A first-hand account of a World War II RAAF photographer in New Guinea.
1942, on the ground and in the sky, the battle for Port Moresby and the fight for Australia.
I’m thrilled to announce that my book A Mouse at Moresby will be released by Big Sky Publishing of Australia on October 6th—now available for pre-order!
Irvine Green tells his story of the critical time when Port Moresby stood between the invading Japanese and the Australian mainland. Seen through the eyes of a skilled RAAF photo reconnaissance officer, Irvine has left a feast of previously unseen photographs and writings from the New Guinea theatre and across the Australian mainland.
This book honours my father’s remarkable story that he never had the chance to publish.
Story of making the book
After my father Irvine Green passed away, I found an exciting collection of photos, diaries, and letters from his service in the RAAF in WW2. As a well-known professional photographer and local historian who wrote many books, he always intended to publish his diaries.
Irvine articulates a firsthand view of World War II in New Guinea from 1941–1943, and captures the critical time when Port Moresby stood between the invading Japanese and the Australian mainland. He titled his diary A Mouse at Moresby, a nod to the name coined by Tokyo Rose for the ‘rats of Tobruk’; the Australian and Allied soldiers who earlier withstood a siege in North Africa.
In publishing his diary entries alongside letters he wrote to his family and previously unseen photographs from the trenches, I believe this is the book that Irvine always wanted to write, and now we have written it together.
- - Tony Green
Irvine Green didn’t just see the war — he showed it to us.”
Irvine Green pencilled the title 'A Mouse at Moresby' on the cover of his war diary—a quiet nod to the 'Rats of Tobruk'. It was a fitting epithet for a man who, amid the chaos of war, used his camera and words to bear witness to the Pacific War in New Guinea.
Mouse of Moresby offers a firsthand account of World War II in New Guinea through the eyes of RAAF photographer Irvine Green. His rare photographs and personal diaries reveal the daily hardships of Australian servicemen facing Japan’s advance, capturing moments of courage, sacrifice, and endurance.
As the Pacific War escalated, Irvine—a recent graduate of the RAAF photo survey course—was rushed to Port Moresby to assist with aerial reconnaissance and vital intelligence work. Armed with little more than his amateur skill and a resolve to serve, he became one of the few who documented, in real time, the critical period when New Guinea stood as Australia’s frontline.
Stationed at HQ, Irvine had a unique perspective. His diaries and letters—written as events unfolded—offer a vivid, unfiltered account of the dread of invasion, the chaos of air raids, and the long, anxious wait for news. His lens and pen captured the tension, camaraderie, and day-to-day survival of those on the ground, as they joked to relieve stress and scavenged to get by.
From the Fall of Rabaul and the Battle of the Coral Sea to the Kokoda Track, Irvine chronicled the conflict not from the vantage of generals or politicians, but from muddy airstrips, makeshift bunkers, and mess tents. His words and images reflect a frontline view of Australia’s fight for survival—raw, immediate, and deeply human.
Mouse of Moresby is not only a tribute to the resilience of Australian servicemen, but also an intimate portrait of a young man swept up in history. Featuring many previously unseen photographs, it offers a powerful glimpse into war, memory, and the lasting force of the image.
Compiled by his son, Dr Tony Green, this book honours Irvine’s remarkable archive. Together, father and son bring to life the story Irvine never had the chance to publish—until now.
“In the chaos of war, the camera is both witness and weapon.”
"Irvine Green’s photographs aren’t just images; they are silent witnesses to the courage and sacrifice of Australian soldiers in the Pacific."
Review by Michael Veitch:
"Tony Green, via the words and lens of his illustrious father, RAAF photographer Irvine Green, has unearthed and delivered a quite magnificent archeological find. 'A Mouse at Moresby' takes us – vividly and brilliantly – right to the crucible of some of the most frenetic and perilous months in Australia's history, when the juggernaut of Imperial Japan was reaching its zenith and bearing down on Port Moresby as – so we all then thought – a prelude to invading Australia itself. Irvine's stunning images and vivid, intelligently penned diaries strip away the decades, transporting us back to what it felt like staring down disaster with insight and humour. A Mouse at Moresby is a fascinating, unalloyed time-capsule".
Authors: Tony Green, Irvine Green; Subject: Military, RAAF Photography; Pages: 272; Book Type: Paperback; Dimensions: 250mm x 250mm; ISBN: 9781923300941
Purchase from: Big Sky Publishing @ $34.99; Amazon @ $25; Booktopia @ 28.50; Dymocks @ $34.99; QBD Books @ $25.49
No comments:
Post a Comment