A Eurasian Family’s Odyssey in the Dutch East Indies

Simon, the author’s father, who travelled to the Dutch East Indies as a young graduate and was caught up in the Japanese invasion, becoming a prisoner of war in several camps.

The author’s older brother Adolf, who witnessed and endured the Japanese occupation through his teen years, all while helping his family survive the dangers of the war.

And Peter, the author himself, and one of the youngest family members, who remembers what happened after the war and their migration to Australia.

Through the trauma and separation the family had to endure, the author was left with one, all-encompassing truth: Life can be a series of wonderful experiences. Accept the tragedies that may occur and live life to the fullest, especially in a wonderful country like Australia.

The Whiskered Whistle Blower

Julie, a young girl running from an abusive stepfather, is kidnapped by a stranger and held captive for years. Years later, Tim, a university student, discovers a woman on the outskirts of Bendigo whose unbelievable story shakes him to the core. He becomes determined to help her fi nd her brother, Edwin, who has spent years searching for his sister. Together, the two men make a pact to rescue her from her fate.

But when a man who owns the house where Julie is held goes missing, everything spirals into chaos. The police, called to investigate, uncover a chilling crime scene in the abandoned home. Among the eerie clues left behind is a stuff ed toy cat, Licorice—its seemingly innocent presence leads everyone, to a dark and twisted mystery.

Frank Vanners believes the sudden death of his wife Margaret and his consequent retirement from a lifelong career in teaching has activated ongoing episodes of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy that transport his psyche to another place or world where he permeates the consciousness of Rudi. It is there as part Rudi’s persona, he witnesses scenes of infidelity, plagiarism and murder.

A visiting friend Sean, who has come to support a stressed out Frank, is loathe to believe what Frank says he is experiencing until irrefutable evidence strongly indicates that what Frank witnesses is true. When he contacts the police, the detectives dismiss him as a crackpot, but as events unfold, they are forced to concede they were wrong.

Frank and Sean lead the police to the criminals’ compound where a massive standoff involving a Specialist Response Group, is only resolved when the crooks’ desperate tactics, end the saga.

Peter van Schie migrated with his family from Indonesia in 1951. With father Simon a POW in Changi, the family dodged being interned in Japanese camps in Java by moving frequently from city to city as the need arose.

After the war it became imperative to move from what was no longer The Dutch East Indies. Simon chose Hobart, Tasmania. Peter completed his education there and became a teacher, which was an uplifting, life long career.

In retirement, he was able to pursue his love for writing as a creative pastime. His books so far are: Fashions From Yesteryear; The Shack; and Oldfelladreaming. Currently, he is writing a fiction piece based on fact about his family’s ordeal during the Japanese occupation of Java.