AustLit

'September 3rd, 1939: WAR DECLARED Australia supported Britain in its war against Germany. As a consequence German citizens living in Australia were arrested and imprisoned in internment camps around Australia. Camp L42 at Dark Valley was not on any map. The primeval southwest Tasmanian wilderness was thought to be remote enough to sweep the problem under the mat. The prisoners were not deemed dangerous and security was minimal; they were, after all, out of harm’s way. Camp L42 was run by a few dozen guards and soldiers, men too old to be sent to the war in Europe or the Pacific. They were governed by a commandant, Alexander Pearce and his Company Sergeant, Major Remus Riley. Unknown to the authorities these two men had unhealthy pasts. Prisoners began escaping. It was all too easy. But the escapees were still trapped in Dark Valley between a deep gorge and mountains. As the warmer weather approached the ‘visitors’ arrived in small groups. Wealthy visitors. Wealthy hunters. And then the real horror began…' (Publication summary)