The Chalkies: Educating an Army for Independence - Softcover

Dymock, Darryl R

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1925333779 ISBN 13: 9781925333770

Publisher: Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2016

Synopsis

Two years isn’t a long time in your life, but at age 20 it can be significant.
In August 1966, while most Australian eyes were on the war in Vietnam, the Army quietly posted a batch of 25 conscripted Australian teachers to Papua New Guinea.
Colloquially known as ‘Chalkies’, their task was to raise the educational level of troops of the Pacific Islands Regiment in what turned out to be critical years leading up to the country’s independence.

This small group was the vanguard of a taskforce of more than 300 ‘Nasho’ (National Service) teachers sent to PNG over the seven years that followed.

Drawing on the recollections of more than 70 of these ‘Nashos’, Dr Darryl Dymock, a former Chalkie, tells the story of how these conscripted teachers responded to the challenges of a life most of them never wanted or imagined for themselves, in an exotic land on Australia’s doorstep.

It’s a unique tale of the good, the bad and the unexpected, told with flair and insight against the background of political developments of the day

Edition details

• Publisher: Australian Scholarly Publishing
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1925333779
• ISBN 13: 9781925333770
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 248