Ray Parkin's Odyssey

Pattie Wright

In 1939, Ray Parkin was serving on the Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth. Despite a lack of formal education, he had the soul of an artist and a philosopher's enquiring mind. As HMAS Perth was embroiled in war in the Mediterranean and South-East Asia, Ray chronicled the events through his meticulous diaries and his minutely observed paintings and sketches. When Perth was sunk off the coast of Java, Ray survived only to become a prisoner of war, first on the Thai-Burma Railway and then as a labourer in a Japanese coalmine.

The horrors and privations of those years saw some of his most memorable artwork, documenting both the beauty of the natural world and the savageries of the POW experience. He developed lifelong friendships with fellow prisoners Weary Dunlop and Laurens Van Der Post. This wonderful biography, illustrated with 100 paintings and sketches, is a moving account of his life and wartime experiences.

Hard cover, photographs, illustrations, 654 pages.

Ray Parkin's Odyssey