As a child, Charlie lived an idyllic life fishing and crabbing with his brothers and cousins. He loved the smell of the ocean and running down to the shore to meet his dad sailing home to Broome after a beachcombing trip. Perhaps he had found something very exciting for Charlie! Yes, but Charlie’s life was about to change.
World War ll had come to Broome, and life for Charlie becomes so different. Seaplanes started to land in the bay bringing Dutch women and children to safety. Charlie’s job was to clean and fuel these seaplanes, or flying boats as they were called, before they took off again. But one morning, to Charlie’s horror, enemy planes start to swoop towards the bay and Charlie realised their seaplanes were about to be attacked. Charlie could hear the screams for help as people started to jump into the water hoping to make it to the shore. There seemed only one thing to do. Charlie dived off his plane into the murky water!
The wonderful illustrations on every page show us exactly what happened next. A woman and child holding tightly to his shoulders, Charlie watching for stray bullets and worrying about hungry sharks.
Charlie’s Swim is based on a true story. The author’s Uncle Charlie was actually working on a flying boat when the attack happened. So I feel one of the best parts of this book is a photo of the real Charlie, born 1919 and died 1993, holding his Certificate of Merit and wearing one of his medals for bravery from the Dutch government. A wonderful story that needs to be told.
Reviewed by Merle Morcom
Age Guide 7+
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Edith Wright (née D’Antoine) is very proud of her Bardi descent. She was born in Broome in 1954 and grew up in Derby, Western Australia. She is married with two sons and seven grandchildren. In 2018 Edith retired from a diverse career in education, which included Teacher’s Assistant, classroom teacher, Principal (at Wankatjunka Remote Community School) and District Aboriginal Education Manager.
All her roles have focussed on addressing disadvantage and improving education outcomes for Aboriginal children and their families. Edith has published Full Circle, the story of her mother and maternal grandparents. Her energy has shifted from literacy to literature. She is excited by the growing number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors, illustrators and creators dedicating their talent and time to truth telling the history of race relations between First Nations people and Australia.
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