by JenBurdoo » Wed Nov 04, 2020 10:19 pm
SPOILER:
The book was about airfields built in Australia during WWII. The problem was that the locations had been classified by the Southwest Pacific Area Command, which no longer existed and could therefore not declassify them. The Australian government was unable to legally access the records. But the author had a brainwave, and used records of supplies sent to the locations to determine their whereabouts.
The Australian government was aware that these sites (being forgotten and hidden) were prime places for smugglers and criminals to hide what they had stolen, and were as eager to know the locations as the author. They used his book to plan raids and surveillance.