Code of Silence

As World War II climbed to its crescendo in the Asia-Pacific, the Australian government called in a new weapon: women. Within this female arsenal was a top-secret group focused on signals intelligence.

These young women, many just teens, were soon dotted across Australia, working in discreet locations – from an outback bunker disguised as a farmhouse to a Melbourne apartment block, from the garage of a Brisbane manor to a Perth girls’ school. As war inched closer to home, they became our secret weapon, intercepting enemy messages and passing intelligence between local networks and allies across the globe, from Bletchley Park to the United States, India and across the Asia-Pacific. Some information was so sensitive it was burned to ensure its security. Their covert work helped the Allies win the pivotal battles of the Coral Sea and Midway, and plot the assassination of the Japanese commander behind the Pearl Harbour bombings.

When the war ended, the women rejoiced. Demobilised and reminded of their oaths of secrecy, they returned to civilian lives. Some followed careers, others married and raised families. Their service remained hidden – until recently.

This is not just an extraordinary war story, but a coming-of-age tale for the nation and its women. It brings to life a new Anzac, neither male nor bloodied from battle. These were the daughters of the suffragette generation – of course they were destined to do something out of the ordinary. It is time to write these remarkable women back into our history, where they belong.