Kalumburu Community (formerly known as Drysdale River Mission) is the northern-most settlement in Western Australia, situated just inland from the north Kimberley coast. It was used as an RAAF base during WWII.

Vanessa Adam's grandmother, Dolores Cheinmora, was a young Aboriginal girl living a traditional life in the bush with her family. She witnessed planes flying overhead but did not understand what they were or what they were doing. She was terrified and kept the secret all her life.

In September 1943, the Japanese bombed Kalumburu, killing a Benedictine priest and five Aboriginal people, including a mother and baby.

It was only later that Vanessa's grandmother made the connection between what she had seen in the bush and the deaths of her relatives in the bombing. Just before she died, she finally shared the story she had carried in her heart all those years and Vanessa has produced a painting to record her family's history for future generations.