09 Jul Book review: a powerful new children’s book honours a Tiwi WWII hero
Tiwi War Hero: Footprints in the Sand shares an important and little-known story of courage, Country and wartime service from the Tiwi Islands.
A powerful new children’s book from the Indigenous Literacy Foundation is helping bring an important part of Australia’s wartime history into the light.
Tiwi war kwampini: Mwarlapwara kangi tingati — Tiwi War Hero: Footprints in the Sand — is written, translated and illustrated by Tiwi author, historian, educator and researcher Mavis Kerinaiua, with support from Laura Rademaker.
This bilingual picture book, written in both Tiwi and English, tells the story of Louie Purraputimali Munkara, Mavis Kerinaiua’s grandfather, and the role he played in protecting Northern Australia during World War II.
For many Australian families, the wartime history most often taught to children focuses on familiar national stories. This book widens that lens, sharing the contribution of Tiwi people, including those sometimes referred to as the “Black Diggers”, who helped patrol and protect Australia’s northern coastline.
The story includes references to the bombing of Nguiu Mission and Darwin, coastal shipwrecks and the defence of Country by Tiwi Communities. But at its heart, this is not only a war story. It is also a story about family memory, truth-telling, cultural knowledge and pride.
Mavis says the book is about “bravery, courage and as a collective group, how we worked together to look after Country and people”. She also hopes it will help preserve Tiwi stories for future generations.
The illustrations are inspired by the Tiwi Islands’ landscapes, colours and places that are deeply connected to Mavis’s family history. For young readers, this offers a visual way into a story that is both local and national — one grounded in Country, language and lived experience.
The book also carries a message of cultural continuity. A line from the Tiwi text translates as: “Our ancestors left footprints for us to follow their ways.”
For parents, teachers and librarians looking for books that broaden children’s understanding of Australian history, Tiwi War Hero: Footprints in the Sand offers a meaningful addition to home, school and library collections. It encourages remembrance, respect and a deeper appreciation of First Nations service and resilience.
It is also a reminder that some of Australia’s most important stories have been held in families and Communities for generations — and that children deserve the chance to know them.
Book details:
Tiwi war kwampini: Mwarlapwara kangi tingati
Tiwi War Hero: Footprints in the Sand
Written, translated and illustrated by Mavis Kerinaiua, with support from Laura Rademaker
Published by the Indigenous Literacy Foundation
Hardback, bilingual in Tiwi and English
RRP: $29.99
ISBN: 9781923179400
Age suggestion: 7–12 years, with adult guidance for younger readers because it deals with World War II, bombing, loss and people who have passed away.
Images: Author Mavis Kerinaiua at the Old Church precinct on Bathurst Island. The vase Mavis is holding is an empty Japanese bombshell and as a goodwill gesture, she says she has ‘flowers instead of fireworks’ shooting out of it. Photo by Allen Murphy.
Mavis at the Old Church precinct on Bathurst Island with the statue dedicated to Matthias Ullungura and Tiwi Islanders for their contribution to the defence of Northern Australia during World War II. Photo by Allen Murphy.
