In The Wake : The True Story of the Melbourne-Evans Collision, Conspiracy and Cover-up

In the pre-dawn of 3 June 1969, during SEATO naval exercises in the South China Sea, a collision occurred between the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne and the American destroyer USS Frank K. Evans. The Evans was sliced in two and 74 of her crew tragically died. Although completely cleared by the joint Board of Inquiry, Captain J.P. Stevenson, who was commanding HMAS Melbourne, was subsequently court-martialled by the Australian Naval Board. He was 'Honourably Acquitted'. The author's account of the collision and its aftermath, No Case to Answer, was published in 1971 and became a bestseller. In the wake of the storm of controversy which surrounded the disaster, further information has come to light and the author has substantially re-written her original book.