Bomb Season in Jakarta: A personal account of a turbulent period in Australian diplomacy

by Grant Dooley

In the history of Australian diplomacy, the Jakarta post between 2004 and 2007 looms larger than any other. In the span of just a few years, a terrorist bomb attack partially destroyed the Embassy compound, killing eleven; the Boxing Day tsunami wreaked havoc on an almost incomprehensible scale; a bombing in Bali killed twenty, including four Australians; Schapelle Corby divided public opinion; members of the Bali Nine were arrested and convicted; and a Garuda flight crashed and exploded in Yogyakarta, killing twenty, including members of the Australian diplomatic corps.

Working in a diplomatic posting in Jakarta at the time, not only did Grant Dooley bear witness to these events, but he was also a first responder in the Embassy bombing and plane crash. And when he wasn't dealing with emergencies and constant terror threats, he had to delicately manage Australia's political leaders, from Alexander Downer to John Howard to Bronwyn Bishop. Somehow, Grant and his wife, Kristan, who worked on the consular staff, kept it all together for themselves and their young family. Or did they?

Bomb Season in Jakarta is an incredible up close and personal account of an unparalleled period in Australian diplomacy.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

268 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 29, 2025

Reviews

[Ari Sharp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haiku review

Rarely has the story
Of a diplomat been told
In such lucid prose.