The Savage: Part 1 of 8.

Kokoda. Australians know the place. That outpost in the northern wilderness of New Guinea. And they know the track. Just a shoulder's width, winding 96 kilometres south through the mountains and valleys and jungle - from Kokoda to Ower's Corner, just a spit from Port Morseby.

It was here, from July to October 1942 that Australian soldiers killed and died for their country. Outnumbered ten to one their fighting retreat exhausted the Japanese attackers. When finally reinforced they drove back destroying their enemy on New Guinea's northern coast.

The brutality of this campaign, the savagery or it, was unparalleled.

This short story, this imagined life contemplates that campaign and the terrible toll exacted upon the men who where there, and the women and children who came after.

The Savage will be published in eight parts over four weeks (Sundays and Wednesdays). Here begins The Savage.

A Great Australian Road Trip.

Flowering sugar cane

Australians are spoiled for choice for great road trips. The sheer size of the place, the diversity of landscapes and and small population make for endless opportunities. Many of them are known internationally: the Nullarbor, the Great Ocean Road, Tassie's east coast, the Adelaide Hills and WA's Margaret River. There's another one that's little known. It's way up north in Queensland. A diversion that sneaks off the highway at Silkwood and ends further north at Innisfail.

Cross-examination: It's the climax that counts. A personal perspective.

In recent posts we've looked at the 10 commandments of cross-examination and asked is cross-examination an engine of truth or something to do with goats? Now, I want to give you a personal perspective. It's a good time for this because I've just completed several trials and the cross is fresh in my mind.

What do Barristers Wear Under Their Robes?

OK, so barristers are all flowing black robes, sparkling white bibs and curly-haired dignity on the outside. But what about on the inside? What is worn under those traditional old markers of counsel? What lies beneath? Whatever it is, is it dignified? Traditional? Legal?

A Place Made for Murder.

North Queensland is a harsh and ancient land of scorching heat and suffocating humidity. A vast and isolated place where dead things leave nothing but bones. A place made for murder.

Cross-examination: an engine of truth or a man with a goat?

As a student barrister I attended a presentation on cross-examination. The presenter asked 'what is the purpose of cross-examination?' We were being assessed for participation so I uncharacteristically raised my hand and answered 'to elicit the truth.'

The presenter paused, raised a finger and said 'we'll return to you later'. He moved on to other more acceptable answers, leaving me feeling like an amorous farmhand caught with a goat.

Murdering Point.

by John McCool. A legal thriller set in north Queensland.

Cross-examination: Sexy or What!

Cross-examination is the sexiest part of any trial. Along with the impassioned closing address it is the very stuff of court room drama. Think of Kaffee's cross-examination of Colonel Jessup in A Few Good Men. Or Vincent Gambini's brilliant magic grits cross-examination in My Cousin Vinny. Or the classic, authoritative and measured testing of the lying rape victim in To Kill a Mocking Bird.

The Good Lawyer

Most lawyers want to believe that they do good. Sometimes it is hard to believe such a thing. The jokes tell us otherwise. Sometimes our outcomes tell us otherwise. And our daily submersion in the miseries of others tells us otherwise. Yet most of us do want to believe that we do good. One place in which we find hope for such a thought is in the arts. Literature and film sometimes tells us 'you're OK'. Here is an example.

Bar Jackets and Jabots: unsung heros or soup catchers.

The bar jacket and jabot are the forgotten elements of judicial and legal dress. Their appearance, history and significance minimised as merely ‘associated accessories’ to the wig and robe. But do they deserve any more? And just what is a jabot anyway? Some kind of half-arsed robot. A ineffectual jab. Something worn in the pants. Here is the third part of our series about how barristers dress. Perhaps it will answer these questions but I doubt it.

Barristers' Wigs: the terrible truth.

The finest barristers’ wigs are made from the hair of Australian brumbies and Mongolian ponies. I’d like to tell you that wearing one improves performance, charging one’s submissions with the power and majesty of those wild beasts. But that would be a lie.

Here is a short history of wigs and the truth about wearing them. It is the second instalment in a series of three about court dress.