'The extent to which the contents of this virile account of the lives of our Australian soldiers in the East will be welcome will depend largely on their appreciation of its realism, whilst civilians must revel in it for the spirited pictures drawn of the somewhat wearisome days of training on the sands of Egypt, followed by the rousing incidents of the landing on the peninsula of Gallipoli, the terrible sacrifice of life, and the heroism displayed by the Australian and New Zealand troops in their determination to oust the Turk from his practically impregnable positions. The leading characters in "The Kangaroo Marines" are four mates from the bush, one of whom is a Glasgow stoker, one an Irishman, a third a remittance man, and the fourth "a typical Cornstalk with a nut-brown face, twinkling eyes, and a spice of the devil and the Lord in his soul." With such a Quartette to depend on for the creation of incident, much may be expected, and the author has certainly not neglected any of his numerous opportunities.'
Source:
'The Kangaroo Marines' [review], The World's News, 19 February 1916, p.29. (Via Trove Australia.)
