o k s t a l l s and w a s serialised in The Sunday
Express.
filled t h e
M o o r e h e a d had
celebrated t h e e c c e n t r i c but h i g h l y p o p u l a r general in c o m m a n d of t h e
T h e r e he
o b s e r v e d h i m , ' t a u t , like a piece of b a r b e d wire', as a leader w h o had
s t r i p p e d a w a y from h i m s e l f most of t h e d i v e r s i o n s of life to b e c o m e a
Echoes of Battle
British Eighth A r m y in N o r t h Africa in The End of Africa.
35
m i l i t a r y m i s s i o n a r y of i n t e n s e c o m m i t m e n t a n d c o n c e n t r a t i o n , but a
leader ' w i t h a m a g i c t o u c h w i t h h i s troops'. Urged on by
Arthur
C h r i s t i a n s e n , he d e t e r m i n e d to w r i t e M o n t g o m e r y ' s life.
T h e t w o m e n found m u t u a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g . T h e r e w a s s o m e t h i n g in
M o n t y ' s skill in c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d o u t s p o k e n n e s s , h i s i m p a t i e n c e w i t h
h y p o c r i s y a n d e v a s i o n , a n d his simple e n j o y m e n t of t h e limelight t h a t
spoke to M o o r e h e a d ' s A u s t r a l i a n n e s s . T h e y had a n o t h e r b o n d . B e r n a r d
M o n t g o m e r y h a d spent his c h i l d h o o d y e a r s in A u s t r a l i a , c o m i n g to
H o b a r t at t h e age of t w o w h e n his father, H e n r y M o n t g o m e r y , w a s
installed as Bishop of T a s m a n i a . There, in t h e beautiful
surrounding
c o u n t r y s i d e , M o n t y s p e n t his c h i l d h o o d a n d d e v e l o p e d as a restless, selfpropelled loner w h o g r e w t o u g h a n d s u n b u r n t in t h e A u s t r a l i a n b u s h .
In 1901, aged 13, he r e t u r n e d w i t h his family to London and w a s sent,
w i t h all t h e t r a p p i n g s of a colonial, to St Paul's School, H a m m e r s m i t h .
Fortuitously, at school his p a s s i o n a t e o u t - o f - d o o r s i n t e r e s t s a n d his
a c t i v e s p o r t s m a n s h i p t h r u s t M o n t g o m e r y into p r o m i n e n c e a n d to t h e
sort of leadership a n d control he w o u l d c h o o s e to e x e r c i s e t h r o u g h o u t
h i s career.
' T h e r e w a s ' , M o o r e h e a d w r i t e s , ' v e r y little r e p o s e in his n a t u r e
... E v e r y t h i n g
in M o n t g o m e r y ' s
life w a s d o n e w i t h p u r p o s e
and
p e r s i s t e d in to t h e b i t t e r a n d s o m e t i m e s b a r r e n end'. In t h i s lucid
s t u d y , M o o r e h e a d , c o m m u n i c a t i n g in f r e q u e n t i n t e r v i e w s w i t h t h e
g e n e r a l , s e t s aside t h e a d r e n a l i n p a c e of h i s w a r b o o k s a n d p r o v i d e s
a d i s c e r n i n g p o r t r a i t of t h e y o u t h f u l M o n t y a n d t h e e m e r g e n t soldier,
s t u b b o r n , fiercely d e t e r m i n e d , r i s i n g t h r o u g h a m i l i t a r y c a r e e r w h e r e
he did n o t r e a d i l y forget t h e rebuffs a n d s e t - b a c k s t h a t m a r k e d h i s
e a r l y efforts
against
a u t h o r i t y . He also p r e s e n t s t h e
determined,
c h a r i s m a t i c figure of t h e N o r t h A f r i c a n c a m p a i g n s a n d t h e v i g o r o u s
British
military
helmsman
who
confronted
General
Eisenhower
o v e r t h e c r o s s i n g of t h e R h i n e a n d t h e defeat of G e r m a n y . T h r o u g h
b r i l l i a n c e a n d p e r s o n a l i t y , M o n t g o m e r y , in h i s t r a d e m a r k black b e r e t ,
36
w a s i n e v i t a b l y n e w s . 'He a t t r a c t e d trouble', w r i t e s M o o r e h e a d ,
other men attracted indifference'.
'as
46
R e s e a r c h i n g M o n t g o m e r y ' s early life g a v e M o o r e h e a d t h e o p p o r t u n i t y
to visit A u s t r a l i a after an a b s e n c e of n e a r l y a decade a n d , in t h e a f t e r m a t h
of his m o t h e r ' s d e a t h and t h e earlier loss of his b r o t h e r B e r n a r d , w h o
died in Hong Kong at t h e age of 30, to r e c o n n e c t w i t h his father and
his sister, Phyllis. He c o m p o s e d c h u n k s of t h e b i o g r a p h y s i t t i n g on t h e
v e r a n d a of his father's home, d e s c r i b i n g for Lucy ' t h e w h i t e trunk of t h e
g u m t r e e on t h e left ... k o o k a b u r r a s , bell b i r d s a n d t h e clear s q u a w k of
t h e m a g p i e s ... a n d a k i n d of peace here w a s h e d d o w n by c u p s of t e a ' .
He dedicated t h e b i o g r a p h y to his father. 'Your
47
Montgomery—your
masterpiece!', Richard Moorehead responded w a r m l y to t h i s honour. 'You
h a v e c o n c e n t r a t e d on r e v e a l i n g Monty by t h e great and small e v e n t s of
his whole c a r e e r and t h e result is a c o h e r e n t a n d intensely i n t e r e s t i n g
p i c t u r e ... Your p e n e t r a t i o n a n d b a l a n c e I confess a m a z e me. I h a v e no
doubt you h a v e set y o u r seal on y o u r reputation with t h i s work.'
M a n y seals, in effect,
had b e e n set. M o o r e h e a d ' s
48
Montgomery,
n o n e t h e l e s s , w a s t h e first off t h e r a n k in a long line of b i o g r a p h i e s to be
w r i t t e n about Britain's c h a r i s m a t i c g e n e r a l , j u d g e d by m a n y to be t h e
most i m p o r t a n t British m i l i t a r y leader since W e l l i n g t o n . M o o r e h e a d ' s
first-hand k n o w l e d g e a n d o b s e r v a t i o n of his subject gave his book
special s t r e n g t h a n d its first edition of some 53 0 0 0 copies, published
in Britain and t h e USA in 1946 and 1947 respectively, both delighted
its subject and d r e w critical i n t e r n a t i o n a l a c c l a i m . Here, declared
R.H.S. C r o s s m a n , is 'a c h a r a c t e r s t u d y of real i m p o r t a n c e ' ,
i m a g i n a t i v e , a n o n y m o u s r e v i e w e r of The Times
Literary
49
while t h e
Supplement
c a u g h t at its d i s t i n c t i v e style. 'The a u t h o r h a s a m i n d like one of t h o s e
small and e n o r m o u s l y e x p e n s i v e c a m e r a s ... w h a t e v e r he sees, up goes
With Montgomery,
Moorehead m a r k e d an end a n d a b e g i n n i n g , a
fitting w a r t i m e c l o s u r e a n d a l i t e r a r y rite of p a s s a g e .
Echoes of Battle
t h e c a m e r a , and you have, in a n y light, a b e a u t i f u l l y defined picture.'
37
Alan Moorehead receiving the Duff Cooper Memorial Prize
for Gallipoli
from W i n s t o n Churchill
[1956]
Moorehead F a m i l y Collection. Reproduced with permission from the family.
'The Mediterranean
Man'
O O R E H E A D EMERGED from t h e w a r as a celebrity. He w a s
elected to t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Mark Twain Society to j o i n such
assorted l u m i n a r i e s as H a r r y T r u m a n , General M o n t g o m e r y and General
A l e x a n d e r , Eugene O'Neil and Mrs Roosevelt, w h i l e t h e Chevalier
I'Ordre de Leopold
de
II w a s b e s t o w e d u p o n h i m by t h e B e l g i a n s . He w a s
also t a k e n up by t h a t influential hostess, N a n c y C u n a r d , a n d London
o p e n e d its doors to h i m .
He h a d u n d e r g o n e a s i g n i f i c a n t m e t a m o r p h o s i s from t h e
brash
y o u n g A u s t r a l i a n w h o h a d a r r i v e d in E n g l a n d in 1936 a n d p u s h e d
h i s w a y to a s t r i k i n g c a r e e r as a w a r c o r r e s p o n d e n t . A l e x
Clifford's
i n f l u e n c e had b e e n t r a n s f o r m i n g . L i v i n g a n d t r a v e l l i n g t o g e t h e r in
t h e d e s e r t , s l e e p i n g side by side u n d e r t h e s t a r s , t h e t w o friends had
discussed
talked
philosophy
long t h r o u g h
and
the
literature, 'argued
about Jane
n i g h t s of i n t e r n a t i o n a l
Austen',
politics a n d
the
f u t u r e world, M o o r e h e a d i m b i b i n g h i s friend's i n t e l l e c t u a l i n t e r e s t s
a n d s o p h i s t i c a t i o n a n d a c q u i r i n g s o m e of h i s g e n t l e m a n l y e t i q u e t t e
a n d s e n s e of d r e s s . Lucy, w h o r e p r e s e n t e d all t h e t h i n g s a b o u t t h e
E n g l i s h w h i c h M o o r e h e a d as a n e w a r r i v a l m o s t a d m i r e d , had lent
h e r p a r t i c u l a r polish a n d cool. E n c o u n t e r i n g h i m , Geoffrey Cox found
M o o r e h e a d ' c o m p l e t e l y c h a n g e d - s o p h i s t i c a t e d , c o n f i d e n t , worldly', h i s
former A u s t r a l i a n a c c e n t firmly c l i p p e d .
39
T h e r e w a s a n o t h e r c o n s p i c u o u s e l e m e n t in M o o r e h e a d ' s d e v e l o p m e n t .
From h i s s u s t a i n e d c o v e r of f i g h t i n g a n d h i s o v e r v i e w s of m a n y
t h e a t r e s of war, he h a d n u r t u r e d a c o m p e l l i n g s e n s e of s e l f - d e m a n d .
In Cairo, w o r k i n g o n h i s w a r t i m e b o o k s , he had c u l t i v a t e d a d a i l y
r o u t i n e of r i s i n g early, r e a d i n g h i s t o r i c a l works—Tolstoy's War and
Peace a n d t h e w r i t i n g s of C l a u s e w i t z w e r e a m o n g
them-and
writing
for 8 to 10 h o u r s a day. He w a s b e c o m i n g s o m e t h i n g of a s c h o l a r w i t h
ideas of a v o c a t i o n as a w r i t e r s h a p i n g in h i s m i n d . In L o n d o n briefly,
e a r l y in 1943, he o u t l i n e d h i s t h o u g h t s of a b a n d o n i n g
journalism
to
C h r i s t i a n s e n . He w a s s w i f t l y s u m m o n e d b y Lord B e a v e r b r o o k for a
w e e k e n d at h i s c o u n t r y h o m e at Cherkley. It w a s r i g h t l y said t h a t
Lord B e a v e r b r o o k w a s t h e a c t u a l e d i t o r of The Daily
Express
Christiansen
Beaverbrook,
sitting
its d a y - b y - d a y
editorial
manager,
and
and
a c r o s s t h e l a r g e s t m a s s c i r c u l a t i o n n e w s p a p e r in B r i t a i n , w a s
n o t a b o u t to let h i s ' p r i n c e of w a r c o r r e s p o n d e n t s ' slip t h r o u g h his
net. They discussed North African reinforcements and politics briskly
a c r o s s t w o d a y s . M o o r e h e a d , h o w e v e r , did n o t fall for h i s p r o p r i e t o r ' s
l e g e n d a r y c h a r i s m a , a l t h o u g h he r e p o r t e d to Lucy t h a t B e a v e r b r o o k
' w o u l d like to see m e in a place of s o m e p o w e r after t h e w a r ... w h e r e
I c a n t a k e a big part'.
50
A y e a r or so after t h e w a r ' s end, M o o r e h e a d , poised to fly to E u r o p e to
r e p o r t on t h e a p p e a r a n c e of peace, s o u g h t h i s freedom a g a i n . A s he told
C h r i s t i a n s e n , he no longer 'had t h e h e a r t to go on in t h e old way, r u s h i n g
from one n e w s e v e n t to a n o t h e r ' : t h e one thing he w a n t e d to do w a s to
write.
51
Lord Beaverbrook w o o e d h i m w i t h a n o t h e r c o u n t r y w e e k e n d -
d r i n k , t a l k , flattery. To no avail. From t h a t m o m e n t , M o o r e h e a d ceased
to e x i s t for Lord B e a v e r b r o o k . He n e v e r m e n t i o n e d his n a m e a g a i n .
By 1947, M o o r e h e a d ' s g o a l s h a d f i r m e d . I n s t i t u t i o n a l p r e s s u r e h a d
to g o . He m a d e a r r a n g e m e n t s w i t h D a v i d A s t o r of The Observer,
a
p a p e r t h a t reflected p o l i t i c a l v i e w s to m a t c h h i s o w n , to r e p o r t as a
' S p e c i a l C o m m i s s i o n e r ' on G r e e c e a n d Italy, G e r m a n y a n d t h e USA,
40
a n d on India a n d P a k i s t a n , w h e r e he i n t e r v i e w e d t h e last Viceroy,
Lord M o u n t b a t t e n , a n d o t h e r figures i n v o l v e d in the transfer of p o w e r
back to t h e c i t i z e n s of t h o s e t w o r e c e n t l y p a r t i t i o n e d
countries.
T h e r e he r e c a p t u r e d t h e i n t e n s e f e e l i n g for India w h i c h he had first
e x p e r i e n c e d d u r i n g h i s p e r c e p t i v e w a r t i m e r e p o r t i n g of t h e Cripps
M i s s i o n for t h e Express
Trilogy.
in 1942, of w h i c h h e w r o t e v i v i d l y in
Africa)!
He loved t h e 'sweet h u n g e r in t h e v e r y smell of t h e g r o u n d ' ,
a n d t h e 'deep b r e a t h i n g , i n s e c t c a l l i n g air', a n d took t i m e to visit
K a s h m i r w h e r e h e f o u n d i n s p i r a t i o n for h i s s u b s e q u e n t n o v e l , The
Rage of the
Vulture.
Back in E u r o p e a n d Italy, friends
pointed
h i m to a
rambling
f i f t e e n t h - c e n t u r y villa for rent in t h e hills outside Florence, a n d in
S e p t e m b e r 1948, M o o r e h e a d g a t h e r e d up h i s family—Lucy, a n d h i s son
a n d d a u g h t e r , J o h n a n d Caroline, (their last child, Richard, would be
b o r n in 1951)—and moved from London to Tuscany. Installed in t h e
Villa Diana, a place of peaceful, historical b e a u t y , M o o r e h e a d saw his
d r e a m of b e c o m i n g a R e n a i s s a n c e m a n , or at least a ' M e d i t e r r a n e a n
man', take s h a p e . 'We h a v e been t w o d a y s in t h e Villa Diana now', he
w r o t e in h i s diary, 'it gives a s t r a n g e s e n s a t i o n of q u i e t u d e , t h e s e n s e of
b e i n g in t h e r i g h t place'.
T h e v i l l a w o u l d b e c o m e t h e s u b j e c t of a c o l l e c t i o n of e s s a y s
M o o r e h e a d p u b l i s h e d in 1950 a s The Villa Diana.
It h a d b e e n t h e h o m e
of A n g e l o P o l i z i a n o , p o e t a n d friend of L o r e n z o t h e M a g n i f i c e n t a n d
t u t o r to h i s s o n . T h e s p i r i t of the brilliant a n d p r e d a t o r y P o l i z i a n o
still h o v e r e d a b o u t t h e h o m e , w h i c h w a s m a r k e d by a m e m o r i a l p l a q u e
at t h e entrance d e s c r i b i n g h i m as ' t h e g r e a t e s t h u m a n i s t of h i s t i m e ' .
he p u b l i s h e d in the New Yorker,
writings
p r e f i g u r e d t h e i n t e r e s t in h i s t o r i c a l
he c a m e to d e v e l o p . It a l s o f o c u s s e d h i m as a w r i t e r w h o m
t h e m a g a z i n e ' s r e v e r e d editor, H a r o l d Ross, q u i c k l y s o u g h t to h a r n e s s
as o n e of the New Yorker's
far-flung correspondents.
The Mediterranean Man
M o o r e h e a d ' s e v o c a t i v e article on h i m , ' T h e G h o s t in the Villa', w h i c h
41
At t h e villa, t h e family w a s soon to d i s c o v e r t h e closely i n t e r w o v e n
t h r e a d of r u r a l Italian life. W i t h one s e r v a n t , Paola t h e cook, t h e y
w e r e i n t r o d u c e d in no t i m e to a host of relatives, t r a d e s m e n , t h e w i n e dealer, t h e olive presser, c h a n c e a c q u a i n t a n c e s f r e q u e n t i n g t h e villa
a n d u n i d e n t i f i e d c h i l d r e n a c c o m p a n i e d b y dogs r o a m i n g t h r o u g h t h e
front h a l l . ' "My God", my wife said', M o o r e h e a d w r o t e in t h e e n g a g i n g
first c h a p t e r of his book,' " t h e r e m u s t be an end to it s o m e w h e r e " '. But
t h e r e w a s no end in Italy. 'No m a n here', he s u m m e d up wisely, 'is a n
island ... W h e n t h e c h u r c h bell tolls just a few y a r d s up t h e hill b e h i n d
t h e h o u s e it tolls for e v e r y m a n j a c k of us ... We die, m a r r y a n d get b o r n
h e r e w i t h a s t o n i s h i n g frequency, a n d e v e r y t i m e s o m e t h i n g h a p p e n s
t h e bell tolls'.
52
E n t r a n c i n g as it w a s , t h i s p e r i o d of professional t r a n s i t i o n
full of c h a l l e n g e for M o o r e h e a d . T h o u g h publicly a successful
was
man,
p r a i s e d by r e v i e w e r s a n d c o l l e a g u e s , s o u g h t by t h e l i t e r a t i , a n d as
sales of Eclipse
a n d Montgomery
raced t h r o u g h s o m e 100 0 0 0 copies,
M o o r e h e a d faced a deep crisis of c o n f i d e n c e a n d a n x i e t y . T h e r e w a s
a s t r u g g l e to m a k e e n d s m e e t ; The Daily
Express
h a d offered
no
grateful b o n u s in farewell. For a t i m e , M o o r e h e a d w i s h e d to follow in
H e m i n g w a y ' s footsteps, w r i t i n g n o v e l s o u t of a c t i o n . The Rage of the
Vulture,
set in t h e fictional s t a t e of K a n d a h a r as M u s l i m a n d H i n d u
v i o l e n c e e n g u l f e d India at p a r t i t i o n , w a s s u c h a one. W i t h its d e c i d e d l y
c a r d b o a r d c h a r a c t e r s of t h e Raj, it w a s p u b l i s h e d at t h e end of 1948 to
b o t h friendly a n d c r i t i c a l r e v i e w s a n d w a s later m a d e into a film. He
also b e g a n a s e c o n d novel, t e n t a t i v e l y titled 'Celine', d r a w i n g on t h e
social e x p e r i e n c e of his o w n life in Italy. It w o u l d e m e r g e in t i m e as A
Summer
Night.
He a n d Lucy visited H e m i n g w a y , t h e n l i v i n g at C o r t i n a w i t h his
f o u r t h wife, Noel M o n k s ' former wife a n d t h e i r friend, M a r y Welsh.
H e m i n g w a y , M o o r e h e a d noted w r y l y , c a m e in from s h o o t i n g d u c k s , 'a
w a l k i n g m y t h of h i m s e l f , c a r t r i d g e belts a n d s t r i n g s of teal a n d m a l l a r d
42
f e s t o o n i n g h i s shoulder. Later, in t h e quiet of t h e i r c o n v e r s a t i o n , he
found a s e r i o u s m a n w h o t a l k e d to h i m about b o o k s , ' a l w a y s of w r i t i n g ,
a n d w i t h t h e h u m i l i t y a n d d o u b t of a w r i t e r w h o reads for five h o u r s
or so e v e r y day, a n d w h o w r i t e s a n d r e - w r i t e s for a s long as h i s b r a i n
will work, k n o w i n g t h a t it is o n l y a m i r a c l e t h a t he will ever a c h i e v e a
p h r a s e , e v e n a word, t h a t will c o r r e s p o n d to t h e vision in h i s mind'.
53
His o w n a t t e m p t at e m u l a t i o n w a s n o t successful. W o r k i n g in t h e most
c o n g e n i a l c o n d i t i o n s he h a d ever e x p e r i e n c e d , 'complete isolation from
8.20 to 1.30, a long table, a dark room w i t h t w o small b r i g h t w i n d o w s ' ,
M o o r e h e a d w a s c o m i n g to t h e r e l u c t a n t c o n c l u s i o n t h a t he w a s n o t a
n a t u r a l w r i t e r of fiction.
'I think I k n o w m y s e l f a s a w r i t e r n o w ' , he confided in h i s d i a r y
early
in
1949. ' D e s c r i p t i o n
of s c e n e s ,
places,
action:
excellent.
R e a d a b l e n e s s , c o n t i n u i t y , t e m p o , c o n s t r u c t i o n : first c l a s s . W r i t i n g :
often first c l a s s , s o m e t i m e s b e t t e r or w o r s e . D i a l o g u e : n a t u r a l a n d
fluent b u t w i t h o u t a n y w i t or p a r t i c u l a r s u b t l e t y or i n s p i r a t i o n .
C h a r a c t e r s : v e r y b a d , w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n of o c c a s i o n a l flukes d r a w n
from life. P l o t s : h o p e l e s s . '
54
The fact w a s , as he c a m e to a d m i t , h i s break a w a y from
daily
j o u r n a l i s m a n d its safe factual r o u t i n e w a s p r o v i n g ' a l t o g e t h e r too
tough'. A m i d t h e h o n e y e d life, a n d t h e b e a u t y , a n d t h e ennui j u s t held
at bay, M o o r e h e a d , c o n d i t i o n e d by a long, e x c i t i n g a n d e x a c t i n g w a r ,
found h i m s e l f ' r e d u c e d to a s t a t e of helplessness a n d f r u s t r a t i n g idleness,
c a s t i n g about for s o m e t h i n g to get m y t e e t h into'. 'Time, M a c h i a v e l l i
55
says', he r u m i n a t e d , 'drives e v e r y t h i n g before it. Not me'.
In t h i s state of s e l f - d i s t r u s t , he h a d t h e good f o r t u n e to find a
There, t h e A m e r i c a n e x p a t r i a t e a r t critic a n d w r i t e r B e r n a r d B e r e n s o n ,
had lived for m a n y y e a r s at t h e villa I Tatti, w i t h h i s great l i b r a r y a n d
a swirl of friends w h o flocked from all p a r t s of the world to visit t h e
impressive R e n a i s s a n c e scholar. In 1948 w h e n Moorehead first m e t h i m ,
d i s t i n g u i s h e d ally a n d m e n t o r on the o t h e r side of the hill at S e t t i g n a n o .
43
B e r e n s o n w a s 8 3 , a pale, p a p e r - t h i n , h i g h l y alert figure, s o m e t h i n g of
an i n s t i t u t i o n , w h o s e c u r i o s i t y for people a n d t h e life of a r t r e m a i n e d
v i v i d l y alive. Happily, t h e 3 8 - y e a r - o l d M o o r e h e a d a n d t h i s
highly
s o p h i s t i c a t e d a n d k n o w l e d g e a b l e c o n n o i s s e u r found r a p p o r t .
'There
w a s a c u r r e n t flowing b e t w e e n us', M o o r e h e a d recalled, 'an i n s t i n c t i v e
l i k i n g ... he w i s h e d me n o t h i n g but good a n d I k n e w it, a n d as a result he
b e c a m e t h e foster-father I so b a d l y needed'. I would not t h e n , nor would
I now,
write
anything
or t a k e a n y major decision w i t h o u t c o n s c i o u s l y
or s u b c o n s c i o u s l y s u m m o n i n g up t h e light precise voice, t h a t d e t a c h e d
and marvellously retentive mind, and instantly I know what I should
or should not d o . '
56
B e r e n s o n h a d invited M o o r e h e a d to t h e villa b e c a u s e he liked one
of his w a r b o o k s . Now, i n t e r e s t e d a n d s u p p o r t i v e , he m a d e his l i b r a r y
a v a i l a b l e a n d , t u n e d to t h e y o u n g e r m a n ' s a s p i r a t i o n s , c o u n s e l l e d h i m
on w h a t he m i g h t or m i g h t not w r i t e . A c r o s s t h e n e x t 10 y e a r s (for he
lived to be 94), B e r e n s o n kept in t o u c h w i t h his A u s t r a l i a n friend, his
brief l e t t e r s s c a t t e r e d a m o n g M o o r e h e a d ' s p a p e r s , e n g a g e d b y his t r a v e l
a n d a d v e n t u r e s , a d m i r i n g h i s 'gift of e a s y a n d s t i m u l a t i n g w r i t i n g '
57
a n d following his New Yorker articles t h r o u g h his o w n eclectic r e a d i n g .
The old s c h o l a r clearly found in h i m , as M o o r e h e a d s u r m i s e d , 'a c e r t a i n
f r e s h n e s s , p e r h a p s , a n d t h e J o h n s o n i a n p l e a s u r e of
instructing
a young
disciple'—and a b o v e all, affection.
In t h i s p e r i o d of s e l f - v a l i d a t i o n , Lucy w a s v i t a l . Since t h e i r d a y s
in Cairo, she had s h a r e d in t h e p r o d u c t i o n of h i s b o o k s , a d v i s i n g ,
t y p i n g , e d i t i n g , proof r e a d i n g , i n d e x i n g a n d later a b r i d g i n g s o m e for
r e p u b l i c a t i o n . This a s s i s t a n c e w a s v i t a l to h i s p r o d u c t i o n mill a n d
b e c a m e a leitmotif
of t h e i r m a r r i a g e . T h e y d i s c u s s e d ideas. M o o r e h e a d
w a s a r e c e p t i v e listener a n d prized her highly. She had g i v e n up her o w n
c a r e e r to b e c o m e his a n c h o r . Yet, s e a r e d b y his r e s t l e s s n e s s , his
accidie
w h e n b o r e d o m set in, she w a s often left on h e r o w n . A s h i s r e p o r t i n g
c o m m i s s i o n s took h i m a r o u n d Europe a g a i n in t h e late 1940s, a n d back
44
to t h e Middle East, he w r o t e her, 'Dear P u s s , I a b a n d o n y o u so much
alone'. T h r o u g h it all s h e r e m a i n e d h i s c o n f i d a n t e a n d b u t t r e s s . S e r v i n g
a p a r t i c u l a r k i n d of
man-driven,
egocentric, passionate, a m b i t i o u s -
she m a n a g e d in h e r letters to m a i n t a i n a perfect t o n e of c o m m i t m e n t ,
b l i t h e n e s s a n d u n d e r s t a n d i n g . She c a l m l y m a n a g e d h i s h o u s e h o l d a n d
l i t e r a r y affairs, a n d c o n t a i n e d h e r o w n n e e d s .
But in 1950, o v e r w h e l m e d at last b y h i s r e a l i s a t i o n t h a t he h a d
not l e a r n t to w r i t e from w i t h i n himself, M o o r e h e a d r e t u r n e d w i t h h i s
family to London a n d took a job for e i g h t m o n t h s a s P u b l i c Relations
Officer at the M i n i s t r y of Defence, c h a r g e d to set u p a n i n f o r m a t i o n
a n d public r e l a t i o n s s e r v i c e at a t i m e w h e n Britain w a s s h a p i n g its
policy for t h e a t o m i c a g e . Not s u r p r i s i n g l y , t h e role did not suit h i m
a n d s e r v e d to u n d e r s c o r e h i s w r i t e r ' s s e n s e of w a s t e . He also d i s c u s s e d
t h e p r o s p e c t of s o m e d i p l o m a t i c post in t h e
Australian
Foreign S e r v i c e
w i t h t h e A u s t r a l i a n High C o m m i s s i o n e r , Sir T h o m a s W h i t e . W h i t e
u r g e d h i m on a n d M o o r e h e a d d r a f t e d l e t t e r s to A u s t r a l i a ' s S e c r e t a r y
of E x t e r n a l Affairs a n d t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r . Both Casey a n d M e n z i e s
replied
cordially-Moorehead's
name
temporising message that openings
were
carried
clout—but
for n o n - d e p a r t m e n t a l
with
the
officers
58
rare.
Happily, h i s job i n v o l v i n g n u c l e a r affairs steered h i m to h i s n e x t
b o o k , The Traitors,
The Double
p u b l i s h e d by H a m i s h H a m i l t o n in 1952. Subtitled
Life of Fuchs,
Pontecorvo,
and Nunn
May, it a d d r e s s e d a
subject of h i g h public interest a n d c o n t e m p o r a r y c o n t e n t i o n . A d o p t i n g
t h e lively f a c t u a l s t y l e h e m a s t e r e d a s a r e p o r t e r , M o o r e h e a d tells a
d r a m a t i c t a l e of the m u r k y lives of three t r a i t o r s , all b r i l l i a n t p h y s i c i s t s
1910 a n d 1913 w h o , after o u t s t a n d i n g
postgraduate
s t u d i e s , e n t e r e d t h e h i g h l y secret world of w a r t i m e a t o m i c r e s e a r c h .
Their a p p o i n t m e n t s took t h e m into t h e confidential
h e a r t of t h i s
r e s e a r c h in three c o u n t r i e s — C a n a d a , t h e USA a n d Britain—from w h e r e ,
individually, they transferred their covert findings and knowledge
born between
45
to t h e Soviet G o v e r n m e n t . At t h e w a r ' s end, N u n n May r e t u r n e d to
a l e c t u r e s h i p in p h y s i c s at King's College, London w h i l e F u c h s a n d
P o n t e c o r v o w e r e a p p o i n t e d to t w o of t h e top p o s t s at Britain's n e w
p o s t w a r a t o m i c e n e r g y e s t a b l i s h m e n t at H a r w e l l . After t h e i r c a p t u r e ,
N u n n May a n d F u c h s paid for t h e i r acts of n a t i o n a l t r e a c h e r y w i t h long
p r i s o n t e r m s , w h i l e P o n t e c o r v o a n d his f a m i l y d i s a p p e a r e d into Russia
without a trace.
M o o r e h e a d ' s book displays v i v i d p o r t r a i t s of a trio of v e r y different
men—the quiet, u n p r e p o s s e s s i n g E n g l i s h m a n N u n n May, t h e well-liked
e m i g r e Karl F u c h s , a n d t h e h i g h l y c o n v i v i a l I t a l i a n P o n t e c o r v o . It is
rich in detail from t r i a l r e c o r d s a n d i n t e r v i e w s w i t h key s c i e n t i s t s
at H a r w e l l , a n d is in one s e n s e a n i n v e s t i g a t i o n
of t h e roots of
t r e a c h e r y . ' N i n e t y p e r cent of us', he enticed his r e a d e r s , ' n e v e r h a v e a n
o p p o r t u n i t y of a l t e r i n g h i s t o r y ' . W h y t h e s e m e n in p a r t i c u l a r should
h a v e t u r n e d traitor, w h e n t h e v a s t majority of t h e i r colleagues did not,
w a s a q u e s t i o n t h a t n e e d e d to be a n s w e r e d . S e a r c h i n g as M o o r e h e a d ' s
e n q u i r y w a s , t h e r e w a s no c o n c l u s i v e a n s w e r . However, in t h e long
h i s t o r y of e s p i o n a g e , The Traitors p i n p o i n t e d a n e w p r o t o t y p e of t r a i t o r
w h o , a b o v e society, g a v e a w a y i n f o r m a t i o n not for m o n e y or p o w e r but
for ' t h e good of m a n k i n d ' .
The book had i m p a c t . Sir A l e x a n d e r Korda u s e d it as t h e b a s i s for t h e
film The Iron Curtain;
it w a s b r o a d c a s t in t h r e e p a r t s by t h e BBC, while
t h a t A m e r i c a n c l a r i o n of t a s t e a n d j u d g m e n t , The Christian
Monitor,
Science
p r o n o u n c e d it 'of a b s o r b i n g interest a n d major s i g n i f i c a n c e
for w e s t e r n society'. It sold w i d e l y a n d , s i g n i f i c a n t l y for M o o r e h e a d ' s
public r e p u t a t i o n , it s t i r r e d political criticism in t h e House of C o m m o n s
w h e r e it w a s c l a i m e d t h a t too m u c h i n f o r m a t i o n w a s d i v u l g e d on British
c o u n t e r - e s p i o n a g e m e t h o d s . Not so, said P r i m e M i n i s t e r C h u r c h i l l . 'It
w a s h i g h t i m e t h a t a t r u t h f u l a n d s u b s t a n t i v e a c c o u n t of t h e s e t h r e e spy
episodes w a s published.' 'Mr Moorehead', he added w i t h a smile, ' h a s my
full
46
confidence'.
59
Shored
up financially
a n d with his own confidence
restored,
M o o r e h e a d w a s c o n t e n t for a t i m e to stick to h i s old metier— h i s
journalistic
from
best. W i t h The Traitors
in p r e s s , h e a c c e p t e d a n i n v i t a t i o n
Sir Keith M u r d o c h , p r o p r i e t o r of h i s old M e l b o u r n e
pad, The Herald,
launch
to visit A u s t r a l i a a n d turn h i s e x p a t r i a t e e y e on
t h e c o u n t r y h e h a d first left 15 y e a r s before. He a r r i v e d b y s h i p in
April 1952 to Herald h e a d l i n e s ' F a m e d A u t h o r Revisits A u s t r a l i a ' a n d ,
l i n k i n g up w i t h t h e
Australian
n o v e l i s t Nevile S h u t e , h e s e t forth on
a journey o v e r l a n d from Alice S p r i n g s t o D a r w i n a n d on t o n o r t h e r n
Queensland.
His i m p r e s s i o n s ,
flowing
into The Herald
c o l u m n s a n d as several
lively articles in t h e New Yorker, would a p p e a r a y e a r later as a p a r t
memoir, p a r t travel book, Rum Jungle.
For a r e s p o n s i v e
American
a u d i e n c e delighted by t h i s w a l k a b o u t Down Under, b o t h book a n d
articles u n f u r l e d t h e i n c o n g r u i t i e s of A u s t r a l i a a n d its c u r i o u s fauna,
t h e world's richest u r a n i u m m i n e of t h e title chapter, stored in a n
a n t e d i l u v i a n A b o r i g i n a l land, a n d the b r i l l i a n t life of the Great Barrier
Reef. But for A u s t r a l i a n readers, t h e book s k i m m e d t h e surface a n d
e x p o s e d superficial m i s c o n c e p t i o n s . The l i t e r a r y Geoffrey Dutton j u d g e d
it a failure a m o n g M o o r e h e a d ' s works, b e c a u s e he h a d r e t u r n e d to his
country with a
journalist's
eye.
60
Yet for M o o r e h e a d , t h e e x p e r i e n c e of
w r i t i n g Rum Jungle b r o u g h t h i m a n u n e x p e c t e d a n d
exhilarating
sense
of r e c o n n e c t i o n w i t h h i s c o u n t r y . ' S o m e t h i n g is h a p p e n i n g to me', he
w r o t e eagerly to Lucy. 'Outside me is delight in most of t h e t h i n g s I find
here. I love it. I feel so well ... I h a v e m o m e n t s of s a y i n g let's all come
here—John to Geelong G r a m m a r , Caroline to Toorak College, a h o u s e at
There
was another
61
key e l e m e n t
in h i s t h i n k i n g .
Just
before
M o o r e h e a d sailed for M e l b o u r n e , h i s m u c h loved c o m p a n i o n , Alex
Clifford, a friend w h o could n e v e r be replaced, died w i t h Lucy a n d
F r a n k s t o n ... t r i p s to J a v a a n d S i n g a p o r e ... T h e r e is so m u c h I w a n t to
e x p l o r e on t h i s side of the world.'
47
A l a n b y h i s side, after a c o u r a g e o u s t w o - y e a r fight w i t h c a n c e r . He
w a s 4 2 . M o o r e h e a d h a d also suffered t h e loss of o t h e r close w a r t i m e
c o l l e a g u e s : C h r i s t o p h e r B u c k l e y h a d b e e n killed in t h e Korean W a r in
t h e s a m e t r u c k as The Times'
t a l e n t e d c o r r e s p o n d e n t , Ian M o r r i s o n .
Both Phillip J o r d a n , in Tunisia for The News
M o n t a g u e , t h e Manchester
Guardian's
Chronicle,
a n d Evelyn
w a r c o r r e s p o n d e n t , w e r e dead.
T h e loss of t h i s b r i l l i a n t b r i g a d e of e x p e r i e n c e d j o u r n a l i s t s
(later
i n c r e a s e d by Chester W i l m o t ' s d e a t h in t h e Comet c r a s h of J a n u a r y
1954) w a s d e e p l y d e p r i v i n g for M o o r e h e a d w h o saw h i m s e l f as 'the lone
s u r v i v o r ' , c u t off from v a l u e d professional e x c h a n g e . It had, m o r e o v e r ,
as he would p u b l i c l y a c k n o w l e d g e in a n a d d r e s s at The Sunday
Times
Book E x h i b i t i o n d u r i n g 1955, d e p r i v e d Britain 'of its m o s t v a l u a b l e a n d
e x p e r i e n c e d c o m m u n i c a t o r s at the v e r y t i m e w h e n t h e m a s s c i r c u l a t i o n
of press, radio a n d t e l e v i s i o n b u r s t u p o n t h e w o r l d ' .
62
In t h i s s i t u a t i o n ,
A u s t r a l i a offered ' a n o t h e r c o u n t r y ' .
P e r h a p s it w a s t h e w a n t of e n t h u s i a s m in his English wife (who had
b e e n a p p a l l e d , w h e n M o o r e h e a d i n t r o d u c e d h e r to A u s t r a l i a early in
1946, to d i s c o v e r t h a t n o one had read his books) w h i c h t u r n e d his
A u s t r a l i a n m u s i n g i n t o a d r e a m . He w a s , in t h e e v e n t , soon b a c k in
E u r o p e t r a v e l l i n g a n d r e p o r t i n g , his r e p u t a t i o n as a d i s c e r n i n g critic
of c o n t e m p o r a r y affairs o u t in front. He h a d t w o m o r e b o o k s to w r i t e
w h i c h g r e w from, a n d fitted, h i s m a s t e r l y
The Sunday
journalistic
craft. In 1954,
Times c o m m i s s i o n e d h i m to p r o d u c e a series of a r t i c l e s on
Sir W i n s t o n C h u r c h i l l , to c e l e b r a t e t h e n a t i o n a l icon's 8 0 t h b i r t h d a y
t h a t N o v e m b e r . T h i s p r o d u c e d a literary p o r t r a i t w h i c h b e c a m e a m u c h
p u b l i s h e d , t h o u g h n o w l a r g e l y f o r g o t t e n , work titled Winston
in Trial and
Triumph.
Churchill
It is an e x c e l l e n t s m a l l b o o k , t h e first s h o r t ,
i n t e r p r e t i v e b i o g r a p h y of a figure t h e n s i t t i n g as a b a c k b e n c h e r in t h e
H o u s e of C o m m o n s , l o o k i n g b a c k on a life of a c t i o n a n d p a r l i a m e n t a r y
participation
across the
reign
of h a l f - a - d o z e n
British
monarchs,
from Queen Victoria to Queen E l i z a b e t h , a n d ' a l m o s t a l w a y s m o v i n g
48
a g a i n s t t h e tide'. In h i s e a s y c o n v e r s a t i o n a l style, M o o r e h e a d a d r o i t l y
m a p s C h u r c h i l l ' s early life, h i s p a r t in t h e D a r d a n e l l e s c a m p a i g n , h i s
role w h e n ' t h e c u r i o u s sick-room h u s h s e t t l e d o v e r E n g l a n d ' at t h e
a b d i c a t i o n of E d w a r d VIII, h i s l e a d e r s h i p a n d o r a t o r y in war, h i s
f a m o u s Iron C u r t i n s p e e c h in M i s s o u r i , a n d h i s v a s t w r i t i n g s . T h e r e
is, i n d e e d , little in C h u r c h i l l ' s r e m a r k a b l e life t h a t h e does n o t t o u c h ,
l i g h t l y a n d tellingly, w i t h h i s w o r d s . He r e m i n d s u s t h a t C h u r c h i l l
w a s 70 w h e n t h e w a r e n d e d . M u s s o l i n i , 15 years h i s j u n i o r , Roosevelt
eight y e a r s y o u n g e r , a n d Hitler, w e r e all dead, w h i l e Stalin, s o m e four
y e a r s y o u n g e r , h a d o n l y e i g h t more y e a r s to go. 'We h a v e g r o w n used
to l i v i n g w i t h C h u r c h i l l t h r o u g h m a n y y e a r s ' , he w r i t e s , c a t c h i n g at a
c o n t e m p o r a r y r e a d e r s h i p , ' a n d h e is as f a m i l i a r to u s as the h e a d m a s t e r
at school, or the c a p t a i n of a ship on a long v o y a g e ' . Now, 'the story of
this
extraordinary
lap t h a t c o u n t s ' .
life is a b o u t t o p a s s into legend ... A n d it is t h e last
63
In t h e pattern of h i s life, C h u r c h i l l w o u l d r u n
through
Moorehead's
w r i t i n g s a n d e x p e r i e n c e like a t h r e a d . I n d e e d , it w a s M o o r e h e a d w h o
w a s s u m m o n e d b y The Sunday
in t h e last cold d a y s of
in-state
Express
January
from h i s writer's r e t r e a t in Italy
1965 to a t t e n d t h e g r e a t m a n ' s l y i n g -
in London a n d the f u n e r a l at St Paul's C a t h e d r a l , a n d to c o n v e y
t h e final d e p a r t u r e of this t o w e r i n g figure to h i s c o u n t r y m e n .
Moorehead's second c o m m i s s i o n e d work in t h e 1950s w a s more
e x p a n s i v e , following a n i n v i t a t i o n from Life Magazine
to p r o d u c e , first
a series of articles a n d , ultimately, a book on t h e Russian Revolution.
The idea w a s s p u r r e d by r e c e n t r e s e a r c h at G e o r g e t o w n
University
into d o c u m e n t s released from t h e G e r m a n Foreign M i n i s t r y a r c h i v e s
Lenin to power. M o o r e h e a d , r e a d i n g widely in t h e s e c o n d a r y s o u r c e s ,
produced t h e articles w i t h d e s p a t c h . His e x t e n s i v e c h r o n o l o g i c a l notes
on t h i s c o m p l e x piece of h i s t o r y a n d its dramatis
personae
are captured
in t h e w o r k i n g n o t e b o o k s a m o n g h i s p a p e r s a n d afford an i n s t r u c t i v e
t h a t s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e G e r m a n s h a d played a decisive role in b r i n g i n g
49
p i c t u r e of his m e t h o d o l o g y . His articles were serialised w i t h fanfare in
Life a n d t h e The Sunday
Times,
a n d t h e book The Russian
Revolution,
w a s p u b l i s h e d jointly by H a m i s h H a m i l t o n a n d Collins in Britain a n d
t h e United States in 1957.
'Mr Moorehead', one r e v i e w e r v e n t u r e d , 'could not w r i t e b a d l y if he
tried'.
64
But g i v e n M o o r e h e a d ' s lack of first-hand r e s e a r c h or k n o w l e d g e
of Russia a n d its l a n g u a g e , it could be little more t h a n a n
a n d accessible
journalistic
Scholarly critics j u d g e d
efficient
a c c o u n t of t h i s epic e v e n t in world history.
his b i b l i o g r a p h y
jejeune
65
a n d his
Lenin-
w a s - a - G e r m a n - a g e n t t h e s i s as 'little more t h a n a b u r d e n to him'. The
book, however, b r o u g h t h i m to t h e a t t e n t i o n of A u s t r a l i a ' s e m i n e n t
h i s t o r i a n , M a n n i n g Clark. ' A n y o n e w h o w r i t e s or s p e a k s a b o u t t h e
Russian Revolution', Clark affirmed w i t h s o m e feeling, ' r u n s t h e risk
of his c h a r a c t e r , or his i n t e l l e c t u a l ability, b e i n g a n a l y s e d in public',
b u t t h e book ' h a d m u c h to c o m m e n d it to t h e g e n e r a l r e a d e r ' .
66
What
M o o r e h e a d did v e r y well, he said, w a s ' t h e gossip of t h e Revolution'.
For t h o s e w h o saw it as a record of t h e p r i v a t e lives of t h e G a p o n s ,
t h e R a s p u t i n s , t h e Nicholases, t h e t s a r i n a s , 'he h a s w r i t t e n a useful
a n d e n t e r t a i n i n g book'. It w a s a review t h a t b e s p o k e a p e r s o n a l regard
a n d i n i t i a t e d a friendship b e t w e e n t h e t w o m e n . A m e r i c a n s c h o l a r s
took it more seriously. Variously reissued, The Russian
Revolution
was
p r e s c r i b e d in 1961 as a set book in first y e a r C o n t e m p o r a r y History at
Brown U n i v e r s i t y .
67
N o n e t h e l e s s , well before his polished
journalistic
forays into Churchill
a n d t h e Russian Revolution, and despite w o r l d w i d e r e c o g n i t i o n as an
a u t h o r a n d biographer, M o o r e h e a d w a s l o o k i n g for s o m e t h i n g more. He
a w a i t e d t h e m o m e n t of p e r s o n a l i l l u m i n a t i o n . 'I a m never h a p p y ' , he
had confided to Lucy in a letter of April 1952, ' u n t i l I get a m o m e n t of
i n s p i r a t i o n . All t h e b r i g h t l y - p o l i s h e d t e c h n i c a l work like The
Traitors
doesn't really do a n y good. But t h e n , w h e r e in hell is i n s p i r a t i o n ? Alex
d i d n ' t h a v e it. Nor C h r i s t o p h e r ... Will I, one day, t u r n s o m e w o n d e r f u l
50
corner, a n d t h e r e it will all be—some acres a n d acres of i n s p i r a t i o n
s t a r i n g me in t h e f a c e ? '
68
U n k n o w i n g , t h e i m p u l s e to create a major work, h i s m a s t e r p i e c e
Gallipoli,
w a s close at h a n d . A l a n M o o r e h e a d w a s on t h e edge of t h e
m o s t i m p o r t a n t step of his l i t e r a r y career.
The
5I
Gallipoli
S
E V E R A L I N F L U E N C E S b r o u g h t M o o r e h e a d to t h i s
unexpected
shore. Sir Keith M u r d o c h ' s i n v i t a t i o n for h i m to visit A u s t r a l i a
in 1952 h a d u n a n t i c i p a t e d c o n s e q u e n c e s . For t h i s m e e t i n g , he did his
h o m e w o r k . He s t u d i e d h i s d i s t i n g u i s h e d host's c a r e e r a n d w a s alert to
t h e role Keith M u r d o c h h a d played in World W a r 1 w h e n , as a y o u n g
n e w s p a p e r reporter, he h a d stopped at Gallipoli on his w a y to E n g l a n d
a n d , a p p a l l e d by t h e terrible w a s t e of life a n d t h e m a n a g e m e n t of t h e
h i g h c o m m a n d , he h a d c o m m u n i c a t e d his critical view in a n influential
letter to Britain's P r i m e M i n i s t e r a n d to his o w n P r i m e Minister, A n d r e w
Fisher. U n f o r t u n a t e l y , on t h i s visit, M o o r e h e a d did not m e e t M u r d o c h ,
w h o w a s ill in hospital a n d soon to die, b u t t h e i r c o m m o n link—both
journalists
in different wars—lingered in h i s m i n d a n d sowed an early
seed of interest in t h e h i s t o r i c b a t t l e of t h e Gallipoli P e n i n s u l a .
Like all y o u n g A u s t r a l i a n s of t h e 1920s a n d 1930s, M o o r e h e a d h a d
b e e n drilled in t h e s t o r y of h i s c o u n t r y ' s sacrifice a n d t h e c o u r a g e s h o w n
d u r i n g t h e ill-fated c a m p a i g n at t h e D a r d a n e l l e s . At Scotch College, he
h a d stood t h r o u g h t h e c e r e m o n i e s e a c h A n z a c Day on 25 April w i t h
t h e old g e n e r a l s ' s p e e c h e s , t h e ennui,
a n d t h e little g l a s s case of m e d a l s
h a n g i n g in t h e school h a l l . A l l m y life', h e w r o t e later, 'I w a s b r o u g h t
u p in A u s t r a l i a s u r r o u n d e d b y m y elders talking a b o u t t h i s c a m p a i g n .
We w e r e t h e n e x t g e n e r a t i o n a n d n a t u r a l l y we t h o u g h t all t h e s e old
53
m e n b o r i n g . I c o u l d n ' t go to a n y little c o u n t r y t o w n w i t h o u t s e e i n g t h e
w h i t e s t a t u e , t h e m e m o r i a l hall, a n d t h e n t h e A n z a c Day p a r a d e s w h i c h
seemed to me just to end in d r u n k e n sprees'.
69
W h e n he left A u s t r a l i a he
swore to h i m s e l f t h a t he would ' n e v e r t h i n k a g a i n or e x p o s e myself to
t h e idea of A n z a c a n d Gallipoli'.
But w h e n a
visting
E n g l i s h friend, Lionel Fielden, c a m e d o w n s t a i r s
o n e e v e n i n g w h i l e s t a y i n g w i t h t h e M o o r e h e a d s in Italy in t h e early
1950s, a n d p r o d u c e d his p e r s o n a l d i a r y of t h e Gallipoli
campaign,
M o o r e h e a d w a s ' a b s o l u t e l y c a p t i v a t e d ' . The seed of i n s p i r a t i o n took
deep root. He at o n c e b e g a n r e a d i n g m i l i t a r y h i s t o r i e s of the D a r d a n e l l e s ,
a b s o r b i n g t h e m e m o i r s of g e n e r a l s , a d m i r a l s a n d p o l i t i c i a n s , as well
as t h e official r e p o r t s a n d d e s p a t c h e s on t h e c a m p a i g n . He also read
s u c h w o r k s as e x i s t e d on t h e Turkish o p e r a t i o n s , a n d s t a r t e d g a t h e r i n g
p r i v a t e p a p e r s of British a n d A u s t r a l i a n soldiers w h o had
fought
at Gallipoli.
M e l b o u r n e University, he w o u l d a c k n o w l e d g e later, had t a u g h t h i m
'one v i t a l thing—the t e c h n i q u e of how to l e a r n ' .
70
P l u n g i n g into t h e
historical s o u r c e s on Gallipoli, he found he could c o n c e n t r a t e w i t h an
a b s o r p t i o n t h a t would n e v e r h a v e b e e n possible w i t h o u t his a c a d e m i c
t r a i n i n g . J o u r n a l i s t t u r n e d incipient scholar, M o o r e h e a d had
found
h i s t r u e subject for t h e t e l l i n g . 'Now, m o r e t h a n at a n y t i m e since t h e
e n d i n g of t h e war', he jotted h a p p i l y in h i s journal in May 1954, T a m
settled ... as far as work is c o n c e r n e d a n d p r o b a b l y for t h e n e x t e i g h t e e n
m o n t h s or t w o years'.
He visited Turkey early in 1955 a n d , after d i s c u s s i o n s w i t h t h e Turkish
M i n i s t r y of Defence, he w a s g i v e n t h e r u n of t h e i r m i l i t a r y a r c h i v e s
w i t h m a p s specially p r e p a r e d for h i m . He had access to A t a t u r k ' s d i a r y
in t h e g r e a t m i l i t a r y leader's o w n h a n d w r i t i n g w h i c h , w h e n he had
it t r a n s l a t e d , t u r n e d out to be ' t e r r i b l y dull'. T o u r i n g t h e Gallipoli
P e n i n s u l a in t h e c a r e of a n officer of t h e Turkish A r m y ' s Historical
D e p a r t m e n t , Colonel Sirer, w h o h a d fought at Gallipoli, M o o r e h e a d
54
absorbed t h e h a r s h l a n d s c a p e w i t h its wild, precipitous hills, its clear
light, t h e blue A e g e a n sea, a n d its ' c o m p e l l i n g sense of peace', a n d w a s
a c u t e l y a w a r e t h a t , for A u s t r a l i a n s , ' t h e r e could be no o t h e r s t o r y like
it'. Two of h i s u n c l e s had fought at Gallipoli and one, F r a n k M o o r e h e a d ,
aged 24, had b e e n killed at A n z a c Cove in t h e first r u s h up t h e b e a c h .
They found his g r a v e in a r u g g e d v a l l e y a b o v e t h e cove w i t h a plaque
u p o n it and, g l a n c i n g r o u n d , M o o r e h e a d saw t h a t Colonel Sirer had come
to a t t e n t i o n , his r i g h t h a n d d r a w n up s m a r t l y in t h e Turkish salute.
For M o o r e h e a d , it w a s t h e m o m e n t of t r u t h , t h e i n s t a n t
t h e Gallipoli c a m p a i g n , as he w r o t e t h a t April in h i s e v o c a t i v e
Yorker
article, ' R e t u r n to a Legend', m o v e d 'from
legend
when
New
through
history, to t h e p o i n t w h e r e it a l m o s t seemed to h a v e b e c o m e a p e r s o n a l
e x p e r i e n c e of m y own'.
He p r e p a r e d t h e first draft of Gallipoli w h i l e l i v i n g w i t h his f a m i l y for
n i n e m o n t h s at a friend's olive estate on t h e Greek island of Spetses, close
to t h e D a r d a n e l l e s , w a n t i n g to w r i t e in t h e a t m o s p h e r e of t h e c a m p a i g n ,
a n d a r m e d w i t h 30 b o o k s from t h e London Library. The D a r d a n e l l e s
were t h e Hellespont of Homer, t h e city of Troy w i t h its r e s o n a n c e of
The Iliad on t h e n e a r b y coast. M a n y b o o k s had b e e n w r i t t e n a b o u t t h e
old c a m p a i g n of 4 0 y e a r s before a n d t h e r e w a s no m o r e c o n t r o v e r s i a l
c h a p t e r in t h e a n n a l s of World W a r 1 t h a n t h e Allied a t t e m p t to t a k e t h e
D a r d a n e l l e s b y a n a v a l b o m b a r d m e n t and a bitter n i n e - m o n t h b a t t l e on
t h e Gallipoli P e n i n s u l a t h a t e x t e n d e d from 25 April to D e c e m b e r 1915.
However, no b o o k had b r o u g h t t h e c a m p a i g n , its politics a n d p l a n n i n g ,
its fierce fighting, a n d t h e sweep of its h u m a n e n d u r a n c e a n d interplay,
into one composite study.
In his e v o c a t i v e prose, M o o r e h e a d sets h i s s t o r y in its historical
frame. Turkey, no longer t h e p o w e r f u l O t t o m a n Empire of t h e S u l t a n a t e ,
for s o m e t i m e j u d g e d ' t h e sick m a n of Europe', w a s now d o m i n a t e d by a
r u t h l e s s a n d u n r u l y b a n d of b r i g a n d s a n d b a r g a i n e r s , t h e Young Turks,
w h o had t a k e n over from t h e old g o v e r n m e n t a n d , in A u g u s t 1914,
Gallipo
55
put Turkey up for a u c t i o n b e t w e e n Britain a n d G e r m a n y . It w a s a s i t u a t i o n
of political a n d d i p l o m a t i c i n t r i g u e a n d r i v a l r y , w r o t e M o o r e h e a d , t h a t
had e x t r e m e a t t r a c t i o n s for t h e ' o r i e n t a l ' m i n d . The foreign a m b a s s a d o r s
' i n s t a l l e d like robber b a r o n s in t h e i r e n o r m o u s e m b a s s i e s a l o n g t h e
B o s p h o r u s , t h e Young Turks in t h e Yildiz Palace a n d t h e Sublime Porte,
a n d e v e r y w h e r e t h r o u g h t h e s p r a w l i n g d e c a y i n g beautiful capital itself
t h a t h u s h e d a n d c o n s p i r a t o r i a l air w h i c h s e e m s to o v e r t a k e all n e u t r a l
cities on t h e edge of w a r . It w a s t h e a t m o s p h e r e of t h e h i g h table in t h e
g a m b l i n g c a s i n o , v e r y late at n i g h t , w h e n e v e r y m o v e t a k e s on a kind
of fated s e l f - i m p o r t a n c e , w h e n e v e r y o n e , t h e p l a y e r s a n d t h e w a t c h e r s
together, is e n g r o s s e d ' .
71
Strengthened by two German battleships and a German
military
mission b r o u g h t out to train h e r r a g g e d t r o o p s , t h e Young Turks allied
t h e m s e l v e s w i t h G e r m a n y . Britain a n d F r a n c e d e c l a r e d w a r on Turkey
in October 1914. C o m m i t t e d to assist Russia, m e n a c e d b y G e r m a n y
in t h e C a u c a s u s , t h e British G o v e r n m e n t decided to a t t a c k t h e e n e m y
t h r o u g h t h e back door in t h e Near East a n d to m o u n t a n a v a l assault
t h a t w o u l d s t o r m t h e D a r d a n e l l e s , m o v e up t h e Sea of M a r m a r a , c a p t u r e
C o n s t a n t i n o p l e , a n d open a r o u t e t h r o u g h t h e Black Sea.
M o o r e h e a d b r i n g s h i s w e l l - h o n e d a n a l y t i c a l skills to b e a r on t h e
naval
strategy
masterminded
by
Britain's
energetic
young
First
Lord of t h e A d m i r a l t y , W i n s t o n C h u r c h i l l , a n d his e x p e r i e n c e d but
e c c e n t r i c First Sea Lord, Lord Fisher. A n a m b i t i o u s strategy, b a c k e d b y
Cabinet a n d t h e most p o w e r f u l m a n in B r i t a i n , t h e M i n i s t e r for War,
Lord Kitchener, it relied on a n a r m a d a of old b a t t l e s h i p s , a c o v e y of
submarines, destroyers, corvettes and minesweepers, and the brand
n e w British b a t t l e s h i p Queen Elizabeth.
It m a r k e d , in fact, t h e g r e a t e s t
c o n c e n t r a t i o n of n a v a l s t r e n g t h ever seen in t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n .
T h r o u g h m a s t e r l y p o r t r a i t s , M o o r e h e a d sets up his n a v a l cast of
c h a r a c t e r s : t h e fiery old n a v a l s e a d o g , ' J a c k y ' Fisher w h o w a n t e d to
go totus
56
porcus-the
whole hog; Admiral Carden who, launching the
a s s a u l t on t h e Turkish forts at t h e e n t r a n c e to T h e N a r r o w s w i t h t h e loss
of s e v e r a l of t h e old b a t t l e s h i p s , t e e t e r e d t o w a r d s a n e r v o u s b r e a k d o w n ;
h i s r e p l a c e m e n t , t h e v i g o r o u s A d m i r a l de Robeck; t h e b u o y a n t a n d
p a s s i o n a t e l y c o m m i t t e d a d m i r a l ' s Chief-of-Staff,
Roger Keyes, w h o
fought to t h e end for t h e n a v a l offensive, a n d t h e F r e n c h A d m i r a l
G u e p r a t t e , w h o s e p e r s o n a l i t y a n d r e a d i n e s s to accept a s u b o r d i n a t e
role a n d offer e v e r y a s s i s t a n c e , w r i t e s M o o r e h e a d , 'refreshes t h e whole
Gallipoli story'. Faced, however, w i t h c o m m a n d hesitation a n d t h e loss
of ships, t h e decision w a s m a d e in London, in M a r c h 1915, to b r i n g in
t h e a r m y a n d i n i t i a t e a land a s s a u l t on t h e p e n i n s u l a u n d e r G e n e r a l Sir
Ian H a m i l t o n .
Both p r e c i p i t a n c y a n d hesitation m a r k e d t h e l a n d i n g . M o o r e h e a d
writes:
A s t r a n g e light plays o v e r t h e Gallipoli l a n d i n g on 25 April
1915, a n d n o m a t t e r h o w often t h e s t o r y is retold t h e r e
is still a n a c t u a l i t y a b o u t it, a feeling of s u s p e n s e a n d
i n c o m p l e t e n e s s ... H a r d l y a n y o n e b e h a v e s o n t h i s d a y as
y o u m i g h t h a v e e x p e c t e d h i m to do. One c a n t h i n k of halfa - d o z e n m o v e s t h a t t h e c o m m a n d e r s m i g h t h a v e m a d e at
a n y g i v e n m o m e n t , a n d v e r y often t h e t h i n g t h e y did do
s e e m s t h e most i m p r o b a b l e of all. T h e r e is a c e r t a i n c l a r i t y
a b o u t t h e a c t i o n s of M u s t a f a Kemal on t h e Turkish side ...
b u t for t h e o t h e r s ... t h e great crises of t h e d a y a p p e a r to
h a v e gone c a s c a d i n g b y as t h o u g h t h e y w e r e s o m e n a t u r a l
p h e n o m e n o n , h a v i n g a m o n s t r o u s life of its o w n , a n d for t h e
t i m e b e i n g e n t i r e l y out of c o n t r o l .
For t h e soldiers in t h e front line t h e issues w e r e , of c o u r s e ,
b r u t a l l y simple ... Confronted
by some quite
impossible
objective, t h e i r lives s u d d e n l y a p p e a r to t h e m to be of n o
c o n s e q u e n c e at all; t h e y get u p a n d c h a r g e a n d d i e .
72
Gal
57
By 8 a.m., 8 0 0 0 men d r a w n from t h e c o u n t r y s i d e and cities of A u s t r a l i a
had c o m e a s h o r e at Gaba Tepe, a n d s o m e w h a t to t h e i r left, s o m e 3 0 0 0
New Z e a l a n d e r s . The w a t e r r a n red w i t h blood.
At S e d d - e l - B a h r ,
13 miles to t h e s o u t h , t h e British t r o o p s w e r e
e x p e r i e n c i n g a c a r n a g e inflicted b y t h e Turks on t h e i r Trojan Horse,
t h e ' w r e c k ship' River Clyde, t h a t w a s n e v e r for a m o m e n t a n t i c i p a t e d .
A n u n n a t u r a l stillness, M o o r e h e a d r e c o u n t s , had s u c c e e d e d t h e Allied
b a r r a g e on t h e b e a c h a n d t h e fortress a b o v e t h e slopes. 'At 6.22 a.m., t h e
River Clyde g r o u n d e d her b o w s w i t h o u t a t r e m o r ... In t h a t i n s t a n t t h e
Turkish rifle fire b u r s t out.'
M a n y s t r a n g e scenes o c c u r r e d , he records, b e c a u s e t h e men persisted
in
trying
came
to do t h i n g s t h e y had been told to do. 'The m e n at once
running
d o w n t h e g a n g w a y s a l o n g t h e ship's sides, a n d as t h e y
r a n t h e y presented a t a r g e t w h i c h w a s not u n l i k e t h e line of m o v i n g
objects one sees s o m e t i m e s in a s h o o t i n g g a l l e r y at a v i l l a g e fair ...
Soon t h e g a n g w a y s b e c a m e j a m m e d with dead a n d d y i n g ... The s u n
73
was shining brightly.'
Familiar
with
the
situation
from
his
own
experience
of
desperate
battles, Moorehead observes:
The British had n o w reached t h a t point in a b a t t l e w h e r e t h e
leaders feel t h e y m u s t persist in a t t a c k i n g a l t h o u g h all hope
h a s gone ... The s e n s e l e s s attack had to c o n t i n u e for a little
longer u n t i l it w a s sufficiently d e m o n s t r a t e d t h a t t h e t h i n g
w a s impossible, u n t i l e n o u g h of t h e g e n e r a l pool of c o u r a g e
had v a n i s h e d w i t h t h e dead, a n d shock a n d e x h a u s t i o n had
overcome them all.
74
From t h e o u t s e t , Sir Ian H a m i l t o n ' s s t a n c e as C o m m a n d e r of t h e
E x p e d i t i o n a r y Forces, w a s one of s i n g u l a r d e t a c h m e n t . The 6 2 - y e a r old H a m i l t o n , i m m u r e d on t h e Queen Elizabeth
58
a n d c r u i s i n g offshore,
w h e r e he w a s cut off from direct c o m m a n d of w h a t w a s h a p p e n i n g on
land, resolved not to interfere w i t h his c o m m a n d e r s a n d to leave t h e
overall s t r a t e g y , u n l e s s invited, to his g e n e r a l s in t h e field. It w a s a
c o u r s e t h a t led to c o n s i d e r a b l e confusion a n d , in t h e a b s e n c e of a d e q u a t e
s h i p - t o - s h o r e s i g n a l l i n g , c h a o s . But as t h e fierce fighting raged on
t h e i n h o s p i t a b l e cliffs a n d t h e r e w a s n e i t h e r a g l i m m e r of v i c t o r y nor
a n y clear s t r a t e g y except to fight t h e e n e m y , H a m i l t o n issued his one
inspired i n s t r u c t i o n to t h e e x p o s e d A n z a c soldiers s c r a m b l i n g up t h e
cliff f a c e s - ' D i g , dig, dig, u n t i l you a r e safe'.
A s w i t h h i s World W a r 2 d e s p a t c h e s , t h e r e is a n u r g e n c y
and
c o m p e l l i n g p r e s e n c e in M o o r e h e a d ' s d e s c r i p t i o n s of the h a r d - f o u g h t
b a t t l e s . G a r n e r i n g h i s m a t e r i a l from d o c u m e n t a r y a n d p a r t i c i p a n t
s o u r c e s , he l e a d s h i s r e a d e r s w i t h h i s u n e m b r o i d e r e d p r o s e a n d h i s
q u i e t c o n t r o l of t e n s i o n .
A c o m p a n y of Turks w a s seen a d v a n c i n g d o w n a r a v i n e
k n o w n as Wire Gully. There had b e e n no p r e l i m i n a r y b u g l e
call, n o n e of t h e u s u a l s h o u t s of A l l a h , A l l a h : merely t h o s e
s h a d o w y forms in t h e h a l f - d a r k n e s s a n d t h e long line of
b a y o n e t s . The A u s t r a l i a n s opened fire from either side of
t h e gully, and i m m e d i a t e l y t h e e n e m y bugles s o u n d e d a n d
t h e c h a r g e b e g a n ... At most places t h e o n c o m i n g e n e m y
had to cross t w o or t h r e e h u n d r e d y a r d s before t h e y reached
t h e A n z a c e n t r e n c h m e n t s , a n d so t h e r e w a s h a l f - a - m i n u t e
or m o r e w h e n t h e y w e r e e x p o s e d in t h e open a n d q u i t e
defenceless. Very few of t h e m s u r v i v e d even t h a t a m o u n t
of time.
75
W i t h access to t h e Turkish d o c u m e n t s , M o o r e h e a d e n t e r s t h e e n e m y ' s
going forward on foot from t h e b a t t a l i o n he had left r e s t i n g after t h e i r
Gallipoli
d o m a i n . Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) had w a t c h e d t h e A n z a c l a n d i n g a n d ,
59
long m a r c h to t h e D a r d a n e l l e s , he r e a c h e d t h e slopes of C h u n u k Bair
a n d saw a party of Turkish soldiers
running
from t h e e n e m y in full
r e t r e a t . In a m o m e n t t h a t c h a n g e d t h e face of war, he ordered t h e m
to fix t h e i r b a y o n e t s a n d lie d o w n . At t h i s t h e a d v a n c i n g A u s t r a l i a n s
took c o v e r a n d , w h i l e t h e y hesitated, Kemal sent his orderly
running
to
b r i n g up h i s b a t t a l i o n . 'It was', M o o r e h e a d s u m s u p , 'one of t h e cruellest
a c c i d e n t s of t h e c a m p a i g n t h a t t h i s one j u n i o r Turkish
commander
of g e n i u s should h a v e b e e n at t h i s p a r t i c u l a r spot at t h i s m o m e n t ' .
76
W i t h o u t h i m , t h e A u s t r a l i a n s a n d New Z e a l a n d e r s m i g h t h a v e t a k e n
C h u n u k Bair t h a t m o r n i n g a n d t h e b a t t l e b e e n decided t h e n a n d t h e r e .
A s t h e b a t t l e s raged, ' t h e terrible "ifs"', as C h u r c h i l l
described
t h e m , a c c u m u l a t e d in London. Fisher, v a c i l l a t i n g wildly, r e n o u n c e d
the Dardanelles; Prime Minister Asquith prevaricated, and Churchill,
w h o ' h a d m a d e t h e p a c e hot w i t h his v e r y b r i l l i a n c y of mind', w a s
isolated. At t h e h e i g h t of h i s s t r u g g l e for Gallipoli r e i n f o r c e m e n t s , he
w a s r e m o v e d in May from h i s post at t h e A d m i r a l t y .
W h i l e t e n s i o n m o u n t e d on l a n d a n d sea, on t h e p e n i n s u l a a c u r i o u s
h u m a n a d a p t a t i o n w a s taking place. T h e r e is a p o i g n a n c y a n d closeness
in M o o r e h e a d ' s e v o c a t i o n of 'the a n t h e a p life' of the soldiers, b r e a t h i n g ,
e a t i n g , sleeping, c l i m b i n g , fighting, d y i n g , b u r y i n g t h e i r dead, l i v i n g
w i t h i n feet of t h e e n e m y t r e n c h e s ; t h e A u s t r a l i a n s w e r e h u m o r o u s ,
i r r e v e r e n t a n d i n v e n t i v e , p l u n g i n g into t h e A e g e a n to c l e a n s e t h e i r
bodies, remembering
happier boyhood
seas, a n d
m i x i n g wit
and
stoicism w i t h t h e i r e x h a u s t i o n a n d d a n g e r . ' T h e y w e r e n o t fatalists',
he w r o t e . 'They believed t h a t a m i s t a k e h a d b e e n m a d e in t h e l a n d i n g
at Gaba Tepe a n d t h a t t h e y m i g h t easily h a v e to p a y for it w i t h t h e i r
l i v e s ; b u t t h e y v e r y m u c h w a n t e d to go on l i v i n g , t h e y w e r e all for t h e
b a t t l e a n d t h e y h o p e d a n d believed o b s c u r e l y t h a t in t h e end t h e y would
win.'77 T h e r e w a s , he d i s c e r n e d , a n i n t e n s i t y a n d 'an
extraordinary
c h e e r f u l n e s s a n d e x a l t a t i o n ' a m o n g t h e m e n at t h e f r o n t l i n e . 'They h a d
a s h a r p a n d e n o r m o u s a p p e t i t e for t h e s m a l l e s t t h i n g s . L i v i n g w i t h t h e
60
i n s t a n t p r o s p e c t of d e a t h , all p e t t i n e s s , all t h e n o r m a l a n x i e t i e s a n d
j e a l o u s i e s of life deserted t h e m ... t h e p a s t receded, t h e f u t u r e b a r e l y
e x i s t e d , a n d t h e y lived as n e v e r before u p o n t h e m o m e n t , released from
t h e n o r m a l w e i g h t of h u m a n a m b i t i o n s a n d regrets.'
M o o r e h e a d ' s book is by no m e a n s focussed on t h e A u s t r a l i a n s .
It r e a c h e s a c r o s s t h e p a r t i c i p a t i o n a n d p e r f o r m a n c e of t h e British,
Irish, French, I m p e r i a l - I n d i a n , African, and Anzac—troops, a n d t h e
Turkish forces. His o v e r a r c h i n g p e r s p e c t i v e is s t u d d e d w i t h b r i l l i a n t
c a m e o p o r t r a i t s of t h e Allied a n d e n e m y c o m m a n d e r s : t h e solitary,
i n t r o v e r t e d , a n d t a c t i c a l l y i n s p i r e d Kemal; t h e m e d l e y of irresolute
a n d aloof British generals—some b r o u g h t out of m o t h b a l l s from t h e
Boer War—whose m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g s a n d failure to give clear orders
cost c o u n t l e s s British lives; t h e A n z a c ' s p o p u l a r c o m m a n d e r , General
B i r d w o o d ; J o h n M o n a s h , w h o s e t a l e n t s of leadership w e n t u n d i v i n e d at
Gallipoli; a n d Lord Kitchener, gloomy, firmly r e s i s t i n g r e i n f o r c e m e n t s
at t h e p e n i n s u l a , but v i s i t i n g at last in N o v e m b e r 1915, to find Gallipoli
'an awful place'.
By S e p t e m b e r 1915, H a m i l t o n ' s a r m y w a s d o w n to h a l f its s t r e n g t h
a n d Keith M u r d o c h ' s ' a m a z i n g d o c u m e n t ' , w i t h its s t r i n g e n t c r i t i c i s m
of H a m i l t o n ' s s t r a t e g y a n d t h e loss a n d e x p e n d i t u r e of m e n ' s lives, of
Kitchener's untried and ill-prepared 'new army' and the 'unchangeably
selfish'
British
generals
and
brigadiers,
had
reached
the
British
C a b i n e t . H a m i l t o n w a s w i t h d r a w n in October, n e v e r to s e r v e in t h e
field a g a i n .
Arriving
at Gallipoli, h i s r e p l a c e m e n t , t h e a u t h o r i t a t i v e ,
pragmatic Lieutenant-General
Sir C h a r l e s M u n r o , m a d e h i s
swift
d e c i s i o n for e v a c u a t i o n .
M o o r e h e a d is percipient, v i v i d l y alive to t h e e x p e r i e n c e of t h e
y o u n g soldiers r e c r u i t e d in d i s t a n t A u s t r a l i a as r e i n f o r c e m e n t s
and
r e p l a c e m e n t s at Gallipoli, g o i n g forth to a w a r 'from w h i c h [in t h e i r
Gallipoli
case] no one had ever r e t u r n e d on leave'. He w r i t e s :
61
Days w o u l d elapse w h i l e t h e n e w soldier ... still m a r v e l l e d
at t h i n g s w h i c h had long ceased to be r e m a r k a b l e to t h e
o t h e r m e n : t h e way, for i n s t a n c e , a French soldier would
p e r c h on t h e cliffs a n d s o u n d a h u n t i n g h o r n as a w a r n i n g
to t h e soldiers b a t h i n g in t h e sea below t h a t a shell w a s
c o m i n g o v e r from Asia. Or it would be s o m e s u r p r i s i n g act
of m i l i t a r y p u n c t i l i o : a pipe b a n d p a r a d i n g on t h e shore, an
i m m a c u l a t e colonel, l o o k i n g like some a n i m a t e d tin soldier
from t h e n u r s e r y , r a i s i n g his h a n d to salute t h e flag ... A n d
a l w a y s to t h e fresh eye t h e r e w e r e r e c u r r i n g m o m e n t s of
release a n d w o n d e r at t h e s l a n t i n g l u m i n o u s light in t h e
early m o r n i n g s a n d t h e e v e n i n g s , in t h e m a r v e l l o u s colour
of t h e s e a .
78
His a c c o u n t of t h e secret, b r i l l i a n t l y p l a n n e d a n d g r a d u a l e v a c u a t i o n
of Gallipoli, d e s i g n e d to w i t h d r a w some 83 0 0 0 men from t h e S u v l a A n z a c b r i d g e h e a d , a n d staged t h r o u g h t h e icy d a y s of D e c e m b e r 1915,
w i t h feints a n d s t e a l t h to o u t w i t t h e Turks w i t h o u t t h e loss of a single
life, b r i n g s t h e e x c i t e m e n t of a t h r i l l e r to his t e l l i n g . One i m p o n d e r a b l e
r e m a i n e d : t h e b e h a v i o u r of t h e a r m y itself. But, as M o o r e h e a d tells it:
The m e n c a m e to t h e i r officers in h u n d r e d s a n d asked to
be t h e last to leave t h e shore. It w a s n o t h i n g more t h a n a
g e s t u r e , s o m e t h i n g for t h e pride to feed on, a k i n d of t r i b u t e
to t h e i r friends w h o were a l r e a d y dead, but t h e y
were
i n t e n s e l y s e r i o u s a b o u t it. T h e v e t e r a n s a r g u e d t h a t t h e y
had e a r n e d t h i s r i g h t , t h e n e w e r a r r i v a l s insisted t h a t t h e y
should be g i v e n t h i s one last o p p o r t u n i t y of d i s t i n g u i s h i n g
t h e m s e l v e s . A n d so t h e r e w a s no need to call for v o l u n t e e r s
to m a n t h e t r e n c h e s at t h e e n d ; it w a s a m a t t e r of selection ...
It w a s s o m e t h i n g b e t t e r t h a n s e n t i m e n t a l i t y t h a t m a d e one
62
soldier say to his officer, "1 hope t h e y won't h e a r us going
d o w n to t h e beaches".
Gallipoli,
79
l a u n c h e d in April 1956 w i t h a p r i n t r u n of 25 0 0 0 copies, w a s
a n i n t e r p r e t a t i v e historical m a s t e r p i e c e , a r e a l i s a t i o n of M o o r e h e a d ' s
p r i v a t e d r e a m . It w a s t h e first fully r o u n d e d , p e n e t r a t i n g a n d v i s u a l l y
rich s t u d y of t h e D a r d a n e l l e s c a m p a i g n a n d it took t h e l i t e r a r y world by
s t o r m . The Literary Review p r o n o u n c e d it 'a h e a r t b r e a k i n g a n d d r a m a t i c
a c c o u n t of folly a n d heroism a n d a b r i l l i a n t a n a l y s i s of t h e m i l i t a r y
mind'.
80
E m i n e n t m i l i t a r y m e n saw it as a work of o u t s t a n d i n g interest.
General Lord Freyberg, w h o had won t h e DSO for g a l l a n t r y at Gallipoli
a n d t h e VC in France, d e c l a r e d t h a t Gallipoli
had ' r e c a p t u r e d so m u c h
of t h e a t m o s p h e r e a n d spirit of t h o s e a d v e n t u r o u s m o n t h s a n d , w i t h
its m i l i t a r y a n a l y s i s of one of t h e world's classic tragedies', had m a d e
'an a b s o r b i n g c o n t r i b u t i o n to t h e h i s t o r y of o u r t i m e s ' .
81
States, General M a t t h e w R i d g w a y p r o n o u n c e d Gallipoli
In t h e United
'a classic of
m i l i t a r y h i s t o r y fearlessly p r e s e n t i n g not only t h e basic decisions but
t h e r e a s o n i n g w i t h w h i c h t h e y were reached'.
In A u s t r a l i a , w h e r e b o o k s h o p s
e m p t i e d t h e i r w i n d o w s to d i s p l a y
the book, the country's own war
correspondent
at
Gallipoli
and
a u t h o r of t h e Official H i s t o r y of
Australia
in t h e W a r of
1914—
1918 s e r i e s , C.E.W. B e a n , p r a i s e d
the
book
sympathetic
as
'a
brilliant
and
reconstruction
the Dardanelles campaign'.
82
of
'Of
c o u r s e you w e r e t h e r e in 1915',
M o o r e h e a d ' s friend a n d p u b l i s h e r
A n g u s Et Robertson e m p t i e d its w i n d o w to display
Alan Moorehead's books
[1956]
M a n u s c r i p t Collection, National Library of A u s t r a l i a
Gallipoli
Jamie (Hamish) Hamilton chided
63
him gaily, 'it's a b s u r d to p r e t e n d y o u w e r e n ' t . T h e b o o k is so
thrilling
83
alive!'
A s it h a p p e n e d , 1956 w o u l d p r o v e a v i n t a g e y e a r for b o o k s . A n
a b u n d a n c e of m e m o r a b l e w o r k s rolled from t h e presses, i n c l u d i n g
C h u r c h i l l ' s History
of the English
Speaking
People, B e a v e r b r o o k ' s
and Power,
B e r t r a n d Russell's Logic and Knowledge,
The Nude,
a n d Rose M a c a u l e y ' s The
Towers
Men
K e n n e t h Clark's
of Trebisond,
to n a m e
b u t a few. But t h e r e w a s n o q u i b b l e a b o u t t h e m o s t m e m o r a b l e of all.
Gallipoli
w o n The Sunday
Times Book of t h e Year P r i z e of £ 1 0 0 0 for a n
o u t s t a n d i n g work of l i t e r a t u r e , a n d t h e Duff Cooper M e m o r i a l Prize, a
n e w a w a r d of h i g h p r e s t i g e for n o n f i c t i o n , w h i c h c o n f e r r e d u p o n t h e
r e c i p i e n t t h e r i g h t to n o m i n a t e t h e p r e s e n t e r of t h e p r i z e . M o o r e h e a d
c h o s e Sir W i n s t o n
C h u r c h i l l . His o w n e v a l u a t i o n
had
vindicated
C h u r c h i l l ' s c r u c i a l p a r t in t h e o r i g i n a l p l a n n i n g of t h e D a r d a n e l l e s
c a m p a i g n (open for so long to o p p r o b r i u m in B r i t a i n a n d A u s t r a l i a )
a n d r e v e a l e d t h e i m a g i n a t i o n a n d f r u s t r a t i o n of h i s p l a n . For C h u r c h i l l
it w a s a v a l u e d g e s t u r e of r e c o g n i t i o n .
M o o r e h e a d ' s b o o k w o u l d cast a r e m a r k a b l y long shadow. Vivid
a n d p i o n e e r i n g , it r e s c u e d t h e old c a m p a i g n i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y from its
s h a d o w y h i s t o r y , assessed Britain's n a v a l , m i l i t a r y , a n d political p a r t
a n d , for A u s t r a l i a n s , u n d e r s c o r e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e of t h e i r p r o u d , deeply
held n a t i o n a l legend. In t h e w r i t i n g of it, M o o r e h e a d , too, had also
c o m e to u n d e r s t a n d t h e c a m p a i g n ' s wide s i g n i f i c a n c e . In a p o w e r f u l
epilogue, he o b s e r v e s , 'Gradually, w i t h t h e p a s s i n g of t i m e , t h e g r e a t
e v e n t s of t h e w a r a n d its a f t e r m a t h w e r e falling into p e r s p e c t i v e , a n d
t h e Gallipoli a d v e n t u r e w a s seen, not in isolation, b u t as a p a r t of t h e
g e n e r a l s t r a t e g y ; not as a sideshow, b u t as a n a l t e r n a t i v e to t h e fearful
t h r e e y e a r s t h a t followed in t h e t r e n c h e s in F r a n c e , to t h e long c a m p a i g n
a g a i n s t t h e Turks in M e s o p o t a m i a , a n d to t h e e x p e d i t i o n to S a l o n i k a . It
w a s e v e n p e r h a p s not too m u c h to say t h a t if t h e Allies h a d s u c c e e d e d
in p e n e t r a t i n g t h e D a r d a n e l l e s in 1915 or 1916 t h e R u s s i a n s w o u l d not
64
h a v e signed a s e p a r a t e peace, a n d t h a t t h e Revolution m i g h t not h a v e
followed, not, at all e v e n t s , so soon, or possibly so d r a s t i c a l l y ' .
Seen in this new light, he concludes, 'the Gallipoli c a m p a i g n w a s no
longer a b l u n d e r or a reckless g a m b l e ; it w a s t h e most i m a g i n a t i v e conception
of t h e war, and its potentialities were almost beyond reckoning'.
W r i t i n g in 1955 a n d 1956 a n d s e a s o n e d by war, he w a s also k e e n l y
alert to t h e e n o r m o u s influence t h a t t h e Gallipoli c a m p a i g n h a d , in a
p r a c t i c a l s e n s e , for World W a r 2. His p o i n t s e m e r g e c r y s t a l clear: 'It
was', he s u m s u p , ' t h e g r e a t e s t a m p h i b i o u s o p e r a t i o n w h i c h m a n k i n d
had k n o w n up till t h e n , a n d it t o o k place in c i r c u m s t a n c e s in w h i c h
n e a r l y e v e r y t h i n g w a s e x p e r i m e n t a l : in t h e u s e of s u b m a r i n e s a n d
a i r c r a f t ... in t h e m a n o e u v r e of l a n d i n g a r m i e s in small b o a t s on a
hostile coast, in t h e u s e of radio, of t h e aerial b o m b , t h e l a n d m i n e ,
a n d m a n y o t h e r novel devices ... In 1940 t h e r e w a s v e r y little t h a t
t h e Allied c o m m a n d e r s could l e a r n from t h e long s t r u g g l e a g a i n s t t h e
Kaiser's a r m i e s in t h e t r e n c h e s of F r a n c e . But Gallipoli w a s a m i n e of
i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e c o m p l e x i t i e s of t h e m o d e r n w a r of m a n o e u v r e , of
t h e c o m b i n e d o p e r a t i o n by l a n d a n d sea a n d s k y ; a n d t h e c o r r e c t i o n of
t h e e r r o r s m a d e t h e n w a s a t r u e b a s i s of t h e v i c t o r y of 1945'.
84
M a n y f u r t h e r s t u d i e s w o u l d e m e r g e from n a t i o n a l a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l
p u b l i s h i n g h o u s e s a b o u t t h e Gallipoli c a m p a i g n in t h e e n s u i n g h a l f
c e n t u r y . M o o r e h e a d ' s book, however, r e m a i n s a classic, a work of
m o v i n g a n d indelible v i v i d n e s s , a n e n d u r i n g a r c h e t y p e . His o w n final
j u d g m e n t of t h e work w a s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y d i r e c t . 'The old m e n were
right', he said in a n oral h i s t o r y i n t e r v i e w in 1964, 'it w a s t h e m i l i t a r y
e v e n t of t h e c e n t u r y ' . ' W r i t i n g it h a s g i v e n me m o r e h a p p i n e s s t h a n a n y
o t h e r s in its e f f e c t . . . b e c a u s e it w a s g o i n g back to m y r o o t s . It w a s t h e
o n l y book w h e r e I w a s more i n t e r e s t e d in t h e subject at t h e end t h a n
when I began.'
85
Gallipo
65
A Love Affair with Africa
MID T H E p l a u d i t s for Gallipoli,
M o o r e h e a d w a s elected to t h e
Royal Society of L i t e r a t u r e a n d , b u o y e d up b y such
public
r e c o g n i t i o n , he set off on a r o u n d of travel t h a t took h i m to t h e Middle
East, Cuba and across A m e r i c a , w h e r e he r u b b e d s h o u l d e r s w i t h t h e
n o v e l i s t s J o h n O'Hara a n d P.G. W o d e h o u s e a n d c a r t o o n i s t ,
Charles
A d d a m s . There, too, he d i s c u s s e d f u r t h e r w r i t i n g w i t h t h e new editor of
t h e New Yorker, W i l l i a m S h a w n , a n e n c o u n t e r t h a t gave h i m , as he told
Lucy, 'a whiff of Scott Fitzgerald's world'.
T h i s e l e m e n t of s u r p r i s e a n d d e l i g h t at h i s a c c e p t a n c e in h i g h
p l a c e s , a n d a c o n c o m i t a n t n e e d for r e a s s u r a n c e , w a s a p e r s i s t e n t
a n d p a r a d o x i c a l p a r t of M o o r e h e a d ' s c h a r a c t e r . A f t e r h a r d work a n d
s u c c e s s , he l o o k e d for c h a n g e , for e s c a p e from f a m i l y c o m m i t m e n t s ,
a n d for f u n . It w a s a p a t t e r n t h a t b o r e i n e v i t a b l y on h i s close
relationships and was a
particular
c h a l l e n g e for Lucy. 'I love y o u
m o r e than a n y o n e else in t h e world', he w r o t e h e r o n t h i s j o u r n e y ,
' a n d I r u n a w a y a n d leave y o u in m i s e r y . T h e s e a w f u l
departures.
Stay, d o n ' t p a c k , d o n ' t follow. But it i s n ' t l i k e t h a t . You k n o w t h a t
in y o u r h e a r t . I go a w a y o n l y to c o m e h o m e , for h o w l o n g now, 17
y e a r s ? Isn't t h e c o m i n g h o m e g o o d ? B e t t e r p e r h a p s than h a d I s t a y e d
a n d n a g g e d m i s e r a b l y . I h a v e to w o r k things o u t a l o n e , I d o n ' t k n o w
w h y : a n d so I go a w a y a n d get a s o r t of b a l a n c e a g a i n ... I c a n n o t ...
67
i m m e d i a t e l y s i n k m y s e l f in w o r k , then all
r u s h e s b a c k at m e ' .
the
frustrations
and doubt
86
In t h e event, he w a s to find a c o n t i n u i n g m e a s u r e of e n g a g e m e n t
a n d c o n t e n t m e n t in t h e c o n t i n e n t w h e r e h i s first major work had led
him—Africa. H i s t o r y a n d h i s e a r l y m e m o r i e s of t h a t c o n t i n e n t w e r e to
call h i m b a c k . D u r i n g a special w a r t i m e a s s i g n m e n t to t h e S u d a n a n d
Ethiopia in 1941, he h a d t r a v e l l e d b y flying b o a t from Cairo up t h e
Nile to A d d i s A b a b a a n d K h a r t o u m , a n d on to Lake Victoria, w h e r e
he h a d o b s e r v e d t h e b e g i n n i n g of t h e Nile's long p a s s a g e to t h e sea.
T conceived', he w r o t e later, ' t h a t t h e r i v e r had a c o m p e l l i n g
and
m y s t e r i o u s c h a r m , t h a t its i n h a b i t a n t s w e r e a race of great physical
b e a u t y l i v i n g t h e t r u e idyllic life, in s h o r t t h a t it w a s all u n s p o i l e d a n d
u n c o n t a m i n a t e d — s a v a g e r y w i t h a t o u c h of g r a c e ' .
87
D u r i n g 1954 M o o r e h e a d h a d m a d e o n e or t w o f l y i n g v i s i t s to t h e
A f r i c a n c o n t i n e n t to i n d u l g e h i s ' p r i v a t e m y t h ' . But late in 1956,
r e s p o n d i n g to a n i n v i t a t i o n from h i s w a r t i m e friend, Major G e n e r a l
F r e d d i e de G u i n g a n d , w h o h a d r e t i r e d to R h o d e s i a after h i s i l l u s t r i o u s
military
c a r e e r , a n d t h e n to o n e in J o h a n n e s b u r g , he b e g a n a
journey
t h a t t o o k h i m on a s a f a r i w i t h Lucy from J o h a n n e s b u r g to K h a r t o u m ,
a b s o r b i n g t h e c o u n t r y a n d its p e o p l e , a n d e x a m i n i n g t h e A f r i c a n
wildlife t h a t w a s increasingly t h r e a t e n e d by
hunting
and settlement.
T r a v e l l i n g b y b o a t a n d Land Rover, he v i s i t e d w i l d l i f e p a r k s a n d
r e s e r v a t i o n s a n d s o m e of t h e m o s t u n s p o i l t g a m e c o u n t r y in K e n y a ,
U g a n d a , T a n g a n y i k a , S o u t h A f r i c a a n d p a r t of t h e B e l g i a n Congo.
A n d as h e t r a v e l l e d a n d t a l k e d w i t h p a r k d i r e c t o r s , g a m e w a r d e n s
a n d a slew of g u n g - h o r e s i d e n t s m o r e i n c l i n e d to s h o o t a n d
stuff
a n a n i m a l t h a n to p r e s e r v e it, he b e c a m e a w a r e at f i r s t - h a n d of t h e
effects of t h e p o a c h i n g a n d
hunting
of w i l d l i f e , t h e p o o r s t a t e of t h e
local p a r k s a n d t h e d i s r e g a r d of g o v e r n m e n t s . He d e c i d e d to b r i n g a n
a w a r e n e s s of t h e s e e x o t i c a n i m a l s a n d t h e threats to t h e i r
the wider world.
68
survival
to
The w r i t e r a n d a d v e n t u r e r in h i m also w a n t e d to c o n v e y t h e delights
of t h i s a b s o r b i n g faunal p a r a d i s e . 'Take no n o t i c e of t h e fact t h a t t h e
h i p p o p o t a m u s , t h e e l e p h a n t a n d o t h e r a n i m a l s h a v e b e e n described so
often before', W i l l i a m S h a w n advised h i m . ' S a y w h a t you t h i n k , a n d
w h a t you felt, w r i t e w h a t e v e r y o u y o u r s e l f f o u n d . '
88
He did, a n d h i s
fresh, at t i m e s poetic s n a p s h o t s a n d stories of the African fauna ignited
a w o r l d w i d e interest t h a t m a r k e d h i m as a n early i n t e r n a t i o n a l a d v o c a t e
for wildlife p r o t e c t i o n a n d c o n s e r v a t i o n . In t h e w a k e of a n u m b e r of
h i s p o p u l a r articles in t h e New Yorker, M o o r e h e a d ' s w i t t i l y titled book
No Room in the Ark, a p p e a r e d in 1959. Styled 'a l i t e r a r y safari of a
v a n i s h i n g Africa', it b e c a m e a top bestseller in Britain a n d A m e r i c a , w a s
serialised in several British n e w s p a p e r s a n d Firago, a n d w a s t r a n s l a t e d
into four l a n g u a g e s . T h e r e w e r e sales of 30 000 copies in six m o n t h s in
Britain alone.
Moorehead's o w n i n v o l v e m e n t w a s i n t e n s e l y p e r s o n a l . O b s e r v i n g
a n d r e c o r d i n g with h i s c a m e r a e y e , he e x p e r i e n c e d s o m e t h i n g of a n
e p i p h a n y w h e n he c a m e face to face w i t h a large black male gorilla, 'a
c r a g g y pillar of g l e a m i n g b l a c k n e s s , black c r e w - c u t hair, black d e e p s u n k e n eyes g l a r i n g t o w a r d s u s , huge r u b b e r y black n o s t r i l s a n d a black
beard'. 'I h a d n o t b e e n p r e p a r e d for t h e b l a c k n e s s of him', he w r o t e . 'He
w a s t h e most d i s t i n g u i s h e d a n d splendid a n i m a l I ever s a w a n d I had
o n l y o n e desire ... to go forward t o w a r d s h i m , to meet h i m a n d to k n o w
h i m : to c o m m u n i c a t e . '
89
Africa held h i m in thrall. 'You s i m p l y w a n t to w a t c h a n d s e e a n d
t h e n go on a g a i n , t o cross t h e b o r d e r ... to c l i m b t h e flat-topped
m o u n t a i n in t h e d i s t a n c e , to find a n o t h e r river', he e x p l a i n e d . 'You
in the Ark, ' T h e Nile', p r e f i g u r e d w h a t w o u l d b e c o m e M o o r e h e a d ' s
c o n s u m i n g literary interest.
Late in 1958 he m a d e a r e t u r n visit to Africa, t h i s t i m e in t h e
c o m p a n y of Dick Waller, a g e o g r a p h e r a n d t r a v e l l e r w h o m he h a d m e t
c a n n e v e r r e a l l y h a v e e n o u g h . ' Indeed t h e last c h a p t e r of No Room
69
t h r o u g h t h e i r m u t u a l friend Freya Stark. It w a s a visit t h a t would lead
h i m w i t h g r o w i n g passion a n d c o m m i t m e n t to t h e w r i t i n g of one of his
most h i g h l y a c c l a i m e d a n d best r e m e m b e r e d b o o k s , The White
Nile.
On t h i s occasion it w a s as b o t h t r a v e l l e r a n d historical w r i t e r t h a t he
u n d e r t o o k t h e task t h a t would keep h i m in Africa for m o n t h s at a t i m e ,
across several y e a r s , a n d it w a s t h e u n i q u e c o m b i n a t i o n of his s t r e n g t h s
as t r a v e l l e r a n d h i s t o r i a n t h a t m a d e his p i o n e e r i n g works on Africa so
readable and compelling.
M o o r e h e a d ' s focus c e n t r e d on t h e historical a n d g e o g r a p h i c a l puzzle
t h a t h a d for long involved t h e s o u r c e s of t h e Nile. For 2 0 0 0 y e a r s , since
H e r o d o t u s a s c e n d e d t h e r i v e r as far as t h e first c a t a r a c t at A s w a n in
4 6 0 B.C., no region of t h e world had e x c i t e d t h e s a m e fascination as
t h e m y s t e r i o u s s o u r c e of t h e p a r e n t s t r e a m , t h e W h i t e Nile, t h a t flows
s o u t h of K h a r t o u m , w h e r e t h e Blue Nile c o m e s in from t h e Ethiopian
m o u n t a i n s . 'The great b r o w n flood', he w r i t e s , ' c a m e p o u r i n g out of t h e
d e s e r t forever, a n d no one could e x p l a i n w h y it w a s t h a t it should rise
a n d flow over its b a n k s in t h e Nile Delta in September, t h e driest a n d
h o t t e s t t i m e of t h e y e a r on t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n littoral ... a n d c o n t i n u e in
its lower r e a c h e s for well over a t h o u s a n d miles, t h r o u g h one of t h e most
frightful of all d e s e r t s w i t h o u t r e c e i v i n g a s i n g l e t r i b u t a r y a n d h a r d l y
a d r o p of rain'.
90
T h e river w a s life itself, s l i d i n g a l o n g for 4 0 0 0 miles
from Lake Victoria to t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n a n d m a r k i n g w h a t had b e c o m e
' t h e g r e a t e s t g e o g r a p h i c a l secret after t h e d i s c o v e r y of America'.
His c e n t r a l plan w a s to t r a c k t h e e x p e d i t i o n s of t h e m i d - n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y e x p l o r e r s , B u r t o n , Speke, Livingstone, S t a n l e y a n d t h e Bakers—
t h o s e d a z z l i n g l y i n t r e p i d m e n (and one w o m a n ) w h o had pitted t h e i r
i n t e l l i g e n c e a n d e n d u r a n c e to find t h e s o u r c e of t h e W h i t e N i l e - a n d
h o l d i n g t h e Nile as his focal p o i n t , to e n c o m p a s s t h e d r a m a t i c e v e n t s of
t h e last q u a r t e r of t h a t c e n t u r y in n o r t h - e a s t a n d c e n t r a l Africa as t h e s e
n e w l y accessible regions, o p e n e d by e x p l o r a t i o n , r e s p o n d e d to E u r o p e a n
e x p l o i t a t i o n , C h r i s t i a n i s a t i o n , and m o u n t i n g E u r o p e a n d o m i n a n c e .
70
Before e m b a r k i n g on t h i s a m b i t i o u s v e n t u r e , M o o r e h e a d p r e p a r e d
'to get into t h e m i n d s of t h e old explorers', r e a d i n g t h e i r published
journals-those
huge
nineteenth-century
multi-volumed
reader's vivid
productions
that
route to a r m c h a i r
were
the
travel-richly
d r a m a t i c , i n t e n s e l y p e r s o n a l , a n d a l m o s t all, he found, ' d i s t i n g u i s h e d by
a q u a l i t y of w r i t i n g w h i c h m a k e s t h e s t u d y of t h i s subject a delight'.
He a n d Dick W a l l e r b e g a n t h e i r e x p e d i t i o n at D a r - e s - S a l a a m in
Tanganyika
in O c t o b e r a n d e m b a r k e d on a t h r e e - m o n t h
journey
b a c k to t h e v e r y soil t h e e x p l o r e r s h a d t r o d . T h e y t r a v e l l e d d a i l y by
Land R o v e r a n d , w h e n t h e t a r m a c r o a d s r a n o u t , took turns to w a l k
in front of t h e i r t r a n s p o r t w i t h t h e i r y o u n g A f r i c a n s e r v a n t a m i d
t h e s w i s h i n g red d u s t . At n i g h t t h e y slept in t h e Land Rover or in
g u e s t b u n g a l o w s f o u n d a l o n g t h e way. In British
territory
t h e y met
w i t h t r i b a l c h i e f s , l o o k i n g for t h o s e w h o had met t h e e x p l o r e r s , a n d
e n c o u n t e r e d s o m e w h o c o u l d r e c a l l t h e e x p e r i e n c e of t h e i r a n c e s t o r s
p a s s e d on by word of m o u t h . T h e y s t o o d t o g e t h e r on t h e s h o r e of
Lake V i c t o r i a , m o v e d i n t o U g a n d a a n d on to t h e S u d a n b o r d e r , a n d
journeyed
n o r t h up t h e Nile.
Waller, a gentle a n d s p i r i t u a l m a n , w a s a m a z e d at M o o r e h e a d ' s
t r e m e n d o u s physical a n d m e n t a l vigour. He found h i m 'deeply i m m e r s e d
and e n q u i r i n g ' , ' v e r y m e t h o d i c a l ' , ' h a r d on h i m s e l f a n d others',
jotting
d o w n notes, m a r k i n g t h e i r m a p s , a n d i m a g i n i n g a n d r e c o n s t r u c t i n g in
his m i n d t h e e x p e r i e n c e of t h o s e d i s t a n t e x p l o r e r s . At t h e s a m e t i m e ,
Moorehead a b s o r b e d a store of k n o w l e d g e and o p i n i o n from
officials
a n d o t h e r c o n t a c t s he met a l o n g t h e way. S t o p p i n g also to pore o v e r
d o c u m e n t s at libraries, he a m a s s e d an a b u n d a n c e of g e o g r a p h i c a l ,
ethnological,
anthropological,
zoological
and
botanical
i n f o r m a t i o n d r a w n from a r c h i v e s a n d old African p e r i o d i c a l s . A n d into
all t h i s , he wove his o w n v i v i d l y fresh o b s e r v a t i o n s of people, places
a n d l a n d s c a p e . W i t h t h i s booty, he retired to Freya Stark's h o u s e at
Asolo in Italy to w r i t e h i s book.
historical,
71
Opening
The
White
Nile,
t h e r e a d e r is at once e n g a g e d on
an
e x t r a o r d i n a r y r e c o n n a i s s a n c e . A sense of e x c i t e m e n t stirs t h r o u g h t h e
p a g e s . In h i s direct a n d lively style, M o o r e h e a d d r a w s us into close
a c q u a i n t a n c e w i t h t h e d i v e r s e e x p l o r e r s . T h e r e w a s Richard B u r t o n
w i t h 'his q u e s t i n g p a n t h e r eyes', t h e brow of a god, and t h e 'jaw of a
devil', a m a n of o v e r m a s t e r i n g r e s t l e s s n e s s a n d a n e r u d i t e s c h o l a r a n d
l i n g u i s t w h o , at 36, w a s a l r e a d y f a m o u s as a t r a v e l l e r a n d w r i t e r in
love w i t h t h e A r a b world a n d 'for w h o m t h e t i n k l i n g of a c a m e l bell
b e c k o n e d h i m u n t i l t h e day he died'. His c o l l e a g u e in Africa, his direct
opposite a n d n e m e s i s , w a s t h e h i g h l y s t r u n g b u t b r i l l i a n t J o h n Speke,
t h e ' t r u e g e o g r a p h e r ' . In 1857, t h i s odd couple set out from Z a n z i b a r
w i t h a v a s t c o m p a n y of m e n a n d a n i m m e n s e stock of e q u i p m e n t , to
travel t h r o u g h T a n g a n y i k a , u n t i l Speke, in A u g u s t 1858, w i t h g r e a t
e x c i t e m e n t , s i g h t e d t h e first s t r e t c h of Lake Victoria t h a t led h i m to
t h e firm, s p o n t a n e o u s c o n c l u s i o n ' t h a t t h e lake at m y feet gave b i r t h
to t h a t i n t e r e s t i n g river, t h e s o u r c e of w h i c h h a s b e e n t h e subject of so
much speculation'.
91
This e a r l y a s s e r t i o n on t h e W h i t e Nile's s o u r c e w a s p a s s i o n a t e l y
d i s p u t e d by B u r t o n . Correct as it p r o v e d e v e n t u a l l y , it would lead, after
Speke's second A f r i c a n e x p e d i t i o n w i t h J a m e s G r a n t , to his u n t i m e l y
death
in
contentious
circumstances
in
1864, a s t o r y
Moorehead
u n r a v e l s w i t h i n s i g h t . Speke w a s followed in t h e y e a r s 1865 to 1873
b y t h e large, h a n d s o m e E n g l i s h m a n , S a m u e l Baker, a n d his beautiful
H u n g a r i a n wife Florence, w h o , starting from K h a r t o u m , decided to seek
a s e c o n d s o u r c e of the Nile at Luta Nzige. M o o r e h e a d p e r c e i v e s t h e solid,
i m p e r t u r b a b l e Baker as 'a k i n d of f u l c r u m in A f r i c a n exploration', a n
independent and wealthy traveller who, unlike the other explorers, was
n e i t h e r c o m m i s s i o n e d n o r s u p p o r t e d by g o v e r n m e n t , public i n s t i t u t i o n s
or a g e o g r a p h i c a l society. In t h e i r s e a r c h for t h e g e o g r a p h i c grail in t h e
h e a r t of Central Africa, t h e Bakers found t h e i r w a y t h r o u g h t h e terrible
s w a m p s of t h e Sudd w h e r e 'no m a n had lived or could ever live in t h i s
72
desolation of d r i f t i n g reeds a n d ooze'. Together t h e y faced e v e r y h a z a r d ,
h a r d s h i p a n d u n a n t i c i p a t e d obstacle w i t h a resilience a n d d e t e r m i n a t i o n
t h a t a s t o n i s h e s a t w e n t y - f i r s t - c e n t u r y reader. 'She w a s n o t a
screamer',
h e r h u s b a n d o b s e r v e d m i l d l y of his wife. W h e n h e a v y dew d r e n c h e d
h e r V i c t o r i a n s k i r t s a n d b r o u g h t her to t h e g r o u n d , she d o n n e d men's
c l o t h i n g . Desperately ill from m a l a r i a , she w a s c a r r i e d c o m p o s e d l y on
a litter, a n d w h e n t h e y r a n into trouble w i t h hostile K a m r a s i t r i b e s m e n ,
M o o r e h e a d records, she c a u s e d a n i n v a l u a b l e s e n s a t i o n b y c h o o s i n g
t h a t m o m e n t to w a s h h e r h a i r w h i l e ' t h e t r i b e s m e n a n d t h e i r families
g a t h e r e d r o u n d in a m a z e m e n t at t h e sight of h e r long golden tresses
r e a c h i n g to her waist'.
92
Together, t h e Bakers d i s c o v e r e d a n d n a m e d t h e g r e a t Lake A l b e r t
w h i c h Baker j u d g e d to be at least a w e s t e r n s o u r c e of t h e Nile a n d ,
t r a v e l l i n g on, found a n d n a m e d t h e M u r c h i s o n Falls. Back in E n g l a n d ,
elevated as Sir Samuel Baker a n d h e r a l d e d as 'Baker of t h e Nile',
t h e e x p l o r e r settled d o w n to w r i t e h i s v i v i d m a n y - v o l u m e d
The Albert
N'yanza,
work,
w h i c h r e v e a l e d t h e Nile a n d t h e S u d a n to his
I m p e r i a l r e a d e r s as more t h a n a g e o g r a p h i c a l interest—as a region of
political, h u m a n i t a r i a n a n d c o m m e r c i a l i m p o r t a n c e .
But t h e
central
geographical
puzzle
remained.
w a k e c a m e David Livingstone, a l r e a d y successful
In t h e
Bakers'
following
earlier
e x p e d i t i o n s w h e n he a s c e n d e d t h e Z a m b e z i River to t h e Victoria Falls
a n d d i s c o v e r e d Lake N y a s a . L i v i n g s t o n e w a s a m a n w h o h a d w h a t
t h e A r a b s call baraka,
t h e p o w e r of e n h a n c i n g life a n d c o n f e r r i n g a
blessing on e v e r y o n e w h o met h i m . However, he w a s n e v e r at his best
w h e n t r a v e l l i n g w i t h o t h e r w h i t e m e n , on w h o m he forced d i s a s t r o u s l y
h i g h c a n o n s of b e h a v i o u r . On h i s o w n , w r i t e s M o o r e h e a d , h i s world
' c o m p a c t e d into a s t r a i g h t line'.
A Love
L i v i n g s t o n e r e t u r n e d to Africa to settle t h e problem of t h e Nile
w a t e r s h e d s in T a n g a n y i k a . Lost to v i e w for five y e a r s a n d b r o k e n in
h e a l t h , he would be found at Ujiji b y H e n r y S t a n l e y in 1871 w i t h t h e
73
i m p e r i s h a b l e w o r d s delivered in t h a t r e m o t e , lonely l a n d s c a p e , 'Dr
Livingstone, I presume'.
M o o r e h e a d ' s k n o w i n g eye r e c o g n i s e d S t a n l e y as 'the most a s s i d u o u s
foreign c o r r e s p o n d e n t w h o ever lived' a n d he p r e s e n t s a b r i l l i a n t p i c t u r e
of t h e h u s t l i n g A m e r i c a n as a n e w k i n d of m a n in Africa, a p h i l i s t i n e
' w i t h t h e a t t i t u d e s of a condottiere
in R e n a i s s a n c e Italy', w h o did not
care about a n t h r o p o l o g y , b o t a n y , g e o l o g y or reform, b u t w a s out to m a k e
a n a m e for himself. For M o o r e h e a d , s t e e p e d in t h e e x p l o r e r s ' j o u r n a l s
a n d t r a v a i l s , it w a s t h e s u p r e m e i r o n y t h a t it s h o u l d be Stanley—this
briseur
d'obstacles
w h o d e t e r m i n e d t h a t Lake Victoria h a d o n l y one
outlet, at Jinja, w i t h n o o t h e r s o u t h e r n t r i b u t a r y t h a t m i g h t be a t r u e
s o u r c e of t h e Nile, a n d t h a t Lake T a n g a n y i k a did not h a v e a n outlet to
Lake Albert—who should solve t h e g r e a t g e o g r a p h i c a l puzzle a n d t u r n
out to be t h e g r e a t e s t e m p i r e - b u i l d e r a n d m o s t efficient e x p l o r e r of
them all.
93
For t h e
modern
reader,
the
romantic,
larger-than-life,
deeply
obsessed e x p l o r e r s , ' t h e old g h o s t s ' as Harold Nicholson d u b b e d t h e m ,
are t h e enthrallings h e r o e s of t h e book. But at a t i m e w h e n Africa a n d its
racial d i s h a r m o n i e s w e r e d r a w i n g c o n t e m p o r a r y a t t e n t i o n to t h e dark
c o n t i n e n t , M o o r e h e a d ' s s t o r y w a s a r e m i n d e r of t h e b i z a r r e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y procession of m i s s i o n a r i e s , soldiers of f o r t u n e , m i l i t a r y m e n
a n d d i p l o m a t s w h o p r o m o t e d e v a n g e l i s a t i o n , p o w e r politics, c o r r u p t i o n ,
e x p l o i t a t i o n , r e v o l u t i o n , a n d i n t e r v e n t i o n in Africa's d i v e r s e k i n g d o m s .
Here we meet t h e c a m e l - r i d i n g
G e n e r a l Gordon
and his
doomed
r e s i s t a n c e at t h e siege of K h a r t o u m , a n d H e n r y Kitchener, t h e e n e r g e t i c
y o u n g major in Gordon's s e r v i c e ( a l r e a d y described by M o o r e h e a d in
Gallipoli),
w h o w o u l d a v e n g e Gordon at t h e b a t t l e of O m d u r m a n a n d
r e o p e n t h e w a y up t h e Nile. Here, too, in a series of c h a r a c t e r sketches
described by one r e v i e w e r as 'little m a s t e r p i e c e s ' , we m e e t t h e t a l e n t e d
G e r m a n d o c t o r a n d scientist, E m i n , w h o m Gordon a p p o i n t e d G o v e r n o r
of E q u a t o r i a a n d w h o m a n a g e d to hold out a g a i n s t t h e tide of b a r b a r i s m
74
t h a t s w e p t t h e Nile; a n d t h e s u a v e , h i g h l y c o m p e t e n t K h e d i v e Ismail
w h o W e s t e r n i s e d E g y p t a n d o r g a n i s e d t h e o p e n i n g of t h e Suez Canal.
M o o r e h e a d assembles his intricate interrelated stories, his v a s t sweep
of politics a n d action into a book steeped in h i s t o r y a n d a d v e n t u r e , alive
w i t h incident a n d p e r s o n a l i s a t i o n s a n d coloured by b a r b a r i c , g r a s p i n g
and m u r d e r o u s African r u l e r s . One w h o slips at i n t e r v a l s t h r o u g h t h e
story is t h e y o u n g King Mutesa of B u g a n d a , a slim y o u n g m a n of c e r t a i n
d i g n i t y , ' w i t h his t o n s o r e d h a i r built up like a c o c k s c o m b on h i s head'. He
had several h u n d r e d wives, a n d w a s 'a s a v a g e and b l o o d t h i r s t y m o n s t e r '
in w h o s e k i n g d o m h a r d l y a day w e n t b y w i t h o u t s o m e m e m b e r b e i n g
e x e c u t e d at his c o m m a n d as a result of some small lapse of etiquette
for w h i c h , 'wilfully, casually, a l m o s t as a game', t h e v i c t i m s 'would be
t a k e n away, s c r e a m i n g , to h a v e t h e i r h e a d s lopped
off'.
94
In a rich a n d c o m p l e x n a r r a t i v e , M o o r e h e a d m a i n t a i n s disciplined
control of a v a s t m a s s of historical m a t e r i a l , b u t t h e r e is n o t h i n g
d i s t a n t about his w r i t i n g . He t r e a d s w h e r e his c h a r a c t e r s h a v e t r o d d e n ,
s t u d y i n g t h e i r routes, s o a k i n g up t h e t e r r a i n , d i s c e r n i n g t h e i r a m b i t i o n s
a n d failings. Like t h e m , he o b s e r v e s t h e i m m e n s e lakes a n d t h e great
t u m b l i n g falls, t h e people and t h e flora, t h e limpid e v e n i n g s a n d t h e
b r i l l i a n t s e a r i n g d a y s . A n d it is p a r t of h i s skill as a h i s t o r i a n a n d a
j o u r n a l i s t to recreate t h i s in b o t h an historical a n d his o w n c o n t e m p o r a r y
s e t t i n g a n d to e n a b l e us to see vividly, more t h a n a c e n t u r y later, t h e
h o p e , t h e h o r r o r s , t h e c h a l l e n g e s a n d t r i u m p h s of his c h a r a c t e r s .
He a c k n o w l e d g e d t h a t it n e e d s 'a c e r t a i n a m o u n t of s t a m i n a to travel
t h r o u g h Africa'. 'Often, on t h e move', he records, ' t h e b r a i n r e a c h e s a
s a t u r a t i o n point, r e f u s i n g to respond to t h e new s t i m u l i a n y more, and
it is not a l w a y s e a s y to r e l a x . Africa still s u r r o u n d s you. The m o s q u i t o
h o v e r s over t h e bed at n i g h t a n d t h e s a m e relentless s u n c o m e s up in
A Love
the morning'.
Using t h e s a m e historical skills he h a d h o n e d at Gallipoli, M o o r e h e a d
h a d t r a v e r s e d a n d i n t e r p r e t e d m u c h of t h e African c o n t i n e n t over 40
75
y e a r s . On t h e eve of a n e w c e n t u r y , he c o n c l u d e s , t h e aged Queen
Victoria could s u r v e y t h e s c e n e w i t h satisfaction. 'She r u l e d t h e river
from t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n to t h e M o u n t a i n s of t h e M o o n . E g y p t , t h e
S u d a n , Uganda—all w e r e h e r s in fact, if not in n a m e , a n d t h e Nile, for
t h e first t i m e in its h i s t o r y , w a s an open h i g h w a y from Central Africa
to t h e sea.'
95
' E v e r y n o w a n d t h e n , or p e r h a p s not often,' reflected a c o n t r i b u t o r
to t h e The Times Literary
Supplement
w h e n The White
Nile saw p r i n t
in 1960, ' t h e r e c o m e s a l o n g a book t h a t is p a t e n t l y a t h o r o u g h b r e d : a
p r o p e r professional j o b , c o r r e c t in b a l a n c e , r h y t h m , a n d p e r s p e c t i v e ' .
T h i s book m i g h t lack ' t h e h a u n t i n g , classical a l l u r e of his noble
Gallipoli,
b u t in e v e r y page, in e v e r y p a r a g r a p h , it feels r i g h t , like t h e swiftest
of j e t a i r c r a f t or t h e l e a n e s t of t i g e r s ' .
96
' [ M o o r e h e a d ] a p p e a r s to h a v e
visited e v e r y i n c h of it', w r o t e t h e e s s a y i s t a n d w r i t e r J.B. Priestley,
' a n d p u t s it before us w i t h s i m p l i c i t y a n d power'. M a n y t r a v e l l e r s ' tales
had been w r i t t e n a b o u t Africa by t h e t i m e The White
Nile
appeared.
M o o r e h e a d , however, h a d a g a i n c a p t u r e d u n i q u e g r o u n d in h i s large
h i s t o r i c a l o v e r v i e w , his i n s i g h t , a n d in h i s r e s e a r c h a n d w r i t i n g . 'He
h a s picked for u s t h e rich p l u m s w h i c h n o n e but A f r i c a n
could see today', o b s e r v e d t h e d i s t i n g u i s h e d
97
Elspeth H u x l e y , b u t none—one is t e m p t e d to
historians
a u t h o r i t y on
add-with
Africa,
such first-hand
k n o w l e d g e a n d e x p e r i e n c e of the c o u n t r y .
W h e n M o o r e h e a d first c o n s i d e r e d w r i t i n g t h i s d e n s e a n d
wide-
r a n g i n g book, he w a r n e d H a m i s h H a m i l t o n , ' y o u will p r o b a b l y not
w a n t to p u b l i s h t h i s story, b u t I a m obsessed b y it'. P u b l i s h e d w i t h
t h e confidence his l o n g - t i m e p u b l i s h e r a n d friend felt for his b o o k s ,
t h e work s t i r r e d a n a v a l a n c h e of p r a i s e . Both s c h o l a r s a n d n e w s p a p e r
c o m m e n t a t o r s g r a s p e d its b r e a d t h a n d c o m p a s s a n d saw it as a book
'free, f r a n k a n d t h r i l l i n g ' , 'a p r o t o t y p e of w h a t t h i s t y p e of work should
be'.
98
A m i d public p l e a s u r e , h i s friend M a r t h a G e l l h o r n sent h i m h e r
w a r m p e r s o n a l r e a s s u r a n c e . 'I think it is a d r e a m book, a h u m d i n g e r ' ,
76
she w r o t e . 'I h a v e just realised you are a first class h i s t o r i a n , a l t h o u g h I
h a v e a l w a y s realised you w r i t e like a bird ... A n d w h a t a w o n d e r f u l w a y
of life y o u ' v e found, it c o m b i n e s d e r r i n g - d o (which we all p i n e for) w i t h
t h e p l e a s u r e s of t h e m i n d , y o u r m i n d at w o r k . '
99
For M o o r e h e a d , it w a s a q u e s t i o n of b o t h m i n d a n d h e a r t . Africa
w a s in h i s blood. J o u r n e y i n g a n d w r i t i n g , he had found a n e w k i n d of
h a p p i n e s s a n d , e n c o u r a g e d by g o v e r n o r s a n d o t h e r interested officials
a l o n g t h e way, he turned his lens on t h e c o n t i n e n t ' s o t h e r g r e a t river, t h e
Blue Nile. Less p a r a m o u n t , less h i s t o r i c a l l y c e n t r a l than t h e W h i t e Nile,
' t h e Blue' p o u r e d q u i e t l y out of Lake Tana in t h e n o r t h e r n h i g h l a n d s of
Ethiopia, over t h e s p e c t a c u l a r Tisisat Falls a n d , g u s h i n g t h r o u g h t h e
E t h i o p i a n plateau to t h e hot p l a i n s of t h e S u d a n , j o i n e d t h e W h i t e Nile
at K h a r t o u m .
In The Blue
Nile, M o o r e h e a d steps b a c k h a l f - a - c e n t u r y from t h e
p r o v e n a n c e of The White Nile to e x h u m e t h e e x p e d i t i o n a r y d r i v e s t h a t
w e r e m o u n t e d d u r i n g t h e last q u a r t e r of t h e e i g h t e e n t h a n d t h e e a r l y n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r i e s into t h e g r e a t l o o m i n g isolation of Africa. The
first w a s c o n d u c t e d in Ethiopia in t h e 1770s b y t h e a u d a c i o u s British
traveller, J a m e s Bruce; t h e second w a s t h e f l a m b o y a n t , h i g h l y o r g a n i s e d
i n v a s i o n of E g y p t in t h e 1790s by Napoleon B o n a p a r t e ; a n d t h e last, t h e
d r a m a t i c o p e n i n g up of t h e S u d a n b y t h e Turks u n d e r M o h a m m a d Ali
a n d t h e British at t h e end of t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y .
Again
Moorehead
adopts
his
singular
'soaking-in-at-the-pores'
t e c h n i q u e to i m a g i n e a n d r e c o n s t r u c t h i s history. T h i s t i m e , t h e t e r r a i n
he needed to cover w a s fiercely i n h o s p i t a b l e a n d often a p p r o a c h a b l e
o n l y by foot or boat. At t i m e s , even M o o r e h e a d ' s n o t a b l e s t a m i n a
w a s s e v e r e l y c h a l l e n g e d . Like The White
Nile, The Blue Nile is rich in
l a n d s c a p e , c h a r a c t e r s a n d a c t i o n . Bruce, t h e Scottish b u c c a n e e r who
A Lov
plunged into Ethiopia, d r i v e n by his o w n c u r i o s i t y a n d e x p e d i e n c y ,
m a y lack t h e m o r a l qualities of t h e old g h o s t s , b u t his e x p a n s i v e
p u b l i s h e d a c c o u n t of h i s j o u r n e y , w i t h its air of n i g h t m a r i s h fantasy,
77
p r o v e d a s t o n i s h i n g l y s o u n d , t h o u g h it w a s disbelieved and ridiculed
b y c o n t e m p o r a r y London society. It yielded i n f o r m a t i o n on an o b s c u r e
c o u n t r y t h a t s h a p e d Napoleon's decision to i n v a d e E g y p t at t h e close of
Bruce's c e n t u r y , t h e r e by e n d i n g t h e c o n t i n e n t ' s long sleep.
Napoleon's lavish c a m p a i g n to c o n q u e r E g y p t from 1798 to 1801,
w i t h its r e m a r k a b l e c o n t i n g e n t of a r c h a e o l o g i s t s , s c i e n t i s t s of e v e r y
k i n d , e n g i n e e r s , artists a n d p o e t s r e c r u i t e d to build up an e n c y c l o p a e d i a
of k n o w l e d g e on t h e c o u n t r y , m a k e s e n t h r a l l i n g r e a d i n g . M o o r e h e a d ' s
c h a p t e r s o p e n up a n i m p o r t a n t episode in t h e h i s t o r y of science a n d
c u l t u r e a n d b r i n g t h e a u t h o r ' s o w n c o m p r e h e n s i o n of fighting
and
s t r a t e g y in t h e North A f r i c a n d e s e r t to F r a n c e ' s s t r u g g l e w i t h t h e
warrior Mamelukes. Moorehead
does not see B o n a p a r t e ' s
enforced
w i t h d r a w a l from t h i s g r e a t a d v e n t u r e a n d h i s r e t u r n to c h a o s in Europe
as e c l i p s i n g the fact t h a t all the Napoleonic p l a n s for t h e W e s t e r n i s a t i o n
of Egypt were e v e n t u a l l y c a r r i e d out. 'It w a s a F r e n c h m a n t h a t built t h e
Suez Canal fifty y e a r s later', he affirms, w h i l e t h e work of t h e s a v a n t s ,
c r a w l i n g into e v e r y i n t e r s t i c e of t h e region, 'filled a gap in h u m a n
k n o w l e d g e t h a t had persisted since R o m a n t i m e s ' .
100
Like its p r e c u r s o r , The Blue Nile a s s e m b l e s a s t r i k i n g c o m p a n y . There
is t h e formidable M o h a m m a d Ali, w h o e n t e r s t h e v a c u u m left by t h e
F r e n c h in E g y p t a n d plays off b o t h sides—the M a m e l u k e s a n d Turks—
' l u r k i n g on t h e sidelines w i t h t h e cold, u n b l i n k i n g eye of t h e lizard'.
T h e r e is, too, t h e m u r d e r o u s , frenetic E m p e r o r T h e o d o r e of Ethiopia,
defeated by the British in 1868. It is a m e a s u r e of Moorehead's art of
r e l i v i n g (as one c o m m e n t a t o r p h r a s e d it), to u n d e r s t a n d a n d see t h e
c u l t u r a l a n d p e r s o n a l a m b i v a l e n c e s in his Turkish a n d African p e r s o n a
w i t h sympathy—a key to t h e s t r e n g t h a n d , for t h e reader, t h e p l e a s u r e
of the book.
101
At t h e s t o r y ' s close, joining past a n d p r e s e n t , M o o r e h e a d h i m s e l f is
there.
78
Lake Tana a n d t h e s o u r c e of t h e Blue Nile can be visited
w i t h o u t difficulty ... W i t h m u l e s a n d g u i d e s one c a n follow
Bruce's route up to t h e s o u r c e of t h e Little A b b a i . . . a n d w i t h
a little p e r s i s t e n c e ... one c a n r e a c h t h e Tisisat Falls in a
d a y ' s steady r i d i n g from B a h a r d a r . It is a r e w a r d i n g j o u r n e y .
Towards e v e n i n g one sees in t h e d i s t a n c e t h e g l i m m e r i n g
cloud of s p r a y r i s i n g o v e r t h e falls ... The s p r a y t h a t falls
like g e n t l e r a i n , w e t t i n g one to t h e s k i n , falls forever—two
c e n t u r i e s a n d more ago on Lobo a n d Bruce, now on oneself,
a n d still u p o n a n y t r a v e l l e r w h o c h a n c e s to be at t h a t
beautiful place at t h i s p r e s e n t m o m e n t . S o m e t i m e s a log,
b o r n e a l o n g b y t h e c u r r e n t , t e e t e r s for a m o m e n t at t h e lip
of t h e v a s t abyss, a n d t h e n p l u n g e s d o w n w a r d on its long
j o u r n e y to E g y p t a n d t h e s e a .
102
In t h e s u c c i n c t w o r d s of one reviewer, ' M o o r e h e a d had done t h e Nile
proud'.
A Lo
79
Coopers
T
RAVELLER, H I S T O R I C A L writer,
and
man
Creek
of letters,
Alan
M o o r e h e a d w a s now t h e most a c c l a i m e d A u s t r a l i a n a u t h o r on t h e
i n t e r n a t i o n a l scene. His Nile b o o k s sold in v a s t q u a n t i t i e s a n d would be
r e p r i n t e d , published in a b r i d g m e n t s for y o u n g e r readers, t r a n s l a t e d into
several l a n g u a g e s , a n d p r o d u c e d in finely cased a n d newly illustrated
e d i t i o n s for y e a r s . He w a s s i g n i f i c a n t l y b e t t e r k n o w n t h a n t h e former
e x p a t r i a t e a n d f u t u r e Nobel Laureate, Patrick W h i t e , w h o had fled
A u s t r a l i a four y e a r s earlier t h a n M o o r e h e a d in 1932 a n d r e t u r n e d in
1946, b u t w h o s e major w o r k s , The Tree of Man a n d Voss, h a d s t r u g g l e d
into p r i n t w i t h v e r y limited r u n s in t h e 1950s.
M o o r e h e a d enjoyed r e m a r k a b l e public a p p r o v a l b u t h i s Nile b o o k s
also b r o u g h t h i m p l e a s i n g a c a d e m i c r e c o g n i t i o n from t h e
Department
at M a k e r e r e U n i v e r s i t y a n d a n i n v i t a t i o n
History
from
John
Sparrow, W a r d e n of All Souls College, Oxford, to apply for a fellowship
at t h e p r e s t i g i o u s college if he p l a n n e d to s p e n d a n y l e n g t h of t i m e
in E n g l a n d .
103
After t h e i r s t a y at t h e Villa Diana, t h e M o o r e h e a d s - w i t h
short
respites in Italy—maintained a h o m e b a s e n e a r Regent's P a r k in London.
There t h e family resided w h i l e M o o r e h e a d d e p a r t e d on his e x t e n s i v e
travel a n d w r i t i n g a s s i g n m e n t s to Iraq, Syria, L e b a n o n , E g y p t , Israel,
Australia, America,
Cuba, Africa—the
c o u n t r i e s followed
in
swift
8I
succession. T h e r e Lucy kept in t o u c h w i t h her h u s b a n d ' s l i t e r a r y agent,
t y p e d up his b o o k s , o v e r s a w his proofs, m a n a g e d t h e h o u s e , paid t h e
bills a n d s u p p o r t e d t h e family. She w a s its core. J o h n , b o r n in 1940,
w a s enrolled at Eton; Caroline, a w a r b a b y of 1944, w a s sent later,
u n w i l l i n g l y , to school in S w i t z e r l a n d ; R i c h a r d , t h e y o u n g e s t , b o r n in
1952 a n d v e r y like M o o r e h e a d in looks a n d t e m p e r a m e n t , w a s a London
child w h o would in t i m e follow J o h n to Eton. As small c h i l d r e n , t h e y
h a d h a p p y m e m o r i e s of t h e i r father r e a d i n g t h e m Saki and C h e k h o v
stories, a n d Kipling. For Caroline he w a s fun, w i t h 'a great s u n n i n e s s ' ,
t h o u g h he could be 'cold a n d formidable' on o c c a s i o n . J o h n , w i t h w h o m
h i s father kept in t o u c h w h i l e away, w i t h l e t t e r s i n t e r e s t e d in his d o i n g s ,
found h i m ' v e r y direct, s t r a i g h t a n d r a t h e r formal, b u t g e n e r o u s and
v e r y fair', n e v e r t h e l e s s , 'a figure from outside'. 'I w a s a l w a y s s l i g h t l y in
awe of him', he s a i d .
104
By t h e m i d - 1 9 5 0 s M o o r e h e a d ' s successful
o u t p u t of b o o k s
and
m a g a z i n e articles h a d s e c u r e d h i m a n i n c o m e t h a t allowed his family
to enjoy a c o m f o r t a b l e lifestyle. 'After Gallipoli,
w h i c h m a d e money,'
Caroline r e c o u n t e d w i t h a m u s e m e n t , 'I d i d n ' t h a v e J o h n ' s s h o e s ! ' J o h n
w e n t up to Oxford in 1959, a n d Caroline w o u l d go on after S w i t z e r l a n d
to a t t e n d t h e S o r b o n n e a n d London U n i v e r s i t y a n d lay t h e basis for her
later, d i s t i n g u i s h e d w r i t i n g career.
By 1960, after m u c h s e a r c h i n g , t h e M o o r e h e a d s found a place for
a p e r m a n e n t h o m e in Italy. T h e y built a h o u s e on a quiet hillside at
Porto Ercole in Tuscany, w i t h i n e a s y d r i v i n g d i s t a n c e of b o t h Rome a n d
Florence. T h e y t o o k up residence t h e r e in t h e s p r i n g , Lucy o v e r s e e i n g
most of t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d t h e m o v i n g . M o o r e h e a d ' s little s t u d i o
b e h i n d t h e h o u s e in t h e g a r d e n w a s d e s i g n e d for c o n c e n t r a t i o n , w i t h his
desk facing a wall covered w i t h m a p s a n d p h o t o g r a p h s of his c u r r e n t
w r i t i n g project. He added an u p r i g h t desk modelled on one u s e d by Dr.
L i v i n g s t o n e . ('Moorehead', one of his v i s i t o r s o b s e r v e d , ' w a s good at
t h a t sort of thing'). It w a s a j o y o u s place to w r i t e , to b r i n g t o g e t h e r The
82
Blue Nile for publication in 1962, to e n t e r t a i n friends, a n d to p l a n t out
t h e g r o u n d s w i t h v i n e s , lemon a n d olive trees, a n d A u s t r a l i a n e u c a l y p t s
among the cypresses.
By 1962, t w o e l e m e n t s c o - m i n g l e d in M o o r e h e a d . At 52, u r b a n e ,
s o p h i s t i c a t e d , w i t h friends w h o included m e n a n d w o m e n in h i g h
literary, d i p l o m a t i c , m i l i t a r y a n d a r t i s t i c circles, a n d m a n y w r i t e r s a n d
travellers—Osbert Lancaster, Cyril Connolly, t h e J.B. P r i e s t l e y s , Patrick
L e i g h - F e r m o r , P e t e r F l e m i n g a n d h i s wife Celia J o h n s o n , a n d J a m i e
H a m i l t o n a m o n g t h e m - w h o called to enjoy t h e h o s p i t a l i t y of Villa
M o o r e h e a d , he w a s , as one n e w s p a p e r styled h i m , 'a " M e d i t e r r a n e a n
m a n " w h o h a s refreshed h i s spirit w i t h t h e a r t s a n d h i s t o r y of t h e h i g h
Renaissance'.
105
N o n e t h e l e s s , w i t h Gallipoli
a n d his A f r i c a n a d v e n t u r e s
b e h i n d h i m , M o o r e h e a d w a s e x p e r i e n c i n g some s e n s e of y e a r n i n g
for A u s t r a l i a .
Despite h i s t w o p o s t w a r visits, he had not g r e a t l y modified
his
o r i g i n a l view of his o w n c o u n t r y as s o m e t h i n g of a c u l t u r a l w i l d e r n e s s .
D e l i v e r i n g t h e Sir T h o m a s W h i t e A n n u a l L e c t u r e at A u s t r a l i a House
in t h e late 1950s, he m a d e it k n o w n t h a t , in h i s o p i n i o n , A u s t r a l i a
still
reflected
'an
appalling
uniformity,
where
respectability
had
o v e r t a k e n all but t h e best m i n d s ' . But, at t h e s a m e t i m e , he stressed t h a t
t h e m o m e n t had c o m e for A u s t r a l i a n s to r e t u r n to t h e i r o w n o r i g i n s
a n d see t h e m s e l v e s in p e r s p e c t i v e , w i t h o u t false pride, a n d w i t h o u t
a p o l o g y . ' 1 0 6
T h e r e w a s a c e r t a i n a m b i v a l e n c e in his a t t i t u d e . A l t h o u g h
M o o r e h e a d defined h i m s e l f as an 'an old e x p a t r i a t e ' , a n d referred to his
c o u n t r y m e n as ' t h e m ' a n d 'they', he h a d j o i n e d t h e Society of A u s t r a l i a n
Writers a n d w a s seen by some as one of t h e g r o u p of A u s t r a l i a n w r i t e r s ,
a r t i s t s , p o e t s a n d m u s i c i a n s w h o , by t h e 1960s, were g a i n i n g collective
p r o m i n e n c e in Britain a n d Europe.
Peter Porter, one of t h e i r kind, had a definition for t h e m : 'People b o r n
in t h e w r o n g c o u n t r y ' . But, for M o o r e h e a d , t h e description w a s i n e x a c t .
His v e r y A u s t r a l i a n g e t - u p - a n d - g o e n t e r p r i s e and zest to m a x i m i s e his
Cooper
83
t a l e n t abroad w e r e t h e essence a n d t h e m a i n s p r i n g of his success, a n d
w h i l e he w a s h a p p y to be accepted b y t h e English ' e s t a b l i s h m e n t ' his
r e m e m b e r e d feeling for t h e a m b i e n c e a n d s i n g u l a r i t y of t h e A u s t r a l i a n
b u s h clearly i n f o r m e d his lucid s e n s e of e n v i r o n m e n t in o t h e r l a n d s .
It w a s t h a t o t h e r d i s t i n g u i s h e d e x p a t r i a t e , a r t i s t Sidney Nolan, w h o
w o u l d now focus M o o r e h e a d ' s m i n d on h i s o w n c o u n t r y a n d p r o v i d e
a n i m p o r t a n t s t o r y for his p e n . Nolan p r e s u m a b l y met M o o r e h e a d at
some t i m e after t h e a r t i s t took up residence in E n g l a n d in 1952, w h i l e
he c o n t i n u e d to a d d r e s s A u s t r a l i a n t h e m e s . D u r i n g t h e 1950s, Nolan
had p a i n t e d t h e stark l a n d s c a p e of Central A u s t r a l i a for h i s Burke a n d
Wills series, in w h i c h he p o r t r a y e d t h e deeply isolated figures of t h e
t w o e x p l o r e r s on t h e i r o v e r l a n d journey across t h e c o n t i n e n t a l m o s t a
c e n t u r y before. He had r e t u r n e d to t h e series on a n d off over t h e y e a r s
a n d , early in t h e 1960s, p u t into M o o r e h e a d ' s m i n d t h e idea t h a t he
should r e s e a r c h a n d w r i t e a s e r i o u s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of t h e s t o r y t h a t had
now b e c o m e a n A u s t r a l i a n l e g e n d .
107
For M o o r e h e a d , t h e subject held all t h e t h e m e s t h a t e n g a g e d h i m :
exploration, travel, landscape, environment, singular men committed
to d i s c o v e r y , a n d t h e fearful c h a l l e n g e of t h e u n k n o w n . Seized w i t h t h e
idea, he b e g a n h i s r e s e a r c h on Burke a n d W i l l s at P o r t o Ercole early in
1962, r e a d i n g t h e e x i s t i n g s e c o n d a r y s o u r c e s on t h e e x p e d i t i o n lent to
h i m by t h e London Library a n d t h e copy of t h e e x p e d i t i o n ' s c o m m i s s i o n
of e n q u i r y r e p o r t sent to h i m b y t h e State L i b r a r y of Victoria. He a r r i v e d
in A u s t r a l i a in t h e a u t u m n a n d , after a few d a y s f e r r e t i n g a b o u t in t h e
State Library, he set off o n a n o r g a n i s e d Land Rover e x p e d i t i o n in t h e
footsteps of t h e e x p l o r e r s .
There is a p e r v a s i v e s t i l l n e s s in t h e o p e n i n g of his n a r r a t i v e of t h e
book t h a t w o u l d b e c o m e Cooper's
Here p e r h a p s , m o r e t h a n
Creek:
a n y w h e r e , h u m a n i t y had
had
a c h a n c e to m a k e a fresh s t a r t ... N o t h i n g in t h i s s t r a n g e
84
c o u n t r y s e e m e d to b e a r t h e slightest r e s e m b l a n c e to t h e
outside world: it w a s so p r i m i t i v e , so l a c k i n g in g r e e n n e s s ,
so silent, so old ... A k i n d of t r a n c e w a s in t h e air, a sense
of a w a k e n i n g infinitely delayed. In t h e m i d s u m m e r heat t h e
l a n d s c a r c e l y b r e a t h e d , b u t t h e alien w h i t e m a n , w a l k i n g
t h r o u g h t h e g r e y a n d silent trees, w o u l d h a v e t h e feeling
t h a t s o m e o n e or s o m e t h i n g w a s w a i t i n g and l i s t e n i n g .
108
Into t h i s w a i t i n g l a n d s c a p e , M o o r e h e a d i n t r o d u c e s t h e g r e a t e x p l o r a t o r y
c a v a l c a d e w h i c h t h e Royal Society of Victoria, goaded b y h o p e s of
s e t t l e m e n t a n d profit in A u s t r a l i a ' s u n o p e n e d v a s t n e s s , o r g a n i s e d in
1860. It w a s an e x p e d i t i o n to c a r v e a route t h r o u g h t h e u n k n o w n c e n t r e
( p e n e t r a t e d w i t h m u c h p a i n as far as t h e Simpson Desert in t h e 1840s by
Charles Sturt) a n d to m a p a line linking t h e p r o s p e r o u s city of M e l b o u r n e
to t h e Gulf of C a r p e n t a r i a . For t h i s , t h e s o c i e t y ' s Exploration C o m m i t t e e
had g a t h e r e d £ 9 0 0 0 to p r o v i d e lavish e q u i p m e n t a n d m a n p o w e r for t h e
leader of t h e exploit, a n Irish police s u p e r i n t e n d e n t from C a s t l e m a i n e ,
Victoria, t h e h e a d s t r o n g a n d volatile Robert O'Hara Burke. His y o u n g
l i e u t e n a n t a n d u l t i m a t e l y s e c o n d - i n - c o m m a n d , W i l l i a m J o h n Wills,
s c i e n t i f i c a l l y - m i n d e d a n d adept in meteorology, would s u r v e y t h e route
a n d t h e t w o would be j o i n e d b y a n a s s o r t m e n t of m e n . Included were
t w o G e r m a n scientists, t h e n a t u r a l i s t Ludwig Becker a n d t h e older
H e r m a n Beckler, a p p o i n t e d as b o t a n i s t a n d medical officer respectively,
a n d t e n o t h e r s (selected from an a s t o n i s h i n g 700 w h o applied from
across t h e c o u n t r y ) , a m o n g t h e m W i l l i a m Brahe, t h e c a m e l
expert
George Landells, a n d t h e y o u t h f u l J o h n King, t h e last of w h o m would
a s s u m e special significance.
On 20 A u g u s t
1860, t h e h u g e e x p e d i t i o n , w i t h its c a m e l s
and
c a r a v a n s , s w a y e d out of M e l b o u r n e to assail t h e u n e x p l o r e d t r a c t s of
c e n t r a l a n d n o r t h e r n A u s t r a l i a , ' t h e g h a s t l y b l a n k ' . T h e r e would be m a n y
Cooper'
u n c e r t a i n t i e s a n d r e a d j u s t m e n t s a l o n g t h e way. W h e n , in October, t h e
85
e x p e d i t i o n r e a c h e d M e n i n d e e on t h e D a r l i n g River, t h a t f u r t h e s t o u t p o s t
of s e t t l e m e n t t h a t faced t h e c e n t r a l desert, Burke decided to break his
party
into t w o g r o u p s . L e a v i n g b e h i n d a c o h o r t t h a t included Becker
a n d Dr Beckler a n d a c o n s i d e r a b l e section of h i s stores, he pressed on
with an a d v a n c e c o l u m n of eight men and the best c a m e l s and horses,
across 4 0 0 miles of c o u n t r y , to a p e r m a n e n t w a t e r s o u r c e at Cooper's
Creek, k n o w n from S t u r t ' s earlier discovery.
For mile after
mile t h e p l a i n s t r e t c h e d
a w a y before t h e m .
M o o t w i n g e e , a place of s u d d e n j a g g e d hills a n d gullies a n d
At
deep
pools, now k n o w n to be an A b o r i g i n a l sacred site, M o o r e h e a d b e a r s
contemporary witness:
Even t o d a y it is an e x t r a o r d i n a r y place, for t h e r e is m u c h
e v i d e n c e h e r e of t h e e x i s t e n c e of an i n l a n d sea in p r e h i s t o r i c
t i m e s ... The w e i g h t of oldness in t h e s e r o c k s ... is v e r y great.
S t r a n g e t r e e s a n d p l a n t s dot t h e l a n d s c a p e a n d s t r a g g l e up
t h e r a v i n e s ... Except for t h e s c r e e c h i n g of t h e w h i t e a n d
p i n k c o c k a t o o s t h e r e is great silence and i m m o b i l i t y in t h e
l a n d s c a p e . The big red k a n g a r o o a n d t h e e m u v a n i s h w i t h o u t
a s o u n d ; it is a place of s n a k e s a n d lizards ... a n d in t h e s a n d
t h e a n t - l i o n m a k e s his hole a n d w a i t s for t h e black a n t to
sliver d o w n t h e slope into his j a w s . In t h e pale blue sky, t h e
w e d g e - t a i l e d eagle s p r e a d s his six-foot w i n g s a n d c r u i s e s in
e n d l e s s circles, w a t c h i n g t h e g r o u n d
below.
109
Ludwig Becker would h a v e d e l i g h t e d in all t h i s , but Burke a n d his p a r t y
a p p e a r to h a v e gone by M o o t w i n g e e a l m o s t w i t h a shudder.
The heat w a s b e c o m i n g intense—109 d e g r e e s f a h r e n h e i t in t h e
shade-
a n d r e a c h i n g Cooper's Creek on 11 November, t h e party waited a m o n t h
for t h e a r r i v a l of W i l l i a m W r i g h t , a p p o i n t e d t h i r d - i n - c o m m a n d
at
M e n i n d e e , w i t h t h e e x p e c t e d stores. I m p a t i e n t , Burke a g a i n decided to
86
m a k e a d a s h for t h e Gulf of C a r p e n t a r i a w i t h o u t w a i t i n g f u r t h e r for t h i s
c o n t i n g e n t . His c h o s e n p a r t y for t h e forward m a r c h of 1500 miles t h e r e
a n d back w a s s p a r e - h i m s e l f , Wills as s u r v e y o r a n d recorder, Charley
Gray in c h a r g e of t h e horses a n d J o h n King of t h e c a m e l s . T a k i n g t w o
h o r s e s , s i x of t h e best c a m e l s a n d light stores, he left a p e r m a n e n t depot
at Cooper's Creek u n d e r W i l l i a m B r a h e . After c u t t i n g t h e sign ' C a m p
L X V ' into a c o o l i b a h tree, t h e four m e n set off on 18 D e c e m b e r 1860.
M o o r e h e a d ' s s t o r y of t h e i r m a r c h a c r o s s t h e d e s e r t w i t h its s h a r p
s t o n e s , t h e c l a y h a r d as c o n c r e t e , t h e n e v e r - e n d i n g flies, t h e s w a m p s
a n d ridges t h a t blocked t h e i r w a y a n d t h e s u f f o c a t i n g
sandstorms,
is q u i e t l y p e r c e p t i v e , c o n t r o l l e d , a n d c o m p e l l i n g . 'The
mechanical
m o n o t o n y of t h i s t r e m e n d o u s walk', he o b s e r v e s , 'is s o m e t h i n g not
easily to be u n d e r s t o o d b y t h e t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y m i n d ; h o u r after
hour, mile after mile a n d a l w a y s t h e s a m e p l a i n a h e a d ... a l w a y s to get
up in t h e m o r n i n g w i t h t h e p r o s p e c t of d o i n g t h e s a m e t h i n g all over
a g a i n . T h e world n a r r o w s in t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s ... A n d so t h e i m a g i n a t i o n
t h a t held t h e s e m e n on to t h e i r objective a n d t h e skill w i t h w h i c h
t h e y o v e r c a m e a t h o u s a n d i n t r u s i o n s is s o m e t h i n g to be v e r y m u c h
admired'.
110
By 10 F e b r u a r y 1861, forcing t h e m s e l v e s to e x c e p t i o n a b l e
e n d e a v o u r , t h e y a r r i v e d w i t h i n a few m i l e s of t h e Gulf of C a r p e n t a r i a
a n d , b o g g e d by m a n g r o v e s , t a s t e d t h e b r a c k i s h w a t e r of t h e C h a n n e l .
T h e y had r e a c h e d t h e i r goal.
His w r i t i n g of t h e t w o leaders' m o m e n t s in sight of t h e Gulf, eager
even in t r i u m p h to r e t u r n to t h e i r depot at Cooper's Creek, c a p t u r e s
t h e s e n s e of d r e a m y doubt a n d i n t e n s e isolation of Nolan's p a i n t i n g
of Burke a n d Wills, figures ' s w i m m i n g m i r a g e - l i k e ' in t h e l a n d s c a p e ,
w h i c h M o o r e h e a d would use for t h e book's j a c k e t . F o l l o w i n g t h e m s o u t h
in t h a t wide, m e l a n c h o l y l a n d s c a p e , h i s n a r r a t i v e e x h i b i t s an e m p a t h e t i c
u n d e r s t a n d i n g for t h e confident, reckless Burke, ill-suited t h r o u g h his
lack of e x p e r i e n c e for t h e leadership task, a n d t h e diligent, o b s e r v a n t
W i l l s . T h e r e is a n elegiac q u i e t n e s s in M o o r e h e a d ' s n a r r a t i v e of t h e
Coope
87
2
On t h e f a c e of i t t h i s s e a r c h was a h o p e l e s s a f f a i r ,
or
rather
i t must have seemed so
now t h a t t h e y w e r e c o n f r o n t e d w i t h
e n o r m i t y of t h e i r t a s k .
Nine m o n t h s had now e l a p s e d s i n c e
had d i s a p p e a r e d .
N o t h i n g w h a t e v e r was known of h i s r o u t e
after
l e a v i n g t h e C o o p e r ; he c o u l d be anywhere w i t h i n a t h o u s a n d
and
everywhere
to
the
north
was
discover".
miles
w h o l l y unknown and u n e x p l o r e d .
H o w i t t s p e a k s of " t h e m y s t e r i o u s v a s t n e s s of t h e d e s e r t
which h e l d ,
the
Burke
interior
somewhere, t h e s e c r e t w h i c h i t was o u r m i s s i o n
to
The s i l e n t u n r e v e a l i n g b u s h e n f o l d e d them, t h e
t h e kangaroo.. s t a r e d m e a n i n g l e s s b l y and n o t h i n g was
communicated,
Sometimes s t r a n g e d o u b l e m i r a g e s q u i v e r e d on t h e p l a i n s a r o u n d them
and t r e e s hung u p s i d e down i n t h e empty s k y .
dreaming f l o a t i n g
Where i n a l l
this
s p a c e was Burke t o he f o u n d ?
T h e r e had been j u s t one e n c o u r a g i n g i n c i d e n t on S e p t e m b e r 6
•to—
when t h e y w e r e a p p r o a c h i n g t h e f l a t - t o p p e d
g i b b e r p l a i n s of t h e C o o p e r c o u n t r y .
h i l l s and t h e
A p a r t y of b l a c k s - an old
g r e y - h a i r e d man, a y o u n g e r man and a g r o u p of l u b r a s w i t h
c h i l d r e n - had come up t o them on a d r y w a t e r c o u r s e .
very excited
-
H a n d - c o r r e c t e d t y p e s c r i p t page of t h e first draft of Cooper's
Creek
A l a n M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s M S 5 6 5 4 , N a t i o n a l L i b r a r y of A u s t r a l i a
88
their
"They were i n a
t r a v e l l e r s ' s u p r e m e effort to r e a c h Depot LXV: t h e t o r r e n t i a l r a i n , t h e
d y i n g Gray e v e n t u a l l y ' b u r i e d in his flannel t r o u s e r s , his s h o r t - s l e e v e d
s h i r t a n d his w i d e - a w a k e h a t ' in a shallow g r a v e , w h i c h took t h e m a
day to dig b e c a u s e of t h e i r w e a k n e s s , t h e s t r u g g l e for food, a n d t h e
a r r i v a l of t h e t h r e e b r o k e n and t a t t e r e d m e n at Cooper's Creek. There,
c a l l i n g t h e i r 'cooees' a n d t h e n a m e s of t h e i r colleagues into t h e eerie
stillness, t h e y found only a deserted b a s e c a m p a n d t h e m e s s a g e buried
b e n e a t h t h e tree m a r k e d , 'DIG, 3ft. N.W. April 21 1861', w h i c h told of
t h e d e p a r t u r e of Brahe a n d his t w o c o m p a n i o n s t h a t s a m e m o r n i n g .
M o o r e h e a d catches at Brahe's p r e d i c a m e n t . He had i n s t r u c t i o n s from
Burke t h a t 'he could be considered "perished" if not back in t h r e e
m o n t h s ' . T h e y had now b e e n gone for over four. Should he set a date to
leave? Should t h e y wait? 'Each day', w r i t e s M o o r e h e a d , ' t h e s e q u e s t i o n s
posed t h e m s e l v e s a n d t h e r e w a s n e v e r a n y a n s w e r ' .
His a c c o u n t of t h e s t r u g g l e of t h e t h r e e e x p l o r e r s to find a route
s o u t h , not back to M e n i n d e e , but c h o o s i n g i n s t e a d A u g u s t u s Gregory's
route via M o u n t Hopeless to Adelaide, e x p o s e s t h e i n t e n s e a n d i n t i m a t e
p o w e r of his historical w r i t i n g :
A n d so from now on we m u s t p i c t u r e t h e m w a l k i n g v e r y
slowly, e x p l o r i n g t h e d r y c h a n n e l s of t h e Cooper one after
a n o t h e r . . . a v e r y c o n c e n t r a t e d little g r o u p , w a l k i n g in I n d i a n
file t h r o u g h t h e silent g u m t r e e s , pestered b y t h e flies, not
s p e a k i n g v e r y m u c h , each one intent u p o n a n i n n e r world of
his o w n d i s c o m f o r t ... a n d no s o u n d a b o u t t h e m e x c e p t t h e
c r e a k i n g of t h e c a m e l p a c k s . T h e y w e r e c o n s t a n t l y on t h e
w a t c h , w a t c h i n g t h e flight of birds, w a t c h i n g for t h e signs
of blacks and w a t c h i n g one a n o t h e r . T h e y do not a p p e a r to
h a v e q u a r r e l l e d or to h a v e lost p a t i e n c e w i t h each other, a n d
t h i s w a s no m o m e n t for h y s t e r i a . T h e y w e r e a l i e n s in t h i s
h a r d indifferent c o u n t r y , t h i s gaol of i n t e r m i n a b l e space,
Cooper's
89
a n d t h e i r only h o p e of e s c a p i n g from it w a s b y s u p p o r t i n g
one a n o t h e r to t h e limit.
111
Burke and t h e faithful Wills would die at s e p a r a t e sites b y t h e river.
Only King, n o u r i s h e d a n d cared for b y t h e A b o r i g i n a l A u s t r a l i a n s ,
would be found later b y Alfred Howitt's rescue e x p e d i t i o n a n d t a k e n
back, c a r r y i n g t h e e x p l o r e r s ' b o n e s for t r i u m p h a l b u r i a l in M e l b o u r n e .
R e c r i m i n a t i o n , criticism of t h e p l a n n i n g , a n d e x a l t a t i o n of t h e
explorers would
follow. But for M o o r e h e a d ,
this
c a r r i e d a w i d e r significance. It w a s not m a n pitted
epic
journey
t h e t r a g i c failure
of
h e r o i c a l l y a g a i n s t m a n as he h a d seen it on t h e field of b a t t l e , nor had
it a parallel in t h e e x p e r i e n c e of t h o s e deeply m o t i v a t e d m e n , t h o s e
g i a n t s of e x p l o r a t i o n in Africa. These w e r e o r d i n a r y m e n lifted into
e x t r a o r d i n a r y c i r c u m s t a n c e s . In t h e end, he w r i t e s , 'This w a s just d e a t h ,
stark, d e s p a i r i n g a n d m e a n i n g l e s s , t h e m o n s t e r in t h e dark'. The q u a r r e l ,
as he saw it, w a s w i t h t h a t old i n d e s t r u c t i b l e , t h e A u s t r a l i a n b u s h .
M o o r e h e a d b r o u g h t s o m e t h i n g h i g h l y p e r s o n a l to t h i s c o n c l u s i o n . He
h a d r e t u r n e d to t h e d e s e r t l a n d s c a p e s t i r r e d b y t h e p a i n t i n g s of t h e red
o u t b a c k - N o l a n ' s e a r l y Ned Kellys a n d t h e d o o m e d e x p l o r e r s - a n d he
h a d found it a r e m o t e a n d d a n g e r o u s place. Like Nolan, he w a s l o o k i n g
to i n t e r p r e t t h e c o u n t r y of h i s b i r t h , its a n t i q u i t y , c u r i o u s b e a u t y a n d
history, a n d relate it to t h e life of t h e m i n d . In t h e end, M o o r e h e a d
believed t h a t it w a s t h e o u t b a c k itself a n d t h e d e s e r t t h a t w a s at t h e
h e a r t of t h e Burke a n d Wills t r a g e d y , a n d t h e r e a s o n w h y it s u r v i v e d
so s t r o n g l y as a legend in A u s t r a l i a . It c o n n e c t e d , he considered, at
its d e e p e s t level, w i t h t h e early settlers w h o believed t h a t life w a s not
so m u c h a s t r u g g l e a g a i n s t o t h e r m e n as a g a i n s t t h e w i l d e r n e s s - a
w i l d e r n e s s t h a t m a d e all m e n e q u a l .
Cooper's
Creek w a s p u b l i s h e d by H a m i s h H a m i l t o n in N o v e m b e r
1963 a n d w o n t h a t y e a r ' s Royal Society of L i t e r a t u r e A w a r d . It w a s t h e
first fully d o c u m e n t e d a c c o u n t of t h e Burke a n d Wills e x p e d i t i o n told
90
t h r o u g h M o o r e h e a d ' s c a m e r a eye. Serialised in The Sunday
Times,
it
t u r n e d new a t t e n t i o n on A u s t r a l i a . Reviewers seized u p o n its mystic
a m b i e n c e a n d p a i n t e r l y q u a l i t i e s . The
Yorkshire
Post saw it as 'an
A u s t r a l i a n classic from s t a r t to finish ... t h e work of a w r i t e r w h o s e
d e t a c h m e n t of h e a r t does not preclude a fierce i n t e l l e c t u a l passion. His
c a n v a s is h u g e , y e t his m e t h o d is t h e
Times Literary
Supplement
e t c h e r ' s ' 1 1 2
'Mr Moorehead', The
added, ' b e l o n g s to a n a t i o n of a r t i s t s ' a n d
' n o w t h a t he is w r i t i n g about A u s t r a l i a it is c u r i o u s how A u s t r a l i a n he
t u r n s out to
be.
'113
P u b l i s h e d in a first edition of 45 0 0 0 copies, t h e book b e c a m e an
i n s t a n t bestseller in Britain, a c i r c u m s t a n c e u n k n o w n for an A u s t r a l i a n
t h e m e . 'He gave A u s t r a l i a back its history', o b s e r v e d Michael Charlton,
a fellow e x p a t r i a t e w h o had m a d e his n a m e w i t h t h e BBC. In A m e r i c a
t h e r e s p o n s e w a s b o t h p o p u l a r a n d scholarly. The Christian
Monitor
a n d The Atlantic
Monthly
Science
serialised t h e work, and it d r e w
informed p r a i s e from t h e U n i v e r s i t y of Columbia's Professor of History,
A l l a n N e v i n s , w h o , w i t h a c o m p a r a t i v e eye, d e c l a r e d t h a t all s t u d e n t s of
t h e A m e r i c a n West should read it 'for t h e m a r v e l l o u s p a r a l l e l s w h i c h it
offers to o u r o w n record of t r a n s - M i s s i s s i p p i exploration'.
114
In addition,
a few m o n t h s previously, M o o r e h e a d had received a n i n v i t a t i o n from
S y r a c u s e University, New York, i n v i t i n g h i m to place his private p a p e r s
in its m a n u s c r i p t collections as 'a b o o n to l i t e r a r y h i s t o r i a n s , w r i t e r s and
t e a c h e r s , and to t h e u n i v e r s i t y a n d scholarly world in general'. Now, in
J u l y 1964, t h e u n i v e r s i t y r e n e w e d its o v e r t u r e .
115
S i m u l t a n e o u s l y , Harold
Gotlieb, Director of Special Collections at Boston University, s i g n a l l e d
h i s w i s h to a c q u i r e an A l a n M o o r e h e a d collection as 'a d i s t i n g u i s h e d
n u c l e u s ' for t h e l i b r a r y w h i c h t h e u n i v e r s i t y w a s b u i l d i n g for t h e s t u d y
and r e s e a r c h of c o n t e m p o r a r y literature.
Released
for C h r i s t m a s
116
1963 in A u s t r a l i a ,
Cooper's
Creek
was
serialised in n e w s p a p e r s in Sydney, P e r t h a n d Adelaide a n d reviewed
e n t h u s i a s t i c a l l y across t h e c o n t i n e n t , w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n of a growl at
Cooper
9I
an inaccuracy in its historical context, from Hartley Grattan,
117
and
another for its 'undue preoccupation' with the early settler's view of
landscape, from Geoffrey Dutton.
118
Manning Clark, reviewing the
dynamics of the story for an American audience in The New York
Book Review,
Times
appeared to capture the book's prime significance. 'Now
for the first time in this superb book,' he affirmed, 'readers have an
opportunity to learn the full story and the meaning of this tragedy
in the history of Australia'. While the setting was provincial, and at
times even parochial, said Clark, the story 'is seen in its universal
significance' and it was a measure of Moorehead's achievement that he
moved the mind 'to ask the wider questions'.
Cooper's
Creek
119
was the first of Moorehead's writings to impinge
directly on the Australian historical community beyond the eclectic
Manning Clark. Geoffrey Serle, historian at Monash University, who had
acted as publisher's reader for the book, wrote to Moorehead privately to
compliment him on his 'powerful evocation of landscape' and 'narrative
beautifully constructed and told',
120
while Kathleen Fitzpatrick, the
respected professor of history at his old alma
mater, the University of
Melbourne, identified closely with the work. As an author on Australian
explorers and their journals, she had immersed herself in the Burke
and Wills saga at the request of the 1960 centenary committee of the
expedition and had sent Moorehead her elegantly critical paper on the
exploration committee's management of the venture. Having done this
research, she confessed she had thought of writing a book on Burke and
Wills but, hearing of his project, quickly abandoned the subject. The
book to hand, a woman of excellence and generosity, she wrote him
warmly, 'Not since I read Kangaroo,
have I read any book which gave
me so strong a sense of place about my own country ... The landscape,
in the best sense, dwarfed the story'.
For Moorehead, Cooper's
121
Creek marked a particular milestone. In
addressing his own country's history explicitly for the first time, he
92
had both confirmed and crystallised an Australian legend and shifted
Australian history from its essentially local themes towards a place of
relevance on an international map. It was a conceptual map, as writer
David Malouf discerned. 'Turn the globe upside-down', he wrote, 'and
Australia stops being tucked away in the lower left-hand corner'.
At the same time, the book flagged an awakening and a homecoming.
'For us of the older generation,' Moorehead recorded in his 1964 oral
history interview for the National Library of Australia with Hazel de
Berg, 'we've reached a curious forking, a dichotomy in our experience
... Returning to Australia, we have a tremendous tug back to the
beginnings of our lives'. 'If I were younger,' he added, 'I would not
hesitate for two minutes: I would return to this country and I would
write here of Australian themes. You must in the end, if you are a
writer, return at last to your roots'.
122
Cooper's Creek
123
93
7 have seen the curve of the
world'
A l a n M o o r e h e a d s t a n d i n g on a v o l c a n i c ledge
o v e r l o o k i n g the Ross Sea, A n t a r c t i c a
[1964]
Alan Moorehead Papers MS5654,
National Library of A u s t r a l i a
nla.ms-ms5654-0-6x-o-vl
The
SIDNEY NOLAN had given the title Cooper's
Australian
Creek to one of his
early paintings in the Burke and Wills series and, significantly,
Moorehead chose it for his book. Their respective searches for
meaning in the outback bound these two Australians in friendship
and, as the relationship grew, it proved influential to them both.
Both were Melbourne-born. Nolan, seven years younger, came from
working-class Irish parents and enjoyed a less privileged education
than Moorehead. But, largely self-taught, he had developed a lifelong
interest in literature and established an early experimental approach
to art. He was already renowned for his interpretative, quintessentially
Australian paintings when, at the height of his powers, he left the
country in 1952, at the age of 35, to find a wider perspective and
arena in Britain.
Moorehead's friendship with the artist stemmed directly from his
own writings. Nolan had been given a copy of Moorehead's evocative
New Yorker article, 'Return to a Legend', about his first trip to Gallipoli,
when staying as a guest of George Johnston on the Greek island of
Hydra. 'It was like unlocking a door', Johnston recalled.
124
Nolan at
once visited the neighbouring Dardanelles and began to paint his
mystic, imagined Anzac series, believing, as he put it, that if he could
push Gallipoli far enough back into the history of Homer and The Iliad
95
a n d ' m a k e t h e A u s t r a l i a n s into d r e a m figures', he w o u l d be g e t t i n g
somewhere near the mark.
125
In t u r n , r e s p o n d i n g to Nolan's i n f l u e n c e a n d s e n s e of l a n d s c a p e ,
M o o r e h e a d c h o s e h i s friend's p a i n t i n g s of Burke a n d Wills at t h e Gulf
of C a r p e n t a r i a ('the p r i m i t i v e y o u s u g g e s t e d ' ) for t h e j a c k e t of
Cooper's
Creek a n d p r o d u c e d a b o o k closely reflective of t h e a r t i s t ' s t h e m e . For
h i s p a r t , t h e b o o k cast its spell on t h e
artist's
m i n d . 'I'm s u r e t h e r e is
s o m e t h i n g still to be got from t h e Centre', Nolan m u s e d r e a d i n g t h e
p r e - p u b l i s h e d m a n u s c r i p t ' a n d it w o u l d be w o n d e r f u l to find it'. 'I feel
it on t h e tip of m y t o n g u e a l m o s t ' , he w r o t e to M o o r e h e a d .
'Cooper's
Creek s e e m s to pretty well get it, b u t if t h e r e is a last elusive l a y e r to
be found ... I would like n o t h i n g more t h a n to look at it.'
126
He p u r s u e d
t h e last l a y e r a n d e m b a r k e d on a s u p p l e m e n t a r y Burke a n d W i l l s series
in w h i c h t h e e x p l o r e r s , n a k e d n o w on t h e i r t w o c a m e l s , b e c a m e , as he
told h i s friend, ' c e n t a u r - l i k e for s u r v i v a l ' .
A l l this', M o o r e h e a d w r o t e to Nolan in A u g u s t 1963, ' m a k e s me w a n t
to h a v e a n o t h e r b a s h at a n o t h e r A u s t r a l i a n t h e m e . I a m keen to go
out a g a i n a n d if w e c a n m a k e a t r i p into t h e c e n t r e t o g e t h e r so m u c h
t h e better'.
His close e x p o s u r e to Nolan's a r t led to a w e l c o m e i n t e r p r e t a t i v e
project. D u r i n g his w r i t i n g of Cooper's
Creek, t h e A m e r i c a n
Holiday
m a g a z i n e , to w h i c h M o o r e h e a d h a d b e e n c o n t r i b u t i n g t r a v e l articles
since t h e 1950s, invited h i m to w r i t e a n e s s a y on 'The A r t i s t in t h e
Outback'. He r e s p o n d e d w i t h a p e r c e p t i v e a n a l y s i s of Nolan's work. For
h i m , Nolan's Ned Kelly, 'a h a u n t i n g m o n o l i t h i c figure in t h e iron mask
w i t h t h e flames of hell u p o n it', the 'lyrical, floating d r e a m - l i k e e c s t a s y '
of his lovers in Leda and the Swan,
a n d h i s A n z a c soldiers at Gallipoli
were m a s t e r p i e c e s w h i c h m a d e h i m ' t h e A u s t r a l i a n of A u s t r a l i a n s ' .
For t h e a u t h o r of Gallipoli,
127
Nolan h a d evoked 'an a l m o s t religious d e p t h
of feeling a n d of p o e t r y ' in his A n z a c series—the v e r y e m o t i o n s with
w h i c h t h e soldiers fought. Here t h e i r w o r k s were closely i n t e r t w i n e d . In
96
addition, Nolan's r e c u r r i n g s e n s e of elegy, n o s t a l g i a a n d i n c o m p l e t e n e s s
w e r e feelings w i t h w h i c h M o o r e h e a d found s t r o n g c o n n e c t i o n .
Their friendship s h a p e d o t h e r e n t e r p r i s e s . Later t h a t year, M o o r e h e a d
a p p r o a c h e d Nolan w i t h t h e idea of joining h i m on a trip to A n t a r c t i c a ,
for w h i c h he p l a n n e d to g a t h e r m a t e r i a l for t h e New Yorker, a l w a y s an
i m p o r t a n t and s u s t a i n e d outlet for his w r i t i n g s . T h e y would t r a v e l as
t h e g u e s t s of t h e United States Navy on a s p e c i a l l y e q u i p p e d Hermes
aircraft, w i t h a g r o u p o r g a n i s e d by a US a d m i r a l , to i n s p e c t t h e United
States b a s e at M c M u r d o S o u n d . T h e y a r r i v e d in S y d n e y on a b l a z i n g
hot d a y in m i d - J a n u a r y 1964, travelled on t o g e t h e r to C h r i s t c h u r c h ,
a n d flew s o u t h to t h e ice on 24 J a n u a r y . It w a s a n e x p e r i e n c e destined
to reflect d i r e c t l y on each m a n ' s c r e a t i v e work.
L a n d i n g from t h e p l a n e on t h i s ' h u g e w h i t e plate of frozen
earth
c l a m p e d to t h e b o t t o m of t h e world', Moorehead—for w h o m t h e whole
p l a n e t w a s his e v e r - e n g r o s s i n g oyster—experienced, he confessed later,
'a m o m e n t of i n t e n s e a n d n a t u r a l h a p p i n e s s ' . T h e y stayed for eight d a y s ,
b o t h c u r i o u s l y alert to t h e s i m i l a r i t i e s t h e e m p t y p o l a r l a n d s c a p e had
w i t h t h e different d e s e r t s of t h e i r m i n d s . Nolan scribbled notes on t h e
subtle colours of t h e l a n d s c a p e , w h i l e M o o r e h e a d , a ' S u n d a y painter',
sketched.
128
For h i m , t h i s journey to t h e e n d s of t h e e a r t h , he said in an
oral h i s t o r y i n t e r v i e w , w a s ' m o r e e x c i t i n g t h a n
anything
t h a t h a s ever
h a p p e n e d to me since t h e war'. 'I h a v e seen t h e c u r v e of t h e world.'
129
The two were back t o g e t h e r a g a i n in Adelaide in M a r c h t h a t y e a r
w h e n Nolan invited Moorehead to l a u n c h t h e e x h i b i t i o n of his recent
African p a i n t i n g s (for w h i c h t h e African specialist had given h i m m u c h
valuable advice on routes and travel) at t h e S o u t h A u s t r a l i a n A r t Gallery.
This event took place d u r i n g t h e Adelaide Festival of t h e A r t s , when
Moorehead w a s also due to give t h e o p e n i n g address at Writers' Week.
new opera on an A u s t r a l i a n t h e m e . They chose Mrs Eliza Fraser, t h e
sea c a p t a i n ' s wife who, s u r v i v i n g a shipwreck on t h e Queensland coast
The Australian
Here t h e friends hatched a n o t h e r collaborative s c h e m e and p l a n n e d a
97
Alan Moorehead with Sidney Nolan
in Shackleton's hut, Antarctica
[1964]
Alan Moorehead Papers MS5654,
National Lihrary of Australia
nla.ms-ms5654-0-7x-o-v1
Official US Navy photograph
in 1836, together with a convict, was held captive by the Aboriginal
Australians. Mrs Fraser had already threaded her way into Nolan's mental
landscape as a recurring theme in his drawings and paintings. Now he
would design the opera's scenery, Moorehead would write the libretto,
and Peter Sculthorpe would compose the music. But to Moorehead's
singular chagrin, their plan, initially backed by the Elizabethan Theatre
Trust, proved abortive, and his libretto, which he looked forward to
hearing sung, remains in manuscript form among his papers.'
130
Moorehead and Nolan had one more stimulating exploit together—a
visit to Tahiti that March on their way back to their northern hemisphere
residences. Carrying strong visual imagery from the Antarctic journey
and fusing it with a sense of the rich history of Pacific exploration,
Moorehead was already turning over in his mind the concept of a new
book. It crystallised in Tahiti. There he shaped the centrepiece of his
far-ranging work, The Fatal Impact,
with its focus on the dire effects
of European exploration and the human and faunal exploitation that
flowed in its wake. 'Read Bernard Smith's European
South Pacific',
was Nolan's sage advice.
Vision
and the
131
After Tahiti, Moorehead stopped at Gallipoli to take part in the TV
documentary film Robert Raymond was making of the Gallipoli story.
He wrote to Nolan: 'We had three days down there, perched ourselves
on the hilltops, with Samothrace on one side and the Dardanelles on
the other, the weather good and me spouting away at the camera'.
The film had wide success, Moorehead emerging as a man with clear
television skills and a high regard for Raymond. His promised article
on Antarctica, 'Borrowed Light', would come out in the New Yorker in
June 1964. T have a mountain of books to read on Cook, the islands, the
whales, Antarctica, the Aborigines and John Edward Eyre and will see
through the rest of this year whether I cannot cook up a book on the
deadly white man in the Pacific' 'Work well, my son', he concluded his
letter from Tuscany, 'and have a break down here if you can'.
100
132
As Moorehead m a d e his w a y home, Nolan b e g a n work in his London
s t u d i o on his A n t a r c t i c c a n v a s s e s , t h e v i v i d w h i t e s t r u c t u r e s t h a t were
not all w h i t e b u t s u b t l y b r u s h e d w i t h deep blue and acid g r e e n ; and
t h e o m i n o u s , l o o m i n g icebergs, w i t h t h e i r l i n i n g s of black a n d grey.
'I feel I missed t h e coda to o u r journey in not g o i n g to Gallipoli with
you', he r e s p o n d e d w a r m l y . T enjoyed all o u r trip a n d often t h i n k of it
now, w h e n I a m g e t t i n g d o w n to p a i n t i n g t h e
Antarctic.'
Nearing the
end of s o m e work on w o m e n ' s faces from his Adelaide visit, he added,
'Antarctic
colours a r e c r e e p i n g into t h e i r h a t s a n d dresses ... it is t i m e
to c o n c e n t r a t e on t h e ice'.
133
T h e i n t e l l e c t u a l closeness of t h i s fellowship w a s clearly s o m e t h i n g
M o o r e h e a d had not k n o w n since his r i c h l y s h a r e d w a r e x p e r i e n c e w i t h
A l e x Clifford. Both A u s t r a l i a n s w e r e n o m a d i c in c h a r a c t e r a n d t h e r e
w a s a unity in t h e i r v e r y A u s t r a l i a n n e s s , t h e i r c r e a t i v e q u e s t after
ideas, a n d t h e i r i n d i v i d u a l a t t e m p t s to u n d e r s t a n d a n d i n t e r p r e t t h e
m y s t e r y a n d s y m b o l i c o v e r t o n e s of t h e i r c o u n t r y . Their
friendship
d r e w M o o r e h e a d back to A u s t r a l i a , w h e r e his s u b s e q u e n t v i s i t s s t i r r e d
a d e e p e n i n g s e n s e of c o n n e c t e d n e s s a n d c o m m i t m e n t to t h e c o u n t r y
of his b i r t h .
A u s t r a l i a n n e w s p a p e r s a l w a y s greeted t h i s e x p a t r i a t e son as a
celebrity on his i n t e r m i t t e n t r e a p p e a r a n c e s . However, Cooper's
Creek
bestowed a new i d e n t i t y on M o o r e h e a d and b r o u g h t h i m p l e a s u r e in
a w i d e n i n g circle of A u s t r a l i a n friends. He h a d met t h a t o t h e r a r t i s t
of t h e raw o u t b a c k , Russell 'Tas' D r y s d a l e a n d kept in c o n t a c t w i t h
h i m in t h e i r different visits b e t w e e n A u s t r a l i a and Italy. P r o b a b l y
t h r o u g h Drysdale, who s h a r e d a n interest in t h e m u t t o n bird s e a s o n
in Bass Strait, he had also m a d e c o n t a c t w i t h several
Australian
s c i e n t i s t s - ' J o c k ' M a r s h a l l , a colourful professor of z o o l o g y at M o n a s h
t h e West A u s t r a l i a n o r n i t h o l o g i s t , Victor S e r v e n t y , w h o fed his interest
in A u s t r a l i a n
wildlife
and its c o n s e r v a t i o n . One l o n g - t i m e
friend
The Australian
University, w h o s e special interest w a s t h e b r e e d i n g cycle of b i r d s , a n d
101
was Rod Andrew, whom Lucy and he had met in 1946 as a youthful
gastroenterologist headed for England. Andrew was now the prestigious
Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Monash University and engaged in
a distinguished scientific career. From the outset of their friendship,
he had admired Moorehead's 'animal vitality', his constant 'reaching
for the stars', but he could also treat him with the casual Australian
badinage that, living abroad, Moorehead missed.
He also met and developed a friendship with the youthful Robert
Hughes, who, owing much to Moorehead's impetus, would soon be on
the road to becoming a successful expatriate himself. Moorehead had
been impressed by one of Hughes' critiques of art in the local press and
telephoned to invite him for a drink. No doubt he saw in the aspiring
Hughes something of his old alter ego, chafing at the bit in a country
where he had to make do with reproductions for his critical work. He
warned him: ' I f you stay in Australia the way you are, Australia will
remain very interesting but you are going to become a bore'.
134
Hughes
took the hint and the promise of Moorehead's introductions to his
publisher and agent in London, and was soon a welcome visitor at the
Villa Moorehead.
For the ebullient Hughes, Moorehead was both a much-loved father
figure and an inspiring mentor. 'From the moment we nearly fell into
the fishpond together after our first lunch on my veranda in Sydney
in 1964', he wrote jauntily in a review of Pocock's biography six
years later, A l a n Moorehead changed my life ... I have never known a
writer from whom I learnt more'. It was less by precept than example.
Staying at Porto Ercole for two months amid the lively dinners and
the conversation, he observed Moorehead draft
The Fatal
Impact
and acquired an invaluable lesson and an 'indispensable model of
professional conduct'.
135
Each day Hughes watched his host disappear
into his viewless garden studio for five hours and emerge at noon with
700 fairly clean words on paper.
102
Their w a r m r e l a t i o n s h i p had direct o u t c o m e s . ' W h e n you
come
to write', Moorehead advised his y o u n g visitor, ' t a k e a t h e m e
Australian
from
history'. The big u n w r i t t e n story, he t h o u g h t , was
the
c o n v i c t s , t h o u g h at 27 and trying to escape A u s t r a l i a , H u g h e s recoiled
from it at t h e t i m e . But a decade later, his h i g h l y successful
of A u s t r a l i a ' s c o n v i c t e x p e r i e n c e , The Fatal Shore,
history
took its point of
d e p a r t u r e from M o o r e h e a d ' s m a s t e r y of historical w r i t i n g a n d w a s
dedicated to his m e n t o r and friend.
M o o r e h e a d , H u g h e s o b s e r v e d , w a s 'as proud as Lucifer about his
craft'. Yet he w a s fond of t h e Greek word p h i l o t i m o — k n o w i n g one's spot,
one's place of b a l a n c e in t h e world. He w a s t o t a l l y w i t h o u t p r e t e n s i o n
a n d 'his w r i t i n g w a s like his table t a l k , a s t u t e , w i d e - r a n g i n g , full of
curiosity, w i t h o u t f a n t a s y and a n c h o r e d in t h e real
world'.
136
From his r i n g s i d e seat, H u g h e s also p e r c e i v e d t h e q u i n t e s s e n t i a l
n a t u r e of M o o r e h e a d ' s r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h his wife. ' M o o r e h e a d ' ,
d i s c e r n e d , ' h a d had t h e i m m e n s e luck to find his n a t u r a l
early'. Lucy, t w o y e a r s h i s senior, a
magnanimity,
cunning
journalist
he
protector
of great skill had, ' w i t h
and u n b o u n d e d d e v o t i o n , m a n a g e d e v e r y t h i n g
e x c e p t his a c t u a l w r i t i n g for 4 0 y e a r s ' . A n d it w a s in large p a r t b e c a u s e
of t h e s e c u r i t y she g a v e h i m t h a t M o o r e h e a d , he s u r m i s e d , w a s free of
t h e professional j e a l o u s y a n d lonely r a n c o u r t h a t so often w e n t w i t h
b e i n g a writer. H u g h e s also knew, as did Lucy a n d most of t h e i r close
friends, t h a t t h o u g h her h u s b a n d loved her d e a r l y a n d found e v e r y
k i n d of s u p p o r t a n d s u s t e n a n c e in her, he w a s relentlessly u n f a i t h f u l
to her.
Lucy could turn a w a y from his c o n s t a n t s e x u a l infidelities, w h i c h
were of t h e p a s s i n g k i n d , but she w a s deeply h u r t by his s u s t a i n e d affair,
c o n d u c t e d in A m e r i c a a n d Paris o v e r s e v e r a l y e a r s d u r i n g t h e 1960s,
Moorehead
had double s t a n d a r d s a n d e x p e c t e d
great
faithfulness
from his poised a n d c h a r m i n g wife. But 'she adored him', her close
The Australian
w i t h A l i s t a i r Cooke's a t t r a c t i v e a r t i s t wife, J a n e . R o b u s t l y m a s c u l i n e ,
103
friend Martha Gellhorn declared, 'and he could never have managed
without her'.
From late 1964, Moorehead was deeply committed to his human
and ecological story. For this task he gathered in all the interests and
insights derived from his African experiences that had made him
such an outstanding historical writer: exploration, the environment,
unknown primitive communities exposed for the first time to civilised
Western eyes, and a sense of the immense but unanticipated changes
inflicted by the white man's advent on indigenous people, cultures and
wildlife. As one of the great travellers of his time, aware of the highly
diverse societies of the globe, he added to this a mind which saw the
rush of history stretching backwards to the fateful moment when 'a
social capsule is broken open, when primitive creatures, beasts as well
as men, are confronted for the first time with civilisation'.
137
There is something visionary and passionate about The Fatal
and it is Moorehead's most controversial work. Subtitled The
of the South
Pacific
1767-1840,
Impact
Invasion
it is structured around the greatest
hero-explorer and navigator of all time, Captain James Cook, who on
his three voyages into the South Pacific and the Antarctic regions in
the years 1768 to 1779, became, in Moorehead's judgment, the agent of
unwitting and destructive change.
Moorehead focuses upon three historical experiences. First, the
contact between the white man and the people at Tahiti, enacted when
HMS Endeavour
and her company arrived to observe the Transit of
Venus in April 1769 and remained for several months to enjoy the
society of these hitherto undisturbed Pacific islanders. Drawing on the
journals of Cook and Banks, Moorehead introduces his readers to the
islanders' culture and 'the singular happiness' of their lives. But Cook
noted that, while his crew were given a clean bill of health by the ship's
doctor on their arrival, the Tahitians went down with venereal disease
after several weeks. This, Cook observed sharply, 'may spread over all
104
t h e islands in t h e S o u t h Seas to t h e e t e r n a l r e p r o a c h of t h o s e w h o first
b r o u g h t it a m o n g them'.
W h e n t h e Endeavour
r e t u r n e d h o m e at t h e end of h e r first v o y a g e
in 1771 c a r r y i n g t h e idea of t h e noble s a v a g e to Europe, t h e T a h i t i a n s
w e r e poised on t h e b r i n k of c h a n g e , m o v i n g t o w a r d s a n i n v a s i o n of
t h e island b y a succession of n a v i g a t o r s , m i s s i o n a r i e s , b e a c h c o m b e r s ,
w h a l e r s , t r a d e r s , a n d t h o s e w i t h political i n t e r e s t s , w h o would reduce
their happiness significantly and permanently.
For M o o r e h e a d , G a u g u i n ' s T a h i t i a n c a n v a s s e s , p a i n t e d s o m e 50 y e a r s
later, c a p t u r e most t e l l i n g l y t h e fatal c u l t u r a l effects t h a t Cook's a d v e n t
had set in t r a i n . By t h e n t h e London M i s s i o n a r y Society, d e t e r m i n e d ,
as he describes it, 'to r e c r e a t e t h e island in t h e i m a g e of l o w e r - m i d d l e class P r o t e s t a n t
England',
had h a m m e r e d
a w a y w i t h its
amazing
c o n v e r s i o n s . These had b e e n followed by t h e sleaziness a n d i n e r t i a t h a t ,
in 1842, H e r m a n Melville d i s c e r n e d as c h a r a c t e r i s i n g life in Papeete.
Of t h e c a n v a s s e s by G a u g i n , M o o r e h e a d w r i t e s , 'no m a n or w o m a n ever
s m i l e s ; s u p i n e , defeated, d e s p a i r i n g a n d beautiful, his people gaze in a
reverie into a lost past'. On h i s f a m o u s p a i n t i n g of a T a h i t i a n girl l y i n g
inert a n d n a k e d on her c o u c h , t i a r e tahite p e t a l s s c a t t e r e d a b o u n d her,
G a u g i n had w r i t t e n one word in English, ' N e v e r m o r e ' .
In
the
Endeavour's
second
section
of t h e
book,
138
Moorehead
considers
the
landfall in Australia—'the l a n d t h a t waited'. T h e r e t h e
c o m p a n y c a m e u p o n s o m e t h i n g e n t i r e l y new a n d infinitely s t r a n g e . At
B o t a n y Bay a n d t h e E n d e a v o u r River, he writes, ' t h e y were a w a r e t h a t
t h e y were c o n f r o n t e d w i t h an u t t e r p r i m i t i v i s m , wild c r e a t u r e s t h a t had
not developed b e y o n d t h e m a r s u p i a l stage, p l a n t s t h a t did not a p p e a r to
fit into t h e L i n n e a n or indeed a n y o t h e r s y s t e m of classification, and a
n o m a d i c people w h o lived more like a n i m a l s t h a n m e n . It w a s as t h o u g h
t h e y were l o o k i n g back into t h e b e g i n n i n g s of c r e a t i o n ' .
Moorehead
tracks
Australia's
development
139
through
of w h i t e o c c u p a t i o n : possession a n d c o n v i c t s e t t l e m e n t ,
the
phases
The A
expansion
I05
outwards through exploration, and acclimatisation. But his real story is
of the Aboriginal Australians, their culture and their long, destructive
exposure to the Western civilisers. This is a very different Moorehead
from the author of Rum Jungle who had written a decade earlier of the
'blackfellows' and recalled that at school 'we knew "the Abos" were
somewhere there in the bush and we treated them as a great joke'.
Drawing on Basedow, the expertise of Ronald and Catherine Berndt on
the Aboriginal Australians, and Daisy Bates' participant view in The
Passing
of the Aborigines,
he writes with sympathy of their nomadic
life and customs, their experience with the invading fleets and British
settlement, and the broad indifference of colonists and governments to
the erosion and destruction of their inheritance.
These, then, were the tough, vigorous, gentle, superstitious
and conservative people whom Banks found but one degree
removed from the brutes, and whom Dampier described as
the miserablest on earth. Yet they were neither brutal nor
miserable before the white man came. In a harsh and barren
country they had established a perfectly valid way of life,
they had kept the race alive through unknown centuries of
time, they threatened no one, and coveted nothing except
the barest minimum of food. They had the art of living for
the day, they knew how to laugh and enjoy themselves, and
if they had no ambition at least they possessed the Greek
quality of the knowing of one's place in the world.
140
For Daisy Bates, the Aboriginal people had become mere 'trespassers in
their own country ... compelled to change their mode of life ... their ageold laws set aside for the laws they could not understand', and caught in
their 'intolerable nostalgia for their half-forgotten past'. For Moorehead, it
echoed the Tahitian refrain of fatal dislocation and change: 'Nevermore'.
106
In t h e final p a r t of his book, Moorehead follows Cook on his two lesserk n o w n j o u r n e y s to A n t a r c t i c a on HMS Resolution,
where, descending
s o u t h w a r d s to cross t h e A n t a r c t i c Circle a n d c i r c u m n a v i g a t e t h e South
Pole, he reached t h e f u r t h e s t point south a t t e m p t e d by a n y m a n . Baulked
by frozen land, he t u r n e d east t o w a r d Cape Horn, d i s c o v e r i n g t h e islands
of Tierra del Fuego, South Georgia a n d t h e S a n d w i c h Group,
where
to t h e i m m e n s e s u r p r i s e of t h e ship's company—they s t u m b l e d upon a
cornucopia of seals, w h a l e s , dolphins, t u r t l e s , and birds of e v e r y kind,
'probably t h e largest c o n g r e g a t i o n of wildlife t h a t existed in t h e world'.
Here, once more, it w a s t h e great n a v i g a t o r ' s fate to b r i n g d i s a s t e r
in h i s w a k e . A r m e d with Cook's c h a r t s , t h e s e a l i n g a n d w h a l i n g fleets
moved out from t h e i r E u r o p e a n a n d A m e r i c a n bases to p l u n d e r t h e s u b A n t a r c t i c i s l a n d s , t h e seals t h e i r first q u a r r y , as m a n y as 9 0 0 0 a week
clubbed to d e a t h on t h e b l o o d s t a i n e d ice for t h e i r pelts. By 1830, fur
seals in t h e S o u t h e r n Ocean w e r e virtually e x t i n c t . For t h e w h a l e r s who
followed, t h e first c o m e r s set up shore factories in t h e Bay of Islands
in New Z e a l a n d , t h e D e r w e n t E s t u a r y in T a s m a n i a , a n d all a l o n g t h e
e s t u a r i e s a n d coves of t h e deserted coast of s o u t h e r n , w e s t e r n a n d
e a s t e r n A u s t r a l i a w h e r e each y e a r t h e w h a l e s a r r i v e d from t h e s o u t h to
breed. In t i m e , t h e h u n t m o v e d to pelagic w h a l i n g in t h e open seas. 'It
was', s a y s M o o r e h e a d , 'a t r e m e n d o u s killing'.
Published
in 1966, h i s e l o q u e n t b o o k p r o v e d a
lightning
rod.
H i t h e r t o , J a m e s Cook had a p p e a r e d as o p e n i n g up t h e u n i n h a b i t e d lands
of t h e S o u t h e r n H e m i s p h e r e to t h e c i v i l i s i n g influences of t h e West.
M o o r e h e a d saw t h e o u t c o m e in a c o n v e r s e light. 'The results of Cook's
i n t r u s i o n in Tahiti and Australia', he a r g u e d , 'had been bad e n o u g h for
t h e n a t i v e p e o p l e s : for t h e A n t a r c t i c a n i m a l s it w a s a holocaust'. In The
Fatal Impact,
he adopted an a p p r o a c h t h a t had b e c o m e his s i g n a t u r e .
and e n v i r o n m e n t a l c h a n g e .
The Australian
He assembled a c o m p e l l i n g historical s t o r y a n d t u r n e d it to e x p o s e a
p h e n o m e n o n t h a t lay at t h e h e a r t of e x p a n s i v e social, h u m a n , e c o n o m i c ,
107
It was not of the same depth or scholarship as Gallipoli,
Nile, The Blue Nile, or Cooper's
The
White
Creek, yet the book had a unique stamp.
It was the first piece of writing to address the issue of the negative
effects of exploration as an overarching theme. It contextualised the
Aboriginal Australians in a global scheme and, through it, Moorehead
emerged again as a pre-eminent figure and a powerful advocate in the
growing movement for worldwide conservation.
The book had immediate impact. It was published with a copious first
print run and captured wide audiences when it was serialised, translated,
reprinted and, later, issued as a paperback. Moorehead was made Patron
of the World League for Conservation. Among a profusion of laudatory
reviews, Isabel Quigly's Catholic Herald commentary caught its quality
and its ambiguities. 'Whatever the moral or the ethical answer—and
there seem to be many morals and many answers—the story itself,
the characters and events, the scenery and adventures, the march of
history on the one hand and the swift progress of disintegration on
the other, is both magnificent and intriguing ... as a storyteller of this
particular sort, Mr Moorehead is unsurpassed.'
141
Nolan, a participant
at its genesis, viewed the finished work with an artist's eye. 'It is like
seeing an Italian fresco in an Italian town', he wrote to Moorehead.
'The invented and the real become the same thing. Nothing gives more
pleasure. The book is faultless.'
142
For many it was the book's elegiac quality and tone of lyric regret
that captured readers of The Fatal Impact which, together with
Cooper's
Creek, in the words of The Times' obituary writer 17 years later in 1983,
'elevated Moorehead's writings into a new style ... [and] contributed
to his power'. But some reviewers considered that Moorehead had
carried his overarching argument too far. Others wished for more
documentary or more detailed sociological evidence. Bernard Smith,
whose influential European
Vision
and the South Pacific
1768-1850
Moorehead acknowledged as a major source, considered that the real
108
story w a s not t h e fatal
i m p a c t t h a t M o o r e h e a d c h o s e to imply. Rather,
he h a s w r i t t e n privately, M o o r e h e a d ' s 'love of d r a m a t i c n a r r a t i v e a n d
title seduced h i m ' a n d he had 'filtered out e v e n t s to suit t h e title'. One
of A u s t r a l i a ' s
most d i s t i n g u i s h e d
scholars,
Smith
considered
that
M o o r e h e a d had used his a c a d e m i c book to p r o v i d e a more p o p u l a r
a c c o u n t of t h e E u r o p e a n p e n e t r a t i o n of t h e Pacific a n d 'dredged it for
detail to suit his t h e m e ' . But he added generously, 'he is a b o r n w r i t e r
a n d his
journalistic
skills are e v e r y w h e r e in e v i d e n c e in t h e b o o k ' .
W r i t i n g in History
143
Today, h i s t o r i a n Peter Duval Smith, not a l w a y s
g i v e n to h i g h praise, says 'At least he leaves t h e door of t h e l a b o r a t o r y
open for o t h e r s to enter'.
144
A n d , as a l w a y s , t h e r e w a s ' t h e M o o r e h e a d
p h e n o m e n o n ' . It fell to A u s t r a l i a n l i t t e r a t e u r a n d reviewer, M a x H a r r i s ,
to define it in decisive t e r m s : 'His r e a d i n g m i g h t at t i m e s be skimpy,'
he s u m m e d up, 'his selection of m a t e r i a l a r b i t r a r y , ' but t h e r e w a s still
' t h e M o o r e h e a d i n t e g r i t y and t h e M o o r e h e a d flavour'. ' M o o r e h e a d tells
o t h e r people's stories w i t h real f r e s h n e s s : he r e a l l y c a n see t h r o u g h t h e
eyes of o t h e r s ... As a result he is t h e l i v i n g m a s t e r of a m o d e r n l i t e r a r y
g e n r e w h i c h lies b e t w e e n h i s t o r y on t h e one h a n d a n d
on
The Australian
the other.'
journalism
145
109
A l a n M o o r e h e a d at t h e Great B a r r i e r Reef [1965]
Tom Pocock P a p e r s 1987-1990, MS8377
N a t i o n a l L i b r a r y of A u s t r a l i a n l a . m s - m s 8 3 7 7 - 0 - 2 x - v l
Reproduced w i t h p e r m i s s i o n from t h e M o o r e h e a d family
The
Writer
THE FATAL IMPACT was to be Moorehead's last individually written
book. With the work in press, he was back in Australia early in
1965 on a four-month tour, to pursue his concerns for the conservation
of wildlife and to make a TV film on the subject with Robert Raymond.
Marsupials, birds, snakes, crocodiles were all grist to his mill as he
travelled from Queensland through eastern Australia to his childhood
holiday haunts of Phillip Island and the islands of Bass Strait, sending
off a sheaf of articles to Australian newspapers as he went.
146
There were flutters in literary circles. Patrick White 'would very much
like to see you', Geoffrey Dutton signalled, although in private the literary
curmudgeon did not conceal his gall that while the best Australian
bookshops did not bother to put his recent books on display, other writers
'should be paid huge advances to write books on the Nile and the Pacific',
I am even told', he complained, 'that Moorehead is not very good, but of
course journalism is what the world wants to lap up'.
147
In April, Moorehead caught up with Professor Manning Clark, all
their attempts to meet at Porto Ercole or in London having failed. Now
was their chance, men of like sympathies, to come together at the
Clarks' house in Canberra. 'We soon found we had much in common',
said Clark, remembering this long-awaited meeting. 'We both believed
history was an art in which the writer imposed an order on chaos.
111
We both believed that the historian should have the art of the story
teller' and, above all, that the writer 'should have something to say'.
148
Significantly it was Clark, the first professor of Australian history and
the leading academic in the field, who recognised both the seriousness
of Moorehead's work and his contribution to Australian historiography.
Clark had reviewed several of Moorehead's books and judged that he
had both the gift to anticipate the groundswells in public opinion and
to serve as a path-breaker in promoting a rising tide of interest in the
history of Australia.
On the personal front, Manning Clark took another view of his
visitor and saw in Moorehead 'a lonely and unhappy man' who, in spite
of his great success, was something of a fugitive, always on the move.
In this he put his finger on an aspect of Moorehead's uncertainties that
most people, alert to his urbanity and accomplishments, failed to see.
Happily, as the days passed, Clark noticed 'he grew more confident, as
if he didn't have to put on an act any more, because he was among his
own sort of people'.
149
On this visit, Moorehead was clearly becoming increasingly at home
and rooted in Australia as he planned a book on Australian fauna. He
also tinkered with Australian property investments, and, as he told Rod
Andrew, he was beginning to consider Australia as a place where he
and his family might settle, or at least spend a part of every year. He
was also pleased to receive an invitation from Professor Alan Shaw of
Monash University's History Department inviting him to spend a period
in the department as a visiting professor the following year—to hold
seminars and be available to talk to students.
150
Returning home via America, he signed up to write a film script on
Darwin
and the Beagle,
another story of a world voyage that had an
immense impact and influence on modern thought. Moorehead had fallen
for the young naturalist when reading Darwin's journal for The Fatal
Impact.
112
He was fascinated by his adventure and the way in which his
d i s c e r n i n g mind had responded to t h e j o u r n e y ' s e v o l u t i o n a r y e v i d e n c e .
The script was swiftly w r i t t e n , t h e staccato notes in Moorehead's informal
notebook r e v e a l i n g t h e careful s t o c k i n g a n d w o r k i n g of his m i n d .
Back in Italy, t h e script completed a n d t h e w i n d of success b l o w i n g
sweetly, M o o r e h e a d s u c c u m b e d to one of his r e c u r r i n g p e r i o d s of
f r u s t r a t i o n , b o r e d o m , accidie,
and d i s c o n t e n t . 'Nearly e v e r y t h i n g I
h a v e t o u c h e d in t h e last t w e l v e m o n t h s ' , he scribbled b l e a k l y in h i s
diary, ' h a s gone w r o n g ' . His wildlife d o c u m e n t a r y did not a p p e a r ; he
w a s u n a b l e to w r i t e a book on A u s t r a l i a n fauna—Serventy had c a p t u r e d
that market;
151
a n d t h e u n s u c c e s s f u l Mrs Fraser libretto reared its head.
'As a result', he b e m o a n e d , 'I find I h a v e n o t h i n g to do'.
152
'He worried
c o n s t a n t l y t h a t he w a s not a success, c o u l d n ' t write, c o u l d n ' t pull it off,
his d a u g h t e r Caroline (at t h a t t i m e in her late teens) r e m e m b e r e d . 'He
never felt confident or safe.'153
Travel w a s t h e tested p a n a c e a . In A u g u s t 1966, M o o r e h e a d w a s back
in A u s t r a l i a a g a i n , t h i s t i m e w i t h Lucy, Caroline and Richard. He now
really saw his o w n c o u n t r y w i t h all its signs of c u l t u r a l p r o g r e s s its o p p o r t u n i t i e s for television plays, its lively critics, p u b l i s h e r s a n d
l i t e r a r y m a g a z i n e s , a n d its e x c e l l e n t w i n e s a n d food—as an a t t r a c t i v e
place to live. On t h i s occasion he e x p o s e d his family to a visit to a
sheep station and c h a r t e r e d a b o a t to sail a r o u n d t h e Barrier Reef
w i t h Geoffrey Dutton who, a y e a r older, had coincided at school a n d
u n i v e r s i t y w i t h M o o r e h e a d . To Dutton, he revealed s o m e t h i n g of t h e
d u a l i t y of his c o m p l e x n a t u r e . 'I o n l y k n o w how to live', he confided
honestly, 'like a h e r m i t or a rake'.
154
Back in Tuscany, t o w a r d s t h e end of t h a t year, M o o r e h e a d had good
g r o u n d s for satisfaction. He had by t h e n c a r v e d out his h i g h l y c r e a t i v e
c a r e e r outside A u s t r a l i a for 30 y e a r s , carrying it by p e r s i s t e n t e n d e a v o u r
and a sense, s h a p e d since b o y h o o d , t h a t he alone had to m a k e t h i n g s
i m m e n s e t r a v e l , a M e d i t e r r a n e a n villa, a small sloop, t h e
Lucandra,
The Writer
h a p p e n . It w a s an i m p e r a t i v e t h a t had propelled h i m to w o r l d w i d e fame,
113
which he shared with his friend Sidney Bernstein, a flat in London,
and an income (substantial at that time) from royalties, serialisations,
reprints, and his magazine writings, of £24 000 a year. There was, in
effect, little need for him to write continually for money. Yet, as he once
confided to his sister Phyllis, he was oppressively aware that 'everything
I do to earn our living must come out of my mind'.
155
In December 1966, Moorehead, always so strong and energetic, started
suffering headaches, occasional numbness in a limb and some garbling
in his speech. When Lucy persuaded him to have a check-up and see
a neurologist in London, an immediate test on a possible condition
involving the blood supply to his brain was prescribed. 'Don't worry', he
advised his family cheerfully. 'I'll write about the experience when it's
over.' He was given an angiogram involving a slow injection of dye into
the arteries to show up any vascular abnormality. Unfortunately, the
dye caused a clot that precipitated a major stroke. Critically, his family
considered the choice of an operation with three possible outcomes:
a complete cure, his survival as a vegetable, or death. They chose the
operation. Across the world, newspapers in Australia noted that their
expatriate son was seriously ill in Westminster Hospital.
The long operation took much longer than expected, cutting off
the blood supply, for a period, to the brain. Moorehead remained in a
coma for a week. When he regained consciousness, he was completely
paralysed and there had been cerebral damage that involved the speech
centre and the communicating nerves. Alan Moorehead, one of the
great communicators of his time, could neither speak, read, nor write.
Parts of his brain were unaffected, he could think still, but he could not
convey his thought. He was 5 6 .
156
Through great determination, he fought the paralysis until only his
right hand remained inert, but he could never sign his own name or
write again. His rich and splendid prose was reduced to a handful of
words, 'marvellous', 'bloody awful', 'absolutely'.
114
T h o u g h silenced, his w r i t i n g voice w e n t on. In t h i s t r a g e d y , Lucy
M o o r e h e a d , t h r o u g h o u t his c a r e e r h i s l i t e r a r y associate, editor, t h e
a b r i d g e r of m a n y of his b o o k s , his a d m i n i s t r a t i v e h a n d w i t h p u b l i s h e r s ,
and his o r g a n i s e r , would c o m e a g a i n to his aid. 'Lucy', M a r t h a G e l l h o r n
had s u g g e s t e d to M o o r e h e a d after r e a d i n g t h e The White Nile, 'is as n e a r
to Mrs Baker, s t r u g g l i n g a l o n g b e h i n d you, as a n y o n e of o u r g e n e r a t i o n
is apt to get!'
157
Now, perforce, she w a s out in front. It w a s Lucy w h o
edited a n d t r a n s f o r m e d Darwin
and the Beagle,
from t h e film script
a n d his n o t e s , a n d b r o u g h t it out in 1969 with t h e help of t h e r e n o w n e d
book designer, George R a i n b i r d , as a l a v i s h l y illustrated publication
f e a t u r i n g r e p r o d u c t i o n s of n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y oil p a i n t i n g s , e n g r a v i n g s ,
monochromes, prints and drawings.
It w a s a book, to q u o t e The Sunday Times, ' t h a t b r i m s w i t h i n t e r e s t ' .
It w a s , The Atlantic
Monthly
158
added, M o o r e h e a d ' s c a p a c i t y to get inside
t h e s k i n of his l e a d i n g c h a r a c t e r s t h a t gave r e a d e r s s u c h
'unfailing
delight, in t h i s case, t h e m i n d of a y o u t h f u l scientist w h o w a s to c h a n g e
forever o u r u n d e r s t a n d i n g of t h e processes of life'.
159
'One h a s t h e
feeling', said A l w y n Lee, t h e l o n g - t i m e A u s t r a l i a n book editor of Time
and friend of M o o r e h e a d from u n i v e r s i t y a n d Porto Ercole d a y s , ' t h a t
Darwin—with his b o n e s , fossils a n d bird skins—is o n l y a thin b u l k h e a d
a w a y in t h e n e x t cabin'.
Significantly, Britain's e m i n e n t biologist and great D a r w i n specialist,
Sir G a v i n de Beer, w r o t e in Bookworld
in October 1969 t h a t M o o r e h e a d ' s
p o r t r a i t of w h a t de Beer h i m s e l f saw as D a r w i n ' s 'slow, n a i v e , but
u n c a n n i l y s a g a c i o u s m i n d ' and his r e c r e a t i o n of t h e s c e n e r y a n d e v e n t s
of t h e v o y a g e , were 'as limpid as a b u r b l i n g brook ... a n d c r y s t a l c l e a r ' .
'The book m a d e me wish', said A r t h u r Koestler simply in The
' t h a t I had w r i t t e n it myself'.
160
Observer,
161
The first edition of Darwin
and the Beagle sold 70 0 0 0 copies and
It w a s followed a few m o n t h s later, in 1970, by A Late
Education,
The Writer
appeared as a t w o - p a r t series in t h e New Yorker in its y e a r of publication.
115
Moorehead's recollective chapters of autobiography brought together
and edited by Lucy. So brilliant in his portrayal of other men's lives,
Moorehead had always fiercely resisted writing a structured story of his
own. Yet resisting, he had across the years written down snapshots of
his own early life and experience which Lucy now gathered under the
subtitle, Episodes
in a Life. Several chapters were devoted to a portrait
of his friendship with Alex Clifford, the tall, gentle war correspondent,
musician and linguist who had so transformed Moorehead's life and
intellectual development. Another focussed on Bernard Berenson at I Tatti.
Others embodied wartime recollections and material about his boyhood.
All bore the Moorehead imprimatur but without an integrated theme.
Introducing an Australian edition of A LateEducat
ion in 1998, Michael
Heyward observed that in the ease of his writing Moorehead offers 'a
long conversation that you wish would never end'. It was a point that
animated international reviewers. 'One of the most remarkable authors
of his time', The New York Times had pronounced in 1966. 'How does
he do it?' Moorehead was always generous in publicly talking about his
mode of writing, although he eschewed discussions of methodology. 'I
personally get up at dawn and by midday my day's work is over', he told
Hazel de Berg during an interview in 1964. 'One wants to go on with
one's work but the brain is tired, the quality goes down and down and I
find if you exceed your four-hour period everything has to be rewritten
again on the following day. And heaven knows, it's bad enough without
having to do that.'
163
For himself he set down certain makeshift rules. 'Never write for
the market, only yourself; never write anything unless you are agog
to express yourself; rewrite everything until the words are absolutely
clear and simple, with as few adjectives as possible; never be satisfied
with anything.'
Certainly the typescript drafts of the books stored among his papers,
with their revisions, sliced paragraphs, simplified phrases and sentences
116
and careful refining, attest to this strict self-discipline. Increasingly
across his career, Moorehead would announce that he hated writing.
He recalled the rooms where he had written books, 'these cells, these
self-inflicted prisons where the writer sits incarcerated for so many
hours each day—so many words a day, so many chapters in a month'.
'The real fun', he declared, 'is in the research. That is pleasure from
first to last'.
Moorehead's advice to aspiring young writers invariably echoed
what he had learnt from Berenson. A young writer 'should start reading
as much as he can, keep doggedly at it, and write incessantly'. His
own writing was a product of wide and eclectic reading, travel and
observation, and it bore the mark of Mark Twain's maxim, 'And what
he thought he might require, he went and took'. Moorehead's integrity
was never in doubt. He was an honest and conscientious researcher
who openly acknowledged his debt. And while he admitted that as he
got older 'the work gets harder', he declared that he would choose no
other life than this. 'I am one of the lucky ones', he acknowledged. And
despite slog and endurance, a driving commitment and the accidie he
knew so well in writing, he relished 'that sense of fulfilment a creative
man has when he knows that he is on the right track and working to
the limit of his powers'. 'Style', said Virginia Woolf (whom Moorehead
might well have detested), 'is all rhythm'. For Moorehead, his style was
innate, a gift that never let him down.
One reviewer held him up beside those other prolific writers of
nonfiction of his time, Peter Fleming and Patrick Leigh Fermor:
'travellers, scholars, adventurers all, blending the artistic and the
practical... reading deeply ... and living their lives with an intensity and
range altogether alien to their successors'. They had no exact parallels
in France or America, he contended. They were remarkable men, likely
to be long remembered, and of them all, Moorehead, he judged, 'was
the most thoroughly professional'. His publisher, Jamie Hamilton,
The Writer
164
II7
had written to Moorehead in 1965 after '25 unclouded years', 'You
have always been the ideal author, loyal, appreciative, welcoming
suggestions'.
165
With the many reprints and new editions of his books,
his publishing house kept Moorehead's name before the public.
The men and women who reviewed Moorehead's books—essayists,
literary figures, eminent journalists, international historians, authorities
on Africa, politicians and generals—have attested to the importance and
influence of his work. It is therefore the more surprising that, with
the exception of Manning Clark and the multidisciplinary scholar Tim
Bonyhady, in his publication on the Burke and Wills expedition,
166
Australian historians have remained so conspicuously silent on the
historical value of Moorehead's work. Geoffrey Serle reputedly thought
very highly of Cooper's Creek'
167
and listed Gallipoli
in the bibliography
of his biography of Monash. Yet his entry in The Oxford Companion
Australian
History
to
on Alan Moorehead describes him with dismissive
brevity: 'His writing was of the highest quality, his history works not
scholarly but reputable'.
168
Moorehead wore his own scholarship lightly and had a true respect
for scholars and scholarship. He was generous in his praise of Serle's
historical work, The Golden
Age: A History
which followed upon Cooper's
prominently in a Sunday
Creek
of the Colony of
Victoria
in 1965, characterising Serle
Times review as one of the new historians in
Australia with whom 'the writing—or rewriting—of Australian history
makes a considerable advance'.
169
There is little sign that Australian historians, turning their lens
on war, absorbed Gallipoli
into their corpus of knowledge. Writing in
1965, nine years after Moorehead published Gallipoli,
the distinguished
historian, Ken Inglis, observed that Australia's academic historians
had exercised 'a near silence on the subject of Gallipoli and Australia's
role in war' and that C.E.W. Bean, Australia's war correspondent at
Gallipoli and Anzac historian, 'was absent from the canon of Australian
118
historiography'.
170
Inglis w a s e m b a r k i n g at t h e t i m e on his o w n e n q u i r y
into t h e A n z a c t r a d i t i o n , a s c r u t i n y t h a t c u l m i n a t e d in m a n y essays
a n d articles a n d in Sacred Places,
his major h i s t o r y of A u s t r a l i a n w a r
m u s e u m s a n d t h e c u l t u r e t h a t s h a p e d t h e m . Yet he o m i t s a n y reference
to M o o r e h e a d , as do t h e f o u n d a t i o n a c a d e m i c w r i t i n g s on A u s t r a l i a ' s
p a r t in t h e Gallipoli c a m p a i g n t h a t followed. I a l w a y s t h o u g h t A l a n
Moorehead a m a s t e r l y j o u r n a l i s t a n d I took his book w i t h me on my first
visit to Gallipoli', Inglis o b s e r v e d privately. A u s t r a l i a n h i s t o r i a n s read
a n d a d m i r e d his b o o k s . But p e r h a p s we were n a r r o w a n d p a r o c h i a l in
t h i n k i n g of h i m largely as a j o u r n a l i s t a n d p o p u l a r i s e r . '
171
If such a d m i s s i o n s raise d i s t u r b i n g q u e s t i o n s a b o u t t h e a c a d e m i c
o w n e r s h i p of k n o w l e d g e , M o o r e h e a d ' s influence lay well b e y o n d t h i s .
As r e c e n t l y as F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 4 , t h e Irish w r i t e r Carlo Gebler, l i t e r a r y son
of t h e c o n s u m m a t e l y l i t e r a r y Edna O'Brien, w i t h a slew of successful
novels b e h i n d h i m , t u r n e d his m i n d to w r i t i n g a p o p u l a r n a r r a t i v e
h i s t o r y of t h e siege of Derry. A swift and e n g a g i n g s p i n n e r of w o r d s ,
he found n a r r a t i v e h i s t o r y w i t h its p r i m a r y s o u r c e s and its b a t t e r y
of facts a n d a s s u m p t i o n s , i n c r e d i b l y slippery. 'It was', he a d m i t t e d in
The Australian
Financial
Review
in F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 4 , u n d e r t h e h e a d i n g
' C h a s i n g t h e Slippery Facts of History', 'like t r y i n g to pick bits of liquid
m e r c u r y off t h e floor'. In t h i s long and h u m b l i n g e x p e r i e n c e , he t h o u g h t
of M o o r e h e a d . 'Before this', Gebler declared, I w a s a great a d m i r e r of
historical n a r r a t i v e . I loved A l a n M o o r e h e a d ' s The White Nile a n d The
Blue Nile ... But now I h a v e had t h e e x p e r i e n c e myself, t w o t h i n g s h a v e
c h a n g e d . My awe for Moorehead h a s i n c r e a s e d , a n d my c e r t a i n t y t h a t
s t o r y t e l l i n g a c u m e n c a n be deployed w i t h ease across all t h e forms h a s
b e e n revealed as t h e facile s o p h i s t r y it is'.
172
A l a n M o o r e h e a d w a s locked in silence for 17 y e a r s . As his favourite
poet, J o h n Donne, had w r i t t e n some c e n t u r i e s before: A g r e a t P r i n c e in
prison lies'. 'He w a s not j u s t brave,' his d a u g h t e r Caroline has recalled,
The Writer
'he w a s heroic. He seldom c o m p l a i n e d but he felt t r a p p e d ... He m a d e
II9
huge efforts to do other things. He carried his Sunday painting forward
with his left hand and became quite a good painter. He played bridge,
he went to the movies, and always in the past an enormous readertrie English classics, Saki, Chekhov, the Russians generally, the poets,
Donne, Browning and Wordsworth, modern American fiction, and
every kind of history and travel, our houses were filled with books—he
now listened to talking books'. He swam and walked. 'He longed to
talk', she said, 'and we used to sit around the table for hours, laughing,
as he struggled and laughed, and with my mother's help, made it into
a game—guessing. It wasn't all grim. Some of it he made alright by the
strength of his courage and determination'. Despite his clipped speech
and Europeanised air before his illness, Caroline said, T thought of him
as essentially and always Australian'.
Tragically,
Lucy,
Moorehead's
173
great
companion
and
anchor,
predeceased him. In July 1978, she was thrown from their car and killed,
after a collision with a truck, as she drove him and his sister Phyllis out
to lunch along the coast near Porto Ercole. Both women were ejected
from the car while Moorehead, strapped in the front passenger seat, was
physically unharmed, yet unable to relay what had happened.
Moorehead was awarded a CBE in 1968 and was made an Officer in
the Order of Australia in 1978. He died in London after a second stroke,
on 29 September 1983, at the age of 73. He is buried in Hampstead
Cemetery, Fortune Green, under a simple white headstone that reads,
Alan Moorehead. Writer.'
120
Notes on Sources
The A l a n M o o r e h e a d p a p e r s , NLA MS 5654, a r e t h e r e c o r d s of a n
outstandingly productive
journalistic
a n d l i t e r a r y life. Made up of 4 3
b o x e s a r r a n g e d in 327 folders a n d 11 folio packets, t h e y c o n t a i n , in
t h e first i n s t a n c e , press c u t t i n g s t h a t s t r e t c h from A l a n M o o r e h e a d ' s
earliest r e p o r t a g e as a c o r r e s p o n d e n t , or 'special c o r r e s p o n d e n t ' of t h e
M e l b o u r n e Herald (press c u t t i n g s a l b u m , Box 4 0 ) , t h r o u g h a n e x t e n s i v e
collection of s c a t t e r e d , u n s o r t e d g e n e r a l press c u t t i n g s c o v e r i n g h i s
r e p o r t a g e from G i b r a l t a r for The Daily Express,
1938, (Box 35, folder
70 to Box 4 0 , folder 30 a n d Folio packet 1) t h r o u g h h i s a p p o i n t m e n t s
as Express
c o r r e s p o n d e n t in P a r i s a n d Rome, 1 9 3 9 - 4 0 (Box 35, Folio
packet 1) a n d on to a u n i q u e collection of h i s d e s p a t c h e s a s a w a r
c o r r e s p o n d e n t in North Africa from J u n e 1940 to 1943. These, largely
u n s o r t e d , a r e held in Box 35, folders 2 7 4 - 2 7 7 ; Box 36, folder 2 8 1 ; a n d
Box 37, folders 2 8 6 - 2 8 7 . Very few of M o o r e h e a d ' s d e s p a t c h e s from t h e
E u r o p e a n t h e a t r e of w a r from J u n e 1944 h a v e s u r v i v e d a m o n g h i s
p a p e r s , w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n of a few press c u t t i n g s in Box 37, folder 2 9 0 .
With t h e d i s m a n t l i n g of t h e The Daily Express
d e s p a t c h e s a r e o n l y a v a i l a b l e in microfilm
archives, his wartime
at t h e British
Library
N e w s p a p e r A r c h i v e s , Colindale, London.
Moorehead's
documentary
collection
also
includes
w a r t i m e a n d o t h e r d i a r i e s , p e r s o n a l a n d professional
notebooks,
correspondence
w i t h a g e n t s a n d p u b l i s h e r s , t h e m a n u s c r i p t s a n d proofs of his published
and u n p u b l i s h e d w o r k s , m a g a z i n e a n d j o u r n a l articles d r a w i n g on
his e x t e n s i v e t r a v e l s , n e w s p a p e r c u t t i n g s of book s e r i a l i s a t i o n s , book
reviews of h i s published w o r k s , exercise b o o k s of h a n d w r i t t e n notes of
b a c k g r o u n d material for h i s b o o k s , a n d p h o t o g r a p h s .
o n l y a v e r y small n u m b e r of d r a f t s . General press c u t t i n g boxes 34¬
4 0 m i x duplicate n e w s p a p e r book review c u t t i n g s w i t h c u t t i n g s from
Notes on Sources
There a r e no copies of M o o r e h e a d ' s o u t g o i n g c o r r e s p o n d e n c e a n d
121
A u s t r a l i a n , British, New Z e a l a n d , S o u t h A f r i c a n a n d E u r o p e a n p a p e r s
c o v e r i n g M o o r e h e a d ' s p e r i p a t e t i c c a r e e r from 1945 to 1969.
Manuscript
and original
sources
P a p e r s of A l a n M o o r e h e a d , National L i b r a r y of A u s t r a l i a , MS 5654.
P a p e r s of Lord Beaverbrook, House of Lords Library, London.
P a p e r s of Tom Pocock 1 9 8 7 - 9 0 . Resource m a t e r i a l (interview
notebooks) of his b i o g r a p h y of A l a n M o o r e h e a d . National L i b r a r y of
A u s t r a l i a , MS 8377.
Oral H i s t o r y i n t e r v i e w of A l a n M o o r e h e a d by Hazel de Berg for
National L i b r a r y of A u s t r a l i a , M a r c h 1964.
Endnote
citations
The following e d i t i o n s of A l a n M o o r e h e a d ' s b o o k s , of w h i c h t h e r e are
n u m e r o u s e d i t i o n s , h a v e b e e n u s e d in t h e E n d n o t e citations.
African
Trilogy, M e l b o u r n e : Text P u b l i s h i n g , 1997
The Blue Nile, New York: H a r p e r a n d B r o t h e r s , 1962
Cooper's Creek, London: H a m i s h H a m i l t o n , 1963
Eclipse, L o n d o n : G r a n t a Books, 2 0 0 0 and M e l b o u r n e : Text
P u b l i s h i n g , 1995
The Fatal Impact,
London; Melbourne: Hamish Hamilton;
Mead & Beckett, 1987
Gallipoli,
S o u t h M e l b o u r n e , Vic.: M a c m i l l a n , 1989
A Late Education:
Episodes
in a Life, M e l b o u r n e : Text
P u b l i s h i n g , 1998
Montgomery,
122
London: H a m i s h H a m i l t o n , 1946
No Room in the Ark, London: Reprint Society, 1960
Rum Jungle, London: H a m i s h H a m i l t o n , 1953
The Villa Diana, London: H a m i s h H a m i l t o n , 1951
The White Nile, New York: H a r p e r a n d Brothers, 1960
Winston
Churchill
in Trial and Triumph, Boston: H o u g h t o n
Mifflin, 1955
Other major sources
Tom Pocock's biography, Alan Moorehead,
w a s published in
London by Bodley Head in 1990. The edition used for citations w a s
published in London by Pimlico in 1991.
Michael Hey w a r d , 'Alan Moorehead', Voices, vol. 5 no. 1,
Notes on Sources
A u t u m n 1995.
123
Endnotes
Preface
1
A l a n M o o r e h e a d deposited his p a p e r s in t h e National L i b r a r y on a
p e r s o n a l visit in 1971.
Chapter V. The Making of a Journalist
2
A n A u s t r a l i a n C h i l d h o o d . A n A r c a d y of a Kind', New Yorker, 1
A u g u s t 1953; see also A l a n M o o r e h e a d , A Late Education,
pp.
14-37.
3
M e l b o u r n e U n i v e r s i t y A r c h i v e s a n d K a t h l e e n Fitzpatrick, 'A
Cloistered Life' in The Half Open Door, eds Patricia G r i m s h a w a n d
Lynn S t r a h a n , S y d n e y : Hale a n d Iremonger, 1982, p. 122.
4
A Late Education,
5
A l a n M o o r e h e a d , Rum Jungle, London: H a m i s h H a m i l t o n , 1993, p.
pp. 2 3 - 2 5 .
11-12.
6
Letter of r e c o m m e n d a t i o n from F r a n k M u r p h y , 20 May 1936,
M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s , Box 1, folder 2.
7
Quoted in I n t r o d u c t i o n b y Michael H e y w a r d , A Late Education,
p.
xiv.
8
Daily Express
cables, M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s , Box 1, folders 3 and 5;
press c u t t i n g s a n d Folio Item, Packet 1.
9
Sutton letter, M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s , Box 1, folder 3.
10
A r t h u r C h r i s t i a n s e n , Headlines
11
Lucy to M o o r e h e a d , M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s , Box 1, folder 2.
All My Life, L o n d o n : H e i n e m a n n ,
1962, p. 2 4 6 .
Chapter 2: The Prince of War
12
Correspondents
Clement Semmler, ' W a r C o r r e s p o n d e n t s in A u s t r a l i a n L i t e r a t u r e :
A n Outline', A u s t r a l i a n Literary Studies, vol. 112 n o . 2, 1985, a n d
cf. Phillip Knightley, First Casualty:
124
The War Correspondent
as
Hero and Myth-Maker
from
the Crimea to Iraq, London: A n d r e
Deutsch, 2003.
13
W.P. Rilla, New Statesman
and Nation, 23 D e c e m b e r 1944,
14
Daily Express
15
A Late Education,
16
Ibid, p. 72.
17
A l a n M o o r e h e a d , African
article, M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s , Box 37, folder 286.
pp. 159 and 166.
Trilogy, M e l b o u r n e : Text P u b l i s h i n g ,
1997.
18
Daily Express,
21 D e c e m b e r 1940, M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s , Box 37,
folder 290.
19
A Late Education,
20
Daily Express,
21
Quoted b y Michael H e y w a r d , A l a n M o o r e h e a d ' in Voices, vol. 5 n o .
pp. 153-154.
12 D e c e m b e r 1941, M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s , Box 37,
folder 287.
1, A u t u m n 1995, p. 83.
22
Daily Express
cables, M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s , Box 36, folder 2 8 1 ;
C h r i s t i a n s e n to M o o r e h e a d , 3 M a r c h 1945, Box 1, folder 7.
23
Daily Express,
24
'Lessons of Tunisia', Daily Express,
24 J u l y 1942, M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s , Box 37, folder 287.
25 May 1943, M o o r e h e a d
P a p e r s , Box 36, folder 2 8 1 .
25
Daily Express,
3 October 1943, M o o r e h e a d Papers, Box 37, folder
287.
26
Letter, C h r i s t i a n s e n to Richard M o o r e h e a d , 23 D e c e m b e r 1943,
27
A l a n M o o r e h e a d d i a r i e s , Box 34.
28
Daily Express,
29
Ibid, p. 200.
30
F r a n c i s de G u i n g a n d , Generals
23 July 1944 a n d quoted by Pocock, op. cit., p. 189.
at War, London: Hodder a n d
31
A Late Education,
p. 7 1 .
Endnotes
S t o u g h t o n , 1964, p. 114.
125
32
Alan Moorehead,
13
Lord B e a v e r b r o o k to A l a n M o o r e h e a d , 27 J u n e 1946, Beaverbrook
b y Tom Pocock, p. 116.
P a p e r s , British House of Lords, London.
Chapter 3: Echoes of Battle
34
M o o r e h e a d to C h r i s t i a n s e n , quoted by Michael H e y w a r d in A l a n
Moorehead', Voices, op. cit., p. 81.
35
A l a n M o o r e h e a d , African
Trilogy, M e l b o u r n e : Text P u b l i s h i n g ,
1997, Preface, p. ix.
36
Ibid, pp. i x - x .
37
Ibid, pp. 191-192.
38
Ibid, p. 157.
39
Phillip Knightley, p e r s o n a l i n t e r v i e w w i t h t h e author, 27 April
40
New Statesman
2004.
and Nation,
23 D e c e m b e r 1944. M o o r e h e a d ' s North
African b o o k s r a n into m a n y e d i t i o n s to t h e end of t h e t w e n t i e t h
century.
41
A l a n M o o r e h e a d , Eclipse, L o n d o n : G r a n t a Books, 2 0 0 0 , p. 133.
42
Ibid, pp. 146, 147.
43
For M o o r e h e a d ' s p e r c e p t i v e o v e r v i e w of t h e F r e n c h in t h e w a r see
ibid, Chapter 11, pp. 164-178.
44
Ibid, pp. 258 a n d 259.
4 5
Quoted b y Pocock, op. cit., pp. 2 0 7 - 2 0 8 .
4 6
A l a n M o o r e h e a d , Montgomery,
L o n d o n : H a m i s h H a m i l t o n , 1946,
pp. 4 9 - 5 9 .
47
Letter to Lucy, quoted by Pocock, op. cit., p. 250.
4 8
Letter from Richard M o o r e h e a d , 6 December 1946, M o o r e h e a d
P a p e r s , Box 11, folder 86.
49
New Statesman
and Nation,
Box 11, folder 90.
I26
21 D e c e m b e r 1946, M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s ,
Chapter 4: The Mediterranean
5 0
Man
Letter Moorehead to Lucy, 18 M a r c h 1943, quoted Pocock, op. cit.,
p. 143.
51
M o o r e h e a d to C h r i s t i a n s e n , 30 October 1947, Moorehead Papers,
Box 1, folder 7.
52
A l a n M o o r e h e a d , The Villa Diana, illustrated by Osbert Lancaster,
53
A Late Education,
84
Quoted by Pocock, op. cit., p. 225.
55
A Late Education,
56
Ibid, p. 178.
57
Letter from B e r n a r d B e r e n s o n , Moorehead P a p e r s , Box 3, folder 25.
58
M o o r e h e a d ' s u n d a t e d draft letters to Menzies a n d Casey a n d t h e i r
London: H a m i s h H a m i l t o n , 1951, p. 5.
p. 188.
p. 193.
replies, 4 May 1955, M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s , Box 4, folder 27.
C h u r c h i l l , reported in The Christian
Science
Monitor, 30 A u g u s t
1952, M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s , Box 12, folder 99.
60
61
Geoffrey D u t t o n in Australian
Book Review,
M a r c h 1964.
Letters to Lucy, 22 a n d 27 J u n e 1952, quoted Pocock, op. cit.,
p. 252.
62
M o o r e h e a d a d d r e s s , The Sunday
Times Book Exhibition 1955,
Moorehead Papers, Box 4, folder 27.
63
Winston
Churchill in Trial and Triumph, Boston: H o u g h t o n Mifflin,
1955, pp. 2 a n d 10. See also Churchill material in M o o r e h e a d
P a p e r s , folders 291 a n d 2 9 5 ; also The Sunday
Times from 7
N o v e m b e r 1954 in Box 5, folder 48 a n d Box 18, folder 147.
64
Evening Despatch
6 5
Leonard Shapiro, Manchester
6 6
M a n n i n g Clark, Age, 4 F e b r u a r y 1959.
67
I n f o r m a t i o n from h i s t o r i a n Ken Inglis.
68
Letter to Lucy, April 1952, quoted Pocock, op. cit., p. 2 4 8 .
( E d i n b u r g h ) , 1 N o v e m b e r 1958.
28 October 1958.
Endnotes
Guardian,
127
Chapter 5: Gallipoli
69
' R e t u r n to a Legend', New Yorker, 2 April 1955, pp. 98 ff.
70
A Late Education,
71
A l a n M o o r e h e a d , Gallipoli,
72
Ibid, p p . 102-103.
73
Ibid, p p . 117-118.
74
Ibid, p. 118.
75
Ibid, p. 151.
76
Ibid, p. 114.
77
Ibid, p. 150.
78
79
p. 33.
S y d n e y : Mead & Beckett, 1989, p. 13.
Ibid, p. 282.
Ibid,
p p . 285 a n d 2 8 8 .
80
Literary
81
Lord F r e y b e r g , Otago Daily Times, 19 M a y 1956.
Review,
J u n e 1956.
82
C.E.W. Bean, Sydney Morning Herald,
83
H a m i l t o n to M o o r e h e a d , 25 N o v e m b e r 1955, M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s ,
17 July 1956.
Box 1, folder 4.
84
Gallipoli,
85
M o o r e h e a d oral h i s t o r y i n t e r v i e w w i t h Hazel de Berg for t h e
p. 3 0 2 .
National L i b r a r y of A u s t r a l i a , M a r c h 1964, Tape 54.
Chapter 6: A Love Affair with Africa
86
Letter to Lucy, 2 J u n e 1956, quoted b y Pocock, op. cit., p. 261.
87
A l a n M o o r e h e a d , No Room in the Ark, L o n d o n : Reprint Society,
pp. 1-2.
88
Letter, S h a w n to M o o r e h e a d , quoted b y Pocock, op. cit., p. 266.
89
No Room in the Ark, p. 134.
9 0
A l a n M o o r e h e a d , P r o l o g u e , The White Nile, New York: H a r p e r a n d
91
Ibid, p. 37.
92
Ibid, pp. 88 a n d 8 9 - 9 0 .
B r o t h e r s , 1960, pp. 1-2.
128
93
Ibid, p. 122.
94
Ibid, p. 4 8 .
95
Ibid, p. 3 4 8 .
96
Times Literary
Supplement,
20 December 1960.
97 Elspeth Huxley, Listener, 8 December 1960.
98
John O'London Weekly, 29 D e c e m b e r 1960.
99 M a r t h a G e l l h o r n letter to M o o r e h e a d , 16 January 1961, M o o r e h e a d
Papers, Box 17, folder 141.
100 A l a n M o o r e h e a d , The Blue Nile, New York: H a r p e r a n d Row, 1962,
p. 132.
101 Michael H e y w a r d in 'Alan Moorehead', Voices, op. cit., p. 88.
102
The Blue Nile, op. cit., pp. 2 8 8 - 2 8 9 .
Chapter 7: Cooper's Creek
103 Pocock, op. cit., p. 271.
104 P r i v a t e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s from Caroline a n d J o h n Moorehead to
t h e author.
105 'Alan M o o r e h e a d : The Craft of Writing', Sunday Times, 24 October
1954, M o o r e h e a d Papers, Box 4, folder 27.
106
Sir T h o m a s W h i t e A n n u a l A d d r e s s , e x t r a c t e d as 'The S t r u g g l e for
Tradition', Meanjin,
vol. 16, pp. 4 3 0 - 4 3 2 .
107 A l a n M o o r e h e a d , A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s , Cooper's Creek, London:
H a m i s h H a m i l t o n , 1963, a n d T.G. R o s e n t h a l , Sidney Nolan,
London: T h a m e s and H u d s o n , 2 0 0 2 , p. 115.
108
Ibid, pp. 1-2.
109
Ibid, p. 60.
110 Ibid, p. 71.
111
Ibid, p. 116.
112
Yorkshire Post, 14 N o v e m b e r 1963.
113
Times Literary
7 N o v e m b e r 1963.
Endnotes
Supplement,
129
114
Undated letter from H a r p e r Row f o r w a r d i n g N e v i n ' s u n d a t e d
commentary.
115
Letters from S y r a c u s e University, 5 A u g u s t a n d 10 S e p t e m b e r
1963, Box 8, folder 61 a n d 8 July 1964, Box 8, folder 6 3 .
116
Letter from H o w a r d Gotlieb, Boston University, 9 J u l y 1964,
117
Book Week, 8 M a r c h 1964.
1,8
Australian
119
New York Times Book Review,
120
Letter from Serle, 15 J u l y 1963, M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s , Box 21,
Book Review,
M a r c h 1964.
16 F e b r u a r y 1964.
folder 169.
121
K a t h l e e n F i t z p a t r i c k letters, 5 A u g u s t 1963, M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s ,
Box 21, folder 169 a n d 25 N o v e m b e r 1963, Box 8, folder 61.
122
David Malouf, quoted by Peter Craven a n d Michael H e y w a r d (eds),
Frontispiece, Scripsi,
123
R i n g w o o d , Vic.: P e n g u i n , 1989.
Oral h i s t o r y i n t e r v i e w , op. cit. It w a s t h e receipt of t h e t r a n s c r i p t
of t h i s i n t e r v i e w t h a t d e t e r m i n e d M o o r e h e a d to deposit h i s p a p e r s
w i t h t h e National L i b r a r y of A u s t r a l i a .
Chapter 8: The
124
Australian
G a r r y K i n n a n e , George Johnston,
Melbourne: Melbourne
U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1966, p. 153.
125
Noel Barber, Conversations
126
Nolan letter to M o o r e h e a d , 18 S e p t e m b e r 1963, M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s ,
with Painters,
L o n d o n : Collins, 1964.
Box 8, folder 61.
127
M o o r e h e a d ' s e s s a y a p p e a r e d in modified form as t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n
to t h e A m e r i c a n edition of Robert Melville, The Legend of Ned
Kelly, New York: V i k i n g , 1964. See M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s , Box 8,
folder 6 3 .
128
For M o o r e h e a d ' s w r i t i n g s on A n t a r c t i c a see The Sunday
Times, 20
D e c e m b e r 1964 a n d 'Borrowed Light', New Yorker, 27 J u n e 1964.
130
129
M o o r e h e a d ' s oral h i s t o r y i n t e r v i e w , op. cit., Tape 54.
130
M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s , Box 26, folders 217-218.
131
Nolan a n d M o o r e h e a d in Tahiti, M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s , Box 8, folder
61 a n d i n f o r m a t i o n from B e r n a r d S m i t h .
132
M o o r e h e a d letter to Nolan, 13 April 1964.
133
Nolan l e t t e r s , 28 April a n d 25 J u n e 1964, M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s ,
Box 8, folder 59.
134
Ian Britain, Once an Australian,
M e l b o u r n e : Oxford U n i v e r s i t y
P r e s s , 1997, p p . 1 9 8 - 2 0 0 .
135
Robert H u g h e s , Weekend
Telegraph (London), 3 M a r c h 1990;
a n d see Robert H u g h e s letters to M o o r e h e a d , 25 N o v e m b e r a n d
6 D e c e m b e r 1965, M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s , Box 8, folder 70, a n d
N o v e m b e r 1964, Box 8, folder 62.
136 W e e k e n d Telegraph,
137
ibid.
See A u t h o r ' s note, A l a n M o o r e h e a d , The Fatal Impact,
London;
M e l b o u r n e : H a m i s h H a m i l t o n ; Mead a n d Beckett, 1987, p. 8.
138
Ibid, pp. 99, 112 and 115.
139
Ibid, p . 132.
140
Ibid, p. 159.
141
Catholic Herald, 21
142
Postcard from Nolan, 5 M a y 1966, Moorehead Papers, Box 9, folder 70.
143
Letter from B e r n a r d S m i t h to t h e a u t h o r , 10 F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 4 .
January
1966.
144
D u v a l S m i t h a r t i c l e , M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s , Box 22, folder 183.
145
M a x H a r r i s , Australian,
1 F e b r u a r y 1966.
Chapter g The Writer
:
146
A u s t r a l i a n n e w s p a p e r s include The Courier Mail (Brisbane), The
Age (Melbourne) a n d The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). See M o o r e h e a d
P a p e r s , Box 38, folders 2 9 9 - 3 0 0 a n d 3 0 6 .
W h i t e q u o t e d b y David Marr, Patrick
NSW: V i n t a g e , 1992, pp. 5 2 5 - 5 2 6 .
White: A Life, Milson's Point,
Endnotes
147
131
148
149
M a n n i n g Clark, Preface, The Fatal Impact,
Pocock i n t e r v i e w w i t h Clark, 11 N o v e m b e r 1987, quoted in
Alan Moorehead,
150
1987.
p. 274.
Letter from A l a n Shaw to M o o r e h e a d , 11 October 1965, M o o r e h e a d
P a p e r s , Box 8, folder 6 3 .
151
Victor S e r v e n t y p u b l i s h e d h i s A Continent
in Danger,
London:
A n d r e D e u t s c h , 1966.
152
153
Moorehead d i a r y entry, 26 J u n e 1966, quoted Pocock op. cit, p. 275.
P e r s o n a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n from Caroline M o o r e h e a d to t h e author,
May 2004.
154
Geoffrey D u t t o n , Out in the Open: An Autobiography,
St. Lucia,
Qld.: Q u e e n s l a n d U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1994, p. 3 0 0 .
155
Pocock, op. cit, p. 279.
156
I a m i n d e b t e d to Tom Pocock for i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t M o o r e h e a d ' s
illness a n d later d e a t h .
157
Letter from M a r t h a G e l l h o r n to M o o r e h e a d , M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s ,
Box 17, folder 141.
158
Sunday
Times, 19 October 1969.
159
Atlantic
Monthly,
160
Bookworld,
161
Observer,
N o v e m b e r 1969.
19 October 1969.
21 D e c e m b e r 1969.
162 The t w o - p a r t series, ' A n n a l s of Discovery', a p p e a r e d in t h e New
Yorker in A u g u s t a n d S e p t e m b e r 1969. See M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s , Box
24, folder 199.
163
Oral h i s t o r y i n t e r v i e w , op. cit., Tape 54.
164
A Late Education,
165
p. 190 a n d oral h i s t o r y i n t e r v i e w op. cit.
Letter from J a m i e H a m i l t o n to A l a n M o o r e h e a d , 22 M a r c h 1965,
M o o r e h e a d P a p e r s , Box 5, folder 4 3 .
166
Tim B o n y h a d y , Burke and Wills: From Melbourne
to Myth,
B a l m a i n , NSW: David Ell P r e s s , 1991.
167
I32
Letter from Rod A n d r e w to Moorehead, 23 J u l y 1963, Box 8, folder 61.
168
The Oxford Companion
to Australian
History,
M e l b o u r n e : Oxford
U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1998, p. 4 3 8 .
169
M o o r e h e a d ' s r e v i e w Sunday
170
Ken Inglis, 'The A n z a c Tradition', Meanjin
Times, 1 D e c e m b e r 1965.
Quarterly,
vol. 63 no. 3,
M a r c h 1965.
171
P r i v a t e c o m m u n i c a t i o n from Professor Inglis to t h e author, 2 0 0 4 .
172
Article b y Carlo Gebler, Australian
Financial
Review,
6 February
2 0 0 4 , p. 12.
P e r s o n a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n from Caroline M o o r e h e a d to t h e author,
May 2 0 0 4 .
Endnotes
173
133
Index
Aboriginal Australians 47, 90, 100,
105-106, 108
African Trilogy vii, x, xi, 29, 31,
41, 122
A Late Education ii, vii, x, xi, 4,
108, 119
Blue Nile (river) 66, 70, 77, 79
Bonaparte, Napoleon 77-78
Bonyhady, Tim 118, 132
115, 116, 122
Boston University 91, 130
Alexander, General
Brahe, William 85, 87, 89
Sir Harold 12, 28, 39
Bruce, James 77-79
Andrew, Dr Roderick 102, 112, 132
Buckley, Christopher 23, 48
Antarctica 94, 97, 100-101, 107, 130
Burke, Robert 0'Hara 84-87, 89-
Asquith, H.H. 60
90, 92, 95-96, 118
Atlantic Monthly 91, 115
Burton, Richard 70, 72
Auchinleck, General Sir Claude 12,
Cairo 9, 11, 14, 18, 23, 27, 40, 44, 68
15, 16, 28
Australian War Correspondents 11,
14, 31, 48, 63, 118
A Year of Battle vii, 27, 28
Baker, Florence 72-73
Baker, Sir Samuel 72-73
Bates, Daisy 106
Bean, C.E.W. 11, 63, 118
Beaverbrook, Lord xiii, 5, 8, 24, 25,
40, 64, 122
Becker, Ludwig 85-86
Beckler, Herman 85-86
Beer, Gavin de 115
134
The Blue Nile vii, 66, 68, 77, 78, 83,
Carden, Admiral 56
Casey, R.G. 45, 127
Catholic Herald 108
Christian Science Monitor, The 46,
91, 127
Christiansen, Arthur 5-8, 12, 17,
20, 27, 36, 40, 124-127
Churchill, Sir Winston vii, xi, 18,
38, 46, 48-50, 56, 60, 64, 127
Clark, Manning viii, xii, 50, 92,
111-112, 118, 127, 132
Clifford, Alexander 10, 14-17, 23,
31, 39, 47, 101, 116
Belsen Concentration Camp 34
Connolly, Cyril 83
Berenson, Bernard 43-44, 116-117
Cook, James 100, 104-105, 107
Bernstein, Sidney 114
Cooke, Alistair 103
Birdwood, General William 61
Cooke, Jane 103
Creek vii, 80, 84, 88, 9 0 -
9 2 , 9 5 - 9 6 , 101, 108, 118, 129
Fuchs, Karl vii, 4 5 - 4 6
Gallipoli
vii, x i i , x i i i , 38, 51, 52,
Cooper's Creek (place) 8 6 - 8 7 , 89
55, 63-64, 67, 74, 76, 8 2 - 8 3 , 96,
Cox, Geoffrey 7, 39
108, 118
Crete 16, 28, 30
Gallipoli (place) 5 3 - 5 5 , 57,
Crossman, R.H.S. 37
75, 9 5 - 9 6 , 1 0 0 - 1 0 1 , 118-119
D-Day Landing 20
Gaugin, Paul 105
Daily Express,
Gebler, Carlo 119, 133
The xiii, 5 - 9 , 12, 17,
18, 20, 22, 31, 33, 35, 40-42, 49,
121, 124, 125
60-65,
Gellhorn, Martha 29, 7 6 - 7 7 , 104,
115, 129, 132
D a r w i n , Charles vii, 112, 115
Gordon, General Charles 74
Darwin
Grant, James 72
and the Beagle vii, 115
Driberg, Tom 24
Grattan, Hartley 92
Drysdale, Russell ('Tas') 101
Gray, Charley 87, 89
Dutton, Geoffrey 47, 9 2 , 111, 113,
Great Barrier Reef 47, 110, 113
Guepratte, Admiral 57
127, 132
Eclipse v i i , x, xi, 27, 32, 35, 42
Guingand, Francis de 2 3 , 68, 125
Edward VIII 49
Hamilton, Hamish (Jamie) 63, 76,
Eisenhower, Gen. Dwight 28, 36
The End in Africa
The Fatal Impact
vii, 2 7 - 2 8
vii, x i i i , 100, 102,
104, 107, 108, 111-112, 131, 132
Fielden, Lionel 54
Fisher, A n d r e w 6 0
83, 117-118, 128, 132
Hamilton, General Sir Ian 5 7 - 5 9 , 61
Harris, Max 109, 131
H e m i n g w a y , Ernest 4 2 - 4 3
Herald,
The (Melbourne) 1-4, 7, 9,
4 6 - 4 7 , 121
Fisher, Lord (Jacky) 56
Hetherington, John 4
Fitzpatrick, Kathleen 3, 92, 124,
Heyward, Michael xii, 29, 116, 123,
130
124, 125, 130
Fleming, Peter 83, 117
Holiday
Foley, Charles 17
Howitt, Alfred 9 0
Freyberg, Sir Bernard (Lord) 19,
Hughes, Robert 4, 1 0 2 - 1 0 3 , 131
63, 128
96
Huxley, Elspeth 76, 129
Index
Cooper's
135
Inglis, K.S. x, 118-119, 133
Johnston, George 95, 130
Jordan, Phillip 48
Kemal, Mustafa (Ataturk) 57, 59-61
King, John 85, 87, 90
Keyes, Roger 57
African travels 66, 68-71, 75,
77-79
Antarctica 94, 97, 98-99, 100,
111, 130
Australian visits 37, 48 (1946);
Kitchener, Lord 56, 61, 74
47-48, 53 (1952); 90 (1962),
Knightley, Phillip x, 31, 35, 124, 126
65, 97, 102 (1964); xii, 777-112
Koestler, Arthur 115
(1965); 113 (1966)
Lancaster, Osbert 83, 127
Landells, George 85
Awards and honours 24, 38, 64,
90, 120
Lee, Alwyn 115
Childhood 1-2, 13, 53, 106, 116, 124
Leigh-Fermor, Patrick 83
Conservation 68-69, 101, 104-109,
Livingstone, Dr. David 70, 73, 74, 82
111, 112-113
Luneburg Heath 21, 24
Death 120
Malouf, David 93, 130
Family background 1-2, 37
Marshall, Alan ('Jock') 101
Illness 114, 119-120
Mediterranean Front, the North
Marriage 8-9, 39, 41, 44-45, 47,
African Campaign 1940-43 vii, 27
67, 82, 103-104, 115, 120
Melbourne University xi, 2, 54, 92, 124
Reporting in Gibraltar 6-7, 121
Melville, Herman 105
Reporting in Melbourne 3-4
Menzies, Robert 45, 127
Schooling 2, 106
Mohammad Ali of Egypt 77-78
University 2-3, 54
Monash, John 65, 118
War reporting
Monks, Noel 4-5, 7, 9, 42
Belsen concentration camp 34
Montague, Evelyn 28, 48
D-Day Landing 20
Montgomery vii, 37, 42, 122
Europe 6-7, 20-22
Montgomery, General
India 18, 41
Sir Bernard xi, 12, 21-24, 26, 28,
Mediterranean 7, 9, 24
31, 35-36, 39
Tunisia 12, 18-19, 125
Montgomery, Henry 36
136
Moorehead, Alan ii, xiv
USA 18, 28
Western Desert 10, 12-19,
2 3 - 2 4 , 30
Writing as a craft 16, 2 3 , 27, 29,
4 0 , 4 3 - 4 4 , 50, 65, 87, 8 9 - 9 3 ,
1 0 2 - 1 0 3 , 108, 109, 111-119,
121, 129
Mutesa, King of Buganda 75
N e v i n s , A l l a n 91
New Statesman
and Nation,
New Yorker xi, 41, 4 4 , 47, 55, 67, 69,
95, 97, 100, 115, 124, 128, 130, 132
Moorehead, Bernard (brother) 1, 37
New York Times,
Moorehead, Caroline (daughter) x, 41,
Nicholson, Harold 74
47, 82, 113, 119, 129, 132
Moorehead, Frank (uncle) 55
Moorehead, John (son) x, 41, 47,
82, 129
Moorehead, Lucy (nee Milner) 8, 9, 15,
The 11,
29, 32, 125, 126
The 92, 116, 130
Wo Room in the Ark vii, 6 8 - 6 9 , 123
Nolan, Sidney ix, 52, 80, 8 4 , 9 0 ,
9 5 - 9 7 , 99, 100-101
Nunn May, Alan 9 9 - 1 0 1 , 108, 130, 131
Observer,
The 29, 4 0 , 115, 132
37, 3 9 - 4 2 , 4 4 - 4 5 , 47, 50, 67, 68,
Paris, liberation of 21, 34
82, 102, 113
Pocock, Tom xii, 8, 9, 24, 109, 122
A s Moorehead's literary editor
Poliziano, A n g e l o 41
and organiser, 4 4 - 4 5 , 82, 103,
Porter, Peter 83
115-116
Priestley, J.B. 76
Cairo, 14-15
Pritchett, V.S. 29
Death, 120
Pontecorvo, Bruno vii, 4 5 - 4 6
Moorehead, Louise (mother) 1, 37
Quigly, Isabel 108
Moorehead, Phyllis (sister, Mrs
The Rage of the Vulture vii, 4 1 - 4 2
Whitehead) 1, 37, 114, 120
Moorehead, Richard (father) 1, 20, 37,
125, 126
Moorehead, Richard (son) 41, 82,
113
R a y m o n d , Robert 100, 111
Ridgway, General Matthew 63
Rilla, W.P. 11, 32, 125
Robeck, Admiral de 57
Rommel, Marshal Erwin 12, 18, 31
Morrison, Ian 48
Rum Jungle vii, 47, 106, 123, 124
'Mrs Fraser' (libretto) 97, 100, 113
The Russian
Murdoch, (Sir) Keith 47, 53
Scotch College, Melbourne xi, 2
Murphy, Frank 4, 124
Scott, Ernest 3
Revolution
vii, 4 9 - 5 0
Index
I37
Sculthorpe, Peter xii
Sekuless, Peter 92
16, 27
Serle, Geoffrey 92, 118, 130
Welsh, Mary 42
Serventy, Victor 101, 113, 132
White, Patrick 81, 111, 131
Shaw, A.G.L. x, 112, 132
White, Sir Thomas 45, 83
Shawn, William 67, 69, 128
The White Nile vii, x, 70, 72, 76, 77,
Shute, Nevil 47
108, 115, 119, 123, 128
Smith, Bernard x, 108, 109, 131
White Nile (river) 70, 77
Smith, Peter Duval 109, 131
Wills, William 84-85, 87, 90, 92, 95,
Sparrow, John 81
96, 118, 132
Speke, John 70, 72
Wilmot, Chester, 11, 14, 31
Stanley, Henry 70, 73-74
Winston Churchill in Trial and
Stark, Freya 70-71
Sturt, Charles 85
Sunday Express, The 5, 22, 35, 49
Sunday Times, The 48, 50, 64,
91, 115, 118, 127, 129, 130,
132, 133
Sutton, Charles 7, 9
Syracuse University 91, 130
Tahiti 100, 104, 107, 131
Theodore, Emperor 78
Times, The 17, 48, 108
Times Literary Supplement, The
37, 76, 91
Tobruk 12, 16, 18, 19, 30, 31
The Traitors vii, 45-47
The Villa Diana (book) vii, 123, 127
Villa Diana (residence) 41, 81
Waller, Richard (Dick) 69, 71
138
Wavell, General Sir Archibald 12, 15,
Triumph vii, 48, 123, 127
Young Turks 55, 56
ALAN
a rediscovery
AN AUSTRALIAN LIFE
MOOREHEAD
In this volume of the National Library's biography series An Australian
Life, Ann Moyal brilliantly illuminates the passion and creative energy
which drove Alan Moorehead's life and work. Moorehead was one of
Australia's most adventurous and celebrated writers and his work remains
a vitally important part of our literature.
Moorehead first made his name as an intrepid and extraordinarily
eloquent World War 2 correspondent, then as the author of Galltpoli,
The White Nile, The Blue Nile and Cooper's Creek. His works of history
and travel drew critical acclaim and inspired a generation of writers as
he helped to reshape the way Australians understood themselves and
their place in the world. This is 'An Australian Life' to savour.
Front cover:
Alan McCrae Moorehead
by Ida Kar, early 1950s
vintage bromideprint;
National Portrait Gallery, L
Back cover:
Samuel Calvert (1828-1913
Cooper's Creek c.1873
Pictures Collection,
nla.pic-anl0328053
New cover desijpi 2007
Dr Ann Moyal AM is a biographer, autobiographer, and leading
historian of Australian science. A graduate of the University of
Sydney and Doctor of Letters of the ANU, she is well known for her
memoir Breakfast With Beaverbrook. She met Alan Moorehead in
1965. Ann founded the Independent Scholars Association of Australia
in 1995 and lives in Canberra.
T h e W h i t e Nile
Coopers Creek
Gallipoli
African trilogy
T h e F a t a l Imp

Alan Moorehead - National Library of Australia

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