Denis Warner
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Denis Ashton Warner CMG OBE (12 December 1917 – 12 July 2012) was an Australian journalist, war correspondent and historian. Warner was born in
New Norfolk New Norfolk is a town on the Derwent River (Tasmania), River Derwent, in the south-east of Tasmania, Australia. At the Census in Australia#2011, 2011 census, New Norfolk had a population of 5,543. Situated north-west of Hobart on the Lyell Hi ...
in
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
's Derwent Valley. He attended
The Hutchins School , motto_translation = Character lives after death , city = Hobart , state = Tasmania , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Independent, day & boarding , de ...
, where he was school captain, before embarking on a career in journalism. He began working for the ''
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'' as a copy boy in the late 1930s before being shifted to
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
to work for the ''
Herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...
''. After his return from war service in the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
(1941–43), he came to the attention of
Sir Keith Murdoch Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch (12 August 1885 – 4 October 1952) was an Australian journalist, businessman and the father of Rupert Murdoch, the current Executive chairman for News Corporation and the chairman of Fox Corporation. Early life Murdoc ...
, who dispatched him to Asia with the directive to "tell us how it is". On 4 May 1945, Warner was on board the aircraft carrier HMS ''Formidable'' near the island of
Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...
when it was hit by a Japanese Kamikaze aircraft, the suicide plane striking the deck only 30 ft from where he stood. Later that year he married ''Herald'' reporter Peggy Hick. Following the war's end, he worked for
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
and the
Australian Associated Press Australian Associated Press (AAP) is an Australian news agency. It was established by Keith Murdoch in 1935. AAP employs around 80 journalists who work in bureaus in all states and territories of Australia except the Northern Territory. It al ...
as head of the
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
bureau, from whence he reported on Japan's post-war experience and interviewed General
Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...
. In 1949, Warner was instrumental in publicising the case of Lorenzo Gamboa, a Filipino man targeted by the
White Australia policy The White Australia policy is a term encapsulating a set of historical policies that aimed to forbid people of non-European ethnic origin, especially Asians (primarily Chinese) and Pacific Islanders, from immigrating to Australia, starting i ...
, after a chance encounter in a Tokyo post office. In 1949 he was appointed Far Eastern Correspondent for the ''Herald'' and the London ''
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'', becoming a freelancer in 1955. He was awarded a
Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
in 1956 and an Associate Nieman Fellowship at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 1957. He wrote for a number of international news magazines, including the ''
Reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
'', '' Look'' and the ''
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''. He was a correspondent for the ''Telegraph'' on the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, which he described as a "tragic accident". It was during Korea that he developed a bitter rivalry with
Wilfred Burchett Wilfred Graham Burchett (16 September 1911 – 27 September 1983) was an Australian journalist known for being the first western journalist to report from Hiroshima after the dropping of the atomic bomb, and for his reporting from "the other ...
, whom he considered a traitor for his support of the Chinese. Warner was a significant correspondent from the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, where he was critical of the American conduct of a war he nevertheless supported. He continued to write on Asian affairs until 1983, also serving as a member of the Victorian State Advisory Committee of the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
from 1979 to 1981. From 1981 to 1995 he was editor of the ''Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter''. His hawkish foreign policy views distinguished him from many of his more liberal contemporaries. Warner was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in 1971 and
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...
in 1982. He was a foundation patron of the Australia Defence Association in 1981, remaining involved with the organisation until his death. He continued writing into his later life, until ill health and his wife's death in 2010 led to a decline. Warner died in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
in 2012.


Publications

Warner published a number of books on Asian affairs: *''Out of the Gun'' (1957) *''Australia's Northern Neighbours'' (1957–63) *''Hurricane from China'' (1961–62) *''The Last Confucian'' (1963) *''Reporting South East Asia'' (1966) *''The Tide at Sunrise: A History of the Russo-Japanese War, 1904–05'' (1974, with Peggy Warner) *''Not with Guns Alone: How Hanoi Won the War'' (1977–78) *''Certain Victory'' (1978) *''The Great Road: Japan's Highway to the 20th Century'' (1979, with Peggy Warner) *''Kamikaze: The Sacred Warriors'' (1983–84, with Peggy Warner and Sadao Seno) *''Disaster in the Pacific: New Light on the Battle of Savo Island'' (1992, with Peggy Warner and Sadao Seno) *''Wake Me If There's Trouble: An Australian Correspondent at the Front Line — Asia at War and Peace 1944–64'' (1995) *''Not Always on Horseback'' (1997)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warner, Denis 1917 births 2012 deaths Officers of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George 20th-century Australian journalists Australian war correspondents The Herald (Melbourne) people The Mercury (Hobart) people War correspondents of World War II Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers Fulbright alumni