Native Troops

Mutiny

NG Troubles Due to Inexperience of Officers

rEßE has been very serious unrest in the ranks of the New Guinea native infantry battalions; and, in the opinion of some of the “old hands” who are acquainted with the circumstances, the troubles can be traced back directly to one thing—lack of control, due to the inexperience of the white officers of the battalions.

There are now five battalions of New Guinea native infantry. The idea, which took shape during the past two years, Is an excellent one. The penetration of various parts of New Guinea by isolated forces of Japanese, who were settling down in many places among the natives, called for a peculiar type of jungle war fare; and the training and use of the native infantry battalions for this pur pose proved quite successful.

When the plan was put into execution, however, old residents of New Guinea strongly urged that the officers in com mand of these units should be men ex perienced in NG life. It was pointed out that the second-in-command of every battalion as well as the second-in command of every company should be a man with pre-war knowledge of New Guinea conditions. The man who even tually was put in charge of the five bat talions, with the rank of Brigadier, while he has many excellent qualifications, actually was temperamentally handi capped. He had been well known in New Guinea in a minor job—and, in the opinion of the native infantrymen still belonged to that minor joh.

The Army officers blame “irresponsible whites” for the trouble.

In actual fighting, and under close dis cipline, the Ney/ Guinea native battalions acquitted themselves well. But when they were not out chasing the Japanese in the remoter districts, and were not under strong discipline by men who understood them, they definitely ran amok.

There were incidents in which the New Guinea native soldiers gave great offence to the native people by stealing their women and shooting their pigs. One or two very unfortunate situations developed.

There were two outright mutinies by the men of these battalions. One of them was at Nadzab, in the Markham Valley and one at Jacquinot Bay, west of Rabaul.

At Jacquinot Bay the position was very ugly. The whole battalion (800 men) was on the rampage, and the officers seemed unable to control the men. Presently along came a well-known old hand of New Guinea —Mr. C. D. Bates, a former DO —and he took in the situation very quickly. He said to the officers, “Please go away and leave me to handle this.”

With the assistance of one or two other men who understand natives he assembled the whole insurgent battalion and talked to them very forcibly and frankly for a quarter on an hour, in Pidgin. At the end of that time the men obeyed his instructions, quietly piled their arms, as he told them to do. and as quietly dispersed. They had been talked to by someone who understood them, and whom they respected, and they were satisfied that their grievances would be nronerly attended to and they gave no further trouble.

In recent times, a gentleman well known in New Guinea before the war, Mr. J. C. Mullaly, who has a wide ex perience and knowledge and understand ing of natives, has been called in by the authorities to assist them in dealing with

a difficult situation; and, as a result, the outlook has improved.

It probably will be some time before the disbandment of these five native bat talions (4,000 men in all) will be under taken, because the surrender, assembling guarding and ultimate shipment of the 140,000 Japanese in New Guinea will throw upon this type of soldiery a great deal of work; but, in a few months’ time as the Japanese are shipped away, some demobilisation may take place.

Old residents of the Territory express the liveliest concern as to the effect that the appearance of these demobilised infantrymen will have on the native people, once they are returned to civilian life. They fear, among other things, that the safety of European women for a con siderable time will be in danger.

Native Labour Grievances

Canberra, Sept. 1.

SERIOUS unrest amongst New Guinea natives is alleged in a Departmental Committee report received by the Federal Government. The report claims that some natives of the New Guinea Regiment, and some native labourers working for the Army in New Guinea, have complained of grievances.

Some of the native labourers are claiming £3 a month wages, and others are seeking compensation and pensions for death or injuries suffered during the war.

The natives are resentful because they cannot understand why the Government holds them under labour conscription, and why proposals to increase the basic wage rate from ss. to 15s. a month did not become operative immediately.

Local concessions have already been made to overcome difficulties arising from “incidents,” and more trouble is expected unless further measures are taken imme diately.

Labourers are dissatisfied because troops can buy certain commodities from amenity centres more cheaply than the natives can buy them at trade stores.

Recommendations for increased pay rates for certain native troops and work men have been made by a Departmental Committee.

Other reports indicate that planters returning to the Territory will now be instructed to pay native employees the 15/- minimum wage provided for in the Papua-New Guinea Provisional Adminis tration Act.

Editorial Comment

ALL this unrest among the natives has been expected by the more experi enced members of ANGAU. But everything in the Territories, for a long time, has been under flat-footed military discipline; and the officials have not dared to make representations to their complacent superiors, or to report to Aus tralia on conditions which are steadily deteriorating.

The Australian Army, and units formed under Army authority, conscripted thou sands of Papuan and New Guinea natives for labour, wherever required. They have been forcibly removed from their villages under conditions which would never have been tolerated by the pre-war civil Gov ernments of Papua and New Guinea.

There are many thousands of natives now under the control of ANGAU, and it is among them that we find so much evidence of bad morale, which is steadily growing worse.

The immediate return of civil Govern ment is the only remedy. Sympathetic treatment by experienced officials of civil administration, instead of the harsh dis cipline of the ANGAU set-up—the un intended effect of leaving drastic mili tary powers in the hands of men who know little and care less about Terri

tonal conditions—would eventually bring the natives back to a better condition of mind.

We can thank Mr. Ward for the pre sent ugly situation. Any normal Minis ter for Territories would have restored civil Government, civil residents and pri vate enterprise to the Territories as quickly as possible after the Japs had been driven out, and would have left re construction and rehabilitation in the hands of experienced people.

But Mr. Ward could not miss this opportunity of introducing, over the heads of helpless and inarticulate people, his ambitious plans for hamstringing private enterprise and establishing a socialistic State; and so the militaristic set-up remained while he muddled around with his “Provisional Govern ment.”

The unhappy Territories are going to suffer a great deal more before we see the end of Mr. Ward, and the restora tion of normal conditions.