Major Hashida’s Notebook by Craig Collie

‘An ingenious piece of historical reconstruction. It reads like a spy thriller.’ Tom Gilling, author of Start Digging, You Bastards!

In January 1941, the dapper, slightly built Major Hashida arrived at Circular Quay carrying only a small suitcase. It was eleven months before Pearl Harbor and a year before the attack on Sydney Harbour.

Japan was claiming to be neutral in the war. Believing there were no grounds to prevent Hashida from landing, the Army consulted its intelligence section, which proposed that he be ‘closely shepherded’ with a strict watch on his movements.

He was met by Japanese businessmen and consular officials and made his way around the country, stopping at each major city and gathering pieces of intelligence on everything from Australia’s fortifications to its car industry. But what was the true purpose of his mission?

In Major Hashida’s Notebook, acclaimed author Craig Collie has used Hashida’s own diaries, along with military and police archives, to tell the long-buried story of one of the most intriguing espionage operations ever conducted on our shores.

‘A brilliant, page-turning read. In one volume, Craig Collie has given us a spy story, a thriller, and a fascinating insight into the complexities of Japan’s wartime thinking, and a vivid snapshot of Australian society during the Second World War’ – Michael Veitch, author of Australia’s Secret Army

After 80 years in the shadows, Craig Collie-author of the acclaimed Where the Flaming Hell Are We? and Nagasaki-unearths the mystery of Japanese military intelligence officer Major Sei Hashida, a fascinating spy story set in World War II Australia.

About the Author: Craig Collie is one of Australia’s leading writers of military history and the author of the critically acclaimed The Path of Infinite Sorrow, Nagasaki, The Reporter and the Warlords, Code Breakers, On Our Doorstep, and Where the Flaming Hell Are We? Craig has a special interest in Japanese-Australian history and formerly worked as a TV producer-director, including as Head of Television Production at SBS.

04 Aug 2026
 

Major Hashida’s Notebook: A Japanese spy’s mission to Australia in World War II by Craig Collie ISBN 9781761471421