Max Dupain

Tired soldier on train, Queensland 1943 is a haunting and moving image. It depicts an unidentified solitary Australian soldier resting on a troop train, travelling either towards or away from the northern battle zone (via Townsville) during the Second World War. The artist originally titled this image 'The Dozing Digger', however the work was retitled when a print was acquired by the Australian War Memorial.

Tired soldier on train, Queensland 1943 is the work of Max Dupain, Australia's best-known and most admired photographer. Although Dupain was not an official Australian Government war artist, he nevertheless undertook wartime assignments across Australia for the Information Service. His image of a soldier does not conform to the popular nationalistic symbolism of the suntanned and muscular Aussie soldier. Rather it is distinct in its ability to communicate the inner personal anguish and sacrifice experienced by so many during the war.

The unusual composition of Tired soldier.. contains no middle-ground, so everything in the picture is either nearby or faraway. The distant world outside is rendered indistinct by the onward movement of the train, while inside the carriage the mood is dark and still - time seems frozen. Occupying the centre of the picture, the soldier bears the introspective expression of a statue. His gaze turned inward, he seems preoccupied with the uncertainty of what awaits him at journey's end.