Cockatoo Conspiracy

John Kevan

 

In September 1945, Captain Chuck O’Donnell and the aircrew on board the B-29 transport known as Daisy Mae, were ordered to fly from Darwin to Learmonth, with seven Australian nurses on board, but were diverted to Broome for engine repairs. The nurses, lead by Jenny Hopkins-Jones, were sent on to Perth, and the B-29 was ordered to return to Darwin. Daisy Mae never made it.

During the previous months, Chuck and Jenny had become very close, meeting frequently in Port Moresby. When Chuck was reported missing Jenny was devastated, as she was pregnant with their daughter Elizabeth, who grew up and joined the Australian Military Intelligence Organisation (AMIO). Elizabeth became involved in the search for Daisy Mae, meeting Commander Tony Dowling on HMAS Murray, near Cockatoo Island.
Someone had definitely covered up the disappearance of Daisy Mae, by frustrating the search, murdering any witnesses and altering vital records.

Three decades later, still stone-walled by US Military Security, and unable to tell her Mother anything about the work she was doing, Elizabeth eventually unravels the cover up surrounding B-29 Daisy Mae. She is almost killed in the process to reconcile her family, conquer deep personal anxieties and close the file on a missing atomic device.