Description

2022 CBCA Book of the Year Notables – Eve Pownall Award

Led by an unconscientiously objecting wombat registered for military service during Australia’s war in Vietnam, Underground digs tunnels through a chapter of Australian history that many have attempted to bury.

Why would a wombat be registered for war?

It’s 1965, and an old Tattersalls barrel starts rolling marbles to randomly conscript young Australian men to fight in the war in Vietnam. Melbourne housewife Jean McLean is outraged, as are her artist friends Clif and Marlene Pugh, who live in the country with their wombat, Hooper.

Determined to wreck the system, Jean forms the Save Our Sons movement’s Victorian branch, and she and her supporters take to the streets to protest. Meanwhile, in the small country town of Katunga, Bill Cantwell joins the Australian Army, and in Saigon, young Mai Ho is writing letters to South Vietnamese soldiers from her school desk. And when Hooper’s call-up papers arrive, he mysteriously goes underground…

As these stories intersect in unexpected ways and destinies entwine, a new world gradually emerges – a world in which bridges of understanding make more sense than war. This stunning graphic novel, full of empathy, courage and resistance, is based on true events.

‘Every drawing reflects a Vietnamese history era in which I grew up and witnessed the war. I cannot thank you enough for this memory.’ MAI HO

‘I wish I had this growing up. It’s incredibly informative. Stories like this are severely lacking, and for an Australian audience, I think it will be revelatory.’ MATT HUYNH

Ages 14+

Teachers Notes