Peter FitzSimons Meet the Author

Best-selling author, Peter FitzSimons will be in conversation with Mathew Trinca on his new book The Legend of Albert Jacka: From the brutal shores of Gallipoli to the battlefields of France, the epic story of the first Australian soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross in WW1

Heroes can come from the most ordinary of places. As a shy lad growing up in country Victoria, no one in the district had any idea the man Albert Jacka would become. Albert ‘Bert’ Jacka was 21 when Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914. Bert enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and the young private was assigned to 14th Battalion D Company. By the time they shipped out to Egypt he’d been made a Lance Corporal.

On 26 April 1915, 14th Battalion landed at Gallipoli. It was here, on 20 May, that Albert Jacka proved he was ‘the bravest of the brave’. The Turks were gaining ground with a full-scale frontal attack and as his comrades lay dead or dying in the trenches around him, Jacka single-handedly held off the enemy onslaught. The Turks retreated.

Jacka’s extraordinary efforts saw him awarded the Victoria Cross, the first for an Australian soldier in World War I. He was a national hero, but Jacka’s wartime exploits had only just begun: moving on to France, he battled the Germans at Pozieres, earning a Military Cross for what historian Charles Bean called ‘the most dramatic and effective act of individual audacity in the history of the AIF’. Then at Bullecourt, his efforts would again turn the tide against the enemy. There would be more accolades and adventures before a sniper’s bullet and then gassing at Villers-Bretonneux sent Bert home.

The Legend of Albert Jacka is an unforgettable story of the bravery and sacrifice of one extraordinary soldier.

Peter FitzSimons AM is Australia’s bestselling non-fiction writer and is a journalist and columnist with the Sydney Morning Herald and the Sun Herald. Is the author of over 27 books including Tobruk, Kokoda, Batavia, Eureka, Gallipoli and biographies of Douglas Mawson, Nancy Wake‚ and Nick Farr-Jones. Peter was named a Member of the Order of Australia for service to literature as a biographer, sports journalist and commentator, and to the community through contributions to conservation, disability care, social welfare and sporting organisations. His passion is to tell Australian stories, our own stories: of great men and women, of stirring events in our history.

Dr Mat Trinca Talalin AM FAHA is Professor of Museum Practice at the Australian National University and a Commissioner for Culture and Olympic Heritage for the International Olympic Committee He is Chair of Blue Shield Australia, which is devoted to heritage preservation, and sits on several arts and cultural sector boards and advisory bodies. In 2020, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his service to museums. Matthew was formerly Director of the National Museum of Australia between 2014 to 2024, and worked in senior roles in the museum from 2003.

This event is in association with Harry Hartog Bookshop. Books will be available for purchase. Pre-event book signings will be available from 5.30pm and again after the event.