FOWL April Author Talk with Ryan Butta in conversation with Linda Emery
Tuesday 15th April 10:00am - 11:30am
Categories: Friends of the Wingecarribee Library, Featured event
Friends of Wingecarribee Libraries present April 2025 Author Talk Ryan Butta in conversation with Linda Emery
About the book
The Bravest Scout at Gallipoli is the story of Harry Freame, the first Australian to win the Distinguished Conduct Medal at Gallipoli. Raised as a Samurai, he risked his life again and again to scout the beaches and hills of the battlefield, reporting invaluable intelligence back to his officers and relieving stranded soldiers who may otherwise have died. Some say he should have received the Victoria Cross but didn't because he was half-Japanese, a fact he tried hard to conceal.
After the war, Harry became a soldier settler and champion apple grower. But when Japan emerged as a perceived threat to Australia, he was recruited into Australian intelligence to spy on the Japanese community in Sydney. Before Japan's entry into World War II, Australia opened a diplomatic legation in Tokyo, and Harry was sent as a translator - but his real role was a spy. Extraordinarily, his cover was leaked by the Australian press, and the Japanese secret police tried to assassinate him not long after his arrival in Tokyo in 1941. Harry died back in Australia a few weeks later, but his sacrifice has never been acknowledged by Australia.
The book is a fascinating and immersive investigation into a grievous historical wrong
About the author: Ryan Butta
After starting out life on the opal fields of western NSW, Ryan was raised among the vineyards and horse studs of the Hunter Valley. His first work of historical non-fiction, The Ballad of Abdul Wade, recounted the untold story of the Afghan men that came to Australia in the 1800s to work in the mining and wool industries. The book was shortlisted for the South Australian Literary Awards non-fiction book of the year for 2024, longlisted for the Indie Book Awards non-fiction book of the year for 2023, and longlisted for Queensland Writers Centre Adaptable program.
Copies of Ryan's book will be available for sale and signing at the event.
Date: Tuesday 15th April 2025
Time: 10am. Morning tea will follow the talk. Doors open at 9.40am.
Place: Henrietta Rose Room, Bowral Library, 16-24 Bendooley St, Bowral NSW 2576.
Cost: $15 + booking fee for members with discount code, and $20 for non-members + booking fee
Bookings: are essential and can be made HERE
Please note: When purchasing multiple tickets, member and non-member tickets need to be ordered separately