What’s Happening?
Brisbane author Paul Dobbyn brought War Spoils to Redlands last year, with a local launch at the Redlands RSL Sub Branch Library Museum.
The launch was held on Saturday, 5 July 2025, from 3pm to 5pm.
It took place at the Redlands RSL Sub Branch Library Museum, 1-11 Passage Street, Cleveland.
The book’s full title is War Spoils: A Childhood Painting, My Grandfather, His Sons and a Stunning Revelation.
The Redlands event followed an earlier launch at Manly Lota RSL in May.
The story later came home to Toowoomba, where the book was linked to an Anderson Street family’s experience across two world wars.
A Peter Waterman Storyteller video about the book launch premiered on 6 July 2025.
The video described War Spoils as “a poignant tale of family and war.”
Why It Matters
War Spoils is a family story, but it also speaks to wider wartime memory.
The book follows Dobbyn’s family through trauma, tragedy and triumph across two world wars.
It also centres on a childhood painting, his grandfather, his sons and a major family revelation.
The video linked the book to the symbolism of poppies and remembrance.
“Poppies are a symbol of remembering those that have fallen in the war,” the narration said.
It added that Dobbyn had done that “magnificently” through his family’s wartime story.
By The Numbers
- Two world wars shaped the family history at the centre of War Spoils, giving the book its wider historical weight.
- 60 years of family trauma, tragedy and triumph are covered in the Toowoomba-linked story.
- 1945 was the year on the handwritten St Mary’s College note that later revealed a surprise link to the Dobbyn family.
Local Impact
The Redlands launch gave local readers a chance to connect with a Queensland family story shaped by war.
Holding it at the Redlands RSL Sub Branch Library Museum gave the event added meaning.
The Cleveland venue already carries strong ties to service, memory and local history.
For Redlands readers, the launch was more than a book event.
It was a chance to reflect on how war stories continue through families, schools and community places.
Zoom In
The launch video used short, reflective lines to frame the emotional weight of the book.
“But it’s been more than ancestral blood that stirred this desperate flood,” the narration said.
The video also pointed to a shared generational memory beyond one family.
It described “a sense of shared community of brothers, sisters wide.”
Another line referred to “suffering shouldered by the ones dubbed the baby boomers tribe.”
The passage closed with the thought that some later generations “bear the spoils of war.”
Those lines placed Dobbyn’s family story inside a broader reflection on inheritance, grief and remembrance.
Zoom Out
The Redlands launch formed part of a wider Queensland story for War Spoils.
The book was launched at Manly Lota RSL in May, then at Redlands RSL in July.
It later carried strong Toowoomba meaning through the Anderson Street family story and the St Mary’s College time capsule.
That capsule was a bottle containing a handwritten note from the senior class of 1945.
It was found during excavations for a new toilet block, after an old dunny was demolished.
Dobbyn’s uncle, Brian Dobbyn, was one of the names listed on the note.
Paul Dobbyn was later invited to the college’s Anzac Day ceremony after the note was found.
He had visited St Mary’s College the previous November to donate a copy of War Spoils to the school.
That visit was likely the first time in about 80 years that a Dobbyn had been on the campus.
What To Look For Next?
The Redlands launch may have passed, but the story still has local value.
The Peter Waterman Storyteller video gives readers another way to hear the emotion behind War Spoils.
It also helps keep Dobbyn’s family story connected to the Redlands community, where remembrance remains part of local life.
