Mike Dixon

„Well. Yes. I suppose you could put it like that.‟ Kirstin
smiled. „There were people who saw it like that.‟
„What do you mean?‟
„You have to think back to the war years.‟
Humphrey did his best but his childhood memories were
of Abba and the Beatles. He listened as Kirstin continued.
„The Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor and America had
entered the war. All of a sudden American servicemen began
to arrive in North Queensland. There were tens of thousands
of them and they were sent to towns from which the woman
and children had been evacuated.‟
„That would have created a bit of a problem,‟ Humphrey
grinned.
„It did, Humphrey. And Prime Minister Curtin, being a
practical man, solved it in a practical way.‟
„He set up brothels?‟
„Not quite. He was more subtle than that. He placed an
advertisement in the southern newspapers. It announced
that a train would leave Brisbane Central Station, at a cer-
tain time on a certain date, and any female who wished to
board it would be transported to North Queensland free of
charge. The train came to be called the Curtin Express and
girls who travelled on it were called Curtin Girls.‟
anet Pulnitz entered the pizza parlor and hunted
J amongst the sea of young faces. It wasn‟t her scene
but she had good reason for being there. She wore her
femme fatale gear – tailored slacks, elegantly cut jacket,
blouse, scarf and shoes to match. The slacks accentuated
her long legs and the blouse was revealing. A low fitting bra
added a final touch, pushing up her pendulous breasts so
that they bulged out seductively. She had purchased the
outfit on a trip to Rome but, when she wore it, she preferred