IS HMAS PERTH IN DANGER OF BEING LOOTED?

Starting to hear very disturbing rumours that of Chinese scrap-metal teams may have been looting WWII sunken ships in the Sunda Strait.

These ships, which include the Light Cruiser, HMAS Perth, the American cruiser, U.S.S. Houston, and a Dutch submarine, have been war graves since they were sunk during the Battle of the Sunda Strait on 1 March 1942.

The Perth was commanded by the great Captain Hector Waller who went down with his ship after it was torpedoed by Japanese subs. Of the Perth’s crew of 686, only 218 would eventually return home after the war, the rest were either killed during the battle or in its aftermath or died as POWs.

One persistent rumour has it that the Houston is already reduced to a pile of metal and the Perth is in imminent danger of join ing it.

 Surely our senior Naval officer, Admiral Ray Griggs must pull out all stops to make sure the final resting place of so many gallant seamen remains a hallowed war grave.

MAKE THE MOST OF YOU

I’m excited because I’m waiting to hear that the first print run of my latest inspirational book, Make the Most of You, has arrived at the distributors.

It’s the start of a new approach to publishing: my version of what the Australian Society of Authors calls ‘authorpreneurship’. It’s my response to the changes in the publishing marketplace, in Australia and around the world.

Make the Most of You is the fourth book in my series of inspirational books. The first three - It’s Never Too Late, Now Is The Time and Be Happy - were published in Australia by Hardie Grant Books. The latest will be published by my company Lime Tree Books.

I’m well aware of the risks of going out on my own. The move is aimed at giving me more creative control and greater power to adapt in the changing publishing environment.

These books are sold in both bookstores and in gift stores here and overseas. They’ve sold more than 120,000 copies in Australia and a similar number offshore.

The books all try to give readers a chance to put their busy lives on pause so they can reflect on where they’ve come from and where they’re heading.

They also pose some deep questions: Who are you? Where are you headed? What could you yet become? What holds you back?

I’m hoping that I’ll be able to work with my distributor to spread the word on Make the Most of You so it can emulate the success of the earlier titles.