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White Coolies

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White Coolies

By: Betty Jeffrey
Narrated by: Beverley Dunn
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About this listen

It is October 1942. From the doorway of this small three-roomed cottage, which houses thirty-two of us, we look out beyond to a steaming jungle in Sumatra.

In 1942 a group of sixty-five Australian Army nursing sisters was evacuated from Malaya a few days before the fall of Singapore. Two days later their ship was bombed and sunk by the Japanese. Of the fifty-three survivors who scrambled ashore, twenty-one were murdered and the remaining thirty-two taken prisoner.

White Coolies is the engrossing record kept by one of the sisters, Betty Jeffrey, during the more than three gruelling years of imprisonment that followed. It is an amazing story of survival and deprivation and the harshest of conditions.

©1954 Betty Jeffrey. Betty Jeffrey asserts her moral right to be identified as theauthor of this Work. First published by HarperCollinsPublishers in. This audio version produced by arrangement with HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Ltd. (P)1997 Bolinda Publishing Military

Editorial reviews

A harrowing but ultimately inspiring account of Australian Army nurses attacked and imprisoned by the Japanese during World War II. In her dignified and matter-of-fact-voice, Australian actress Beverley Dunn reads a secret diary kept by one of the nurses, Betty Jeffrey, written while imprisoned in the Sumatran jungle. Jeffrey's account of tortures, starvation, murder, and humiliation is hard to hear, although it’s brightened by the courage and perseverance of these brave women, and their determination to find humor and even joy in the bleakest of times.
All stars
Most relevant  
Superb listening. Beverly did a wonderful job on this book and it felt like it was herself in the book. Such a compelling journey of endurance and comraderie.

Riveting!!

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I met Sister Jeffreys and Matron Bulwinkle. My mother was a nurse who worked with all these heroic women but was not fit to be sent to Singapore due to Measles.
Thank you for listing this incredible diary in the collection

This should be required reading for all Australian Students

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This is the most moving story and we should be very proud of these women.

Forget me not

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I've ready the paperback of this many, many times.

an incredible story, that everyone should hear once in their lives. I found myself incredibly moved by this edition, beautifully read & presented.

the horrors, that we as humans do to each other is disturbing & incredible.

A must listen

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Well written and the best bit is it’s beautifully read with suitable expression and excellent accents. A delight to listen to the reader’s voice.

A shocking story that needs to be told.

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.