Incident Of 1914
p. 29 · Read in the full issue
Detzner and Papuan Officials
(Contributed).
THE story of the capture of “Australia’s First Military Prisoners of War,” given you by Mr. Cridland, and published in your September issue, does not fit in with Cap tain Detzner’s own account of the incident, published in his book “Four Years Among Savages.” Your account says it was Captain Muskett who made contact with Detzner; the latter says it was Mr. Chis holm.
Captain Detzner was surveying near the Papuan-German border. He was ahead of his main party, and encamped near Mount Joseph. Behind him were two depots, F and G; at G Depot were two native sol diers; at F Depot were other native sol diers, in charge of a German, Sergeant Konradt.
Sergeant Konradt arrived at G Depot on November 2, 1914. The two native soldiers had disappeared. There were tracks of a large party, evidently in charge of a Euro pean, which had gone off in a southerly direction.
Konradt found a letter at the camp, in English, and he sent it on to Detzner. The latter read this: — “To the Officer in charge of the German Forces — “I have to inform you that war has been declared between Great Britain and Ger many on August 4, '14. In order to avoid unnecessary loss of lives I advise you to come in as soon as possible to the Nepal Camp, at the Lakekamu Goldfield, which you will reach after five days’ march, and to surrender there with all your men. You will be treated as an officer and gentleman.
Two native policemen and carriers I took along as prisoners of war.
Chisholm,
Officer in Charge of the British Force.”
Captain Detzner proceeded immediately to G Depot and joined Konradt. He sent Konradt back to Morobe, and he himself went on alone after Chisholm, eager to get news of the war. After two days, he lost Chisholm’s tracks, and returned; and on November 11 he left for the coast at Mo robe, which he reached in December, 1914.
In January, he was at a Lutheran station, inland from Finschafen; and it was from that point that he struck inland across the centre of the great island, in his famous attempt to reach Dutch New Guinea.