Papuan Planters'

Appeal

Military Control of the Plantations ?

Letter to the Editor rpHE evacuees from Papua, now resi- J. dent in Australia, have read with disgust, and dismay, about the military plan to take control of our pro perties, our homes and our vessels; and, for the duration' of the war, no matter how many years it may last, keep us in exile here, eating out our hearts in a land with which we have little in common.

The writer, and many other settlers in Papua, have lived in the Territory so long that it now represents home, and holds all that is dear to us. We are as much a part of it as the brown people among whom we have dwelt, and who, like ourselves, would not be happy parted from it.

Ignored by those who should have watched over our interests—namely, the Papuan Government (for the break-down of the Civil Administration left us to the tender mercies of the military)—our stores and homes looted, we are now being treated as aliens, and Australia is

to be our concentration camp “for the duration”.

The realisation of this bitter truth has reduced unfortunates like myself to despair and misery. We are now bank rupt of all that makes for happiness, or life worth living. The writer, being an old soldier, knows only too well the rigidity of the military mind; the lack of sentiment in those who command; the difficulty they experience in seeing any point of view but their own. Neverthe less, we have invariably found the Brit ish or Australian officer a gentleman, who would not deliberately be guilty of cruelty of the kind now proposed by those who rule in Papua. rAT the complete evacuation of civi lians from the Territory was neces sary may now be questioned. Had the Civil Administration shown more courage, the wheels of industry could have been kept in motion, for the bene fit of the war effort of both Papua and Australia.

If it is safe to use soldiers to run plan tations, it is just as safe for the owners to be there—and they are quite as will ing to take risks as are the troops—prob ably more so, as they have more at stake.

In Australia, men are being drafted from industry and trained for the front line. Those who go to Papua should be sent there to fight the enemy, not to run plantations. The owners can do the lat ter work much more efficiently.

We feel certain that men like Mr. Cur tin, and many other kindly and consid erate members of the Australian Gov ernment, will not tolerate injustice of the kind we complain about.

All that we had, we gave to Papua. We poured out our money, our health, our best years; toiling early and late, that it might be a good country for the white man to live in. Surely, the Australian sense of justice and fairplay will now stand by us, and ensure that we unfor tunate exiles are repatriated as early as is consistent with reason.

AUSTRALIA is a fine country, peopled by a great race. But it is not our homeland. Our hearts are far away in Papua. We are in the deadly grip of a nostalgia that grows more unbearable as the months go by, and we shall raise our voices in a ceaseless demand for repatriation, to which no just Government can fail to respond.

We ask for nothing .that is not ours.

We have broken no law. We are willing to toil for victory in the place where our work will be most effective —namely, on our plantations, our trading stations, our vessels. Elsewhere, we are just round pegs in square holes.

I have been asked to write this letter to you, so that it may give public voice in your paper. You have been ever on the side of the under-dog, and I hope

you will find space for it. It may not do much good—but it can do no harm.

I am, etc.,

E. W. Harrison.

Ramage’s Hotel, Townsville, 26/7/42.