Staley*
pp. 11-13 · Read in the full issue
Further Information Brought From Rabaul
THE following is the most valuable list yet made available, in connection with the tragic task of tracing the fate of the civilians who were abandoned by the Australian authorities in Rabaul in January, 1942, and of whom sub sequently lost their lives.
These lists of names were brought to Australia in October by Mr. Gordon Thomas, editor of the “Rabaul Times,” who was one of the very few Europeans who escaped. Mr. Thomas was included (as a cook!) with three other men, tech nicians (Creswick, McEachnie and Ellis) who were given the task of maintaining the freezer in Rabaul, and these four re mained in their little backwater until they were bombed out in 1944. They com piled the lists, which they checked and re checked. They say that, while they cannot guarantee the lists are 100 per cent, cor rect; they are as nearly accurate as memory will permit.
Division I
Nominal Roll in Rabaul Camp
(Compiled from memory after roll
call there about end of May, 1942)
Administration
Pa ge. Tom Evans.
Townsend. Jim Stewart.
Wayne. M. Pickering.
Brinston. Schoobridge.
J. Burke. N. Beck.
Lr Thompson. Walsh.
Rankin. Hogan.
Cruise. Gregory.
Youlden. Allen (police).
Jim Smith. Robinson, Hec.
R. Stevens. Lockhart.
Bird. c. Green.
Mater. Eglinton.
Bruckshaw. Solomons.
Tom Walker. j. o. Smith.
'A. Carr. d. Forsyth.
Haslam. > Cooper.
Ash. a. Schmidt.
Mulvey. Coomber.
Plummer. Pines.
Murray. Field.
Daymond. Strathearn.
Reynolds. Filan.
Whiteman. Squires.
Crocker. Titchner.
L. Saunders, Vennine
iiwnr (audltor) - Alf - Brown.
Staley*
Hosking. Beckett.
Voss. £>. Coe.
Naulty. Pat. Mitchell.
Atherton. Parry.
Mantle. Plunkett.
Commerce?
Coote. Noonan.
P. Ryan. Ross.
C. H. Maclean. Clune.
Hamilton (WRC). Goodwyn.
Bath. R. Stephens.
N. Doyle. Spensley.
Renton. I. Maclean, Florance. Gascoigne.
H. Dodd. R. L. Clark.
S. Reid. Herkett.
Heron (CBA). Bischoff, Jr.
Houghton. Tritton.
Mulligan. Einseldel.
Campbell. McLaren.
Earl. McEwan.
Philpott. j. Edwards.
T. Robinson. Sedgers.
Ledger. Cook.
Allsop. Brven J. Evans. Barnes I. Gascoigne.
Hoogerwerff.
E. Banks. Dlck Moore.
Hopkins. Schebler.
Tait, Jr. Brain.
Rae. Dockerill.
H. Fulton. Drane.
Bignell. McChean, Reynolds, Jr. McAdam, E. G.
Thirty-six members of the crew of the “Hoerstein.”
Missions
McArthur. Abbott.
Pearson H Hennessy. it carbon, xi, Linggood. Beasley.
Pearce. Oakes, Trevitt. Collett.
Planters
Washington. O’Dwyer.
Pinching. Guy Allen.
Bunny. McKellar.
Muggleton. T. V. Wallace.
Heron. D. Rand.
Adams. Wilmett.
Setchell. . F. v. Saunders.
A. Green. Bill Box.
Atkinson. Greenwood.
F. Cobb. L. Hamilton.
Men Brought From Kavieng
Goad. Millington.
G. Bye. Carlisle. s ° y - Berman.
Morrell. Cannon.
H. Holden. L - Carson.
Don Bell. J. Ormonde.
Division Ii
Deaths Known to Have Occurred
Simnett. Yarrington.
Atkins. Ivan Tait.
Barrow (Father). nJ , McLauchlan. Dickson.
Rogers. P. D. Good. (Continued on Next Page)
Division In
Believed to Have Been Murdered
by Japs
Harvey and wife W. Parker and his and son. brother-in-law.
Division Iv
Remained in Rabaul Creswick. Ellis.
Fitzgibbons. Ostrom.
Chauncey. Beaumont.
Evensen. Thomas.
McEachnie. Bachmann.
Badge? 11 Sherwin or Sherman Korn. ’ (Ken).
Division V
Seen in Camp About End of July, 1942 —Fate Unknown Vic. Pratt. Frank Smith.
Jack Marshall. Tom Goss.
A. A. Smith. Thompson (WRC),
Division Vi
Reported by Jap Writer as Being in
Kavieng, 1942—Fate Unknown
Whitehead. Topal, Sr.
Bell, Sr. Topal. Jr.
Division Vii
Missing —Compiled in Rabaul as at
End of May, 1942 t Report of death received. * Believed to be in Rabaul district, but not reported in any of the camps. Fate unknown —may have escaped.
Not marked: Not reported in or around Rabaul, but later information indi cates that many of them escaped.
Allen, Jack. Grose.
Anderson. Greathead.
Ball. Hallan.
Barrie.* Holland CPondo).
Bathgate.* Howitt.
Beasley.* Hunter.* Biffin. Huntley.* Bradley.* Johnson (Manus).* Brierley. Johnson (NSW) * Briggs (Londip). Kelly.* Brown.* Kennedy.* Brown '(AWA.. Knight.* Browning. Laws (Radio) .t Burch, Chas. McAdam, Tom.
Burke, P. McCosker.
Carr, H. McGowan.
Challis. McKenzie, F.* Chessell.* McMahon.
Clark. Les. McNeill.
Cooper* McLean (Vun.).t Corbett, L. McLean, J.
Costelloe. McKenzie, H Culnane.* McLennan (PWD).
Davies, Roger.* Marlay.* Dix. Mason, W.
Doyle. Mason (auditor).* Duncan, N. Moody, G.
Duncan, J. Moody, F.
Dwyer. Morgan.
Early. Munro, K.
English. Nicholls.
Elliott* Normoyle.
Farnsworth. Olander.t Feetum.t Palmer (police), pisher Pennefather, J.
Froggatt. Roberts.
Gaskin. Roberts, Tex.
Gersted.* Robinson.
Gilmore, J. Rondahl.
George, P. Ryan. F.*
Sinclair. Taylor.* Slater (BP’s).* Thomas.* Stewart (BP’s).* Thomas, M.
Stokie, J. Viall.
Street.* virfpr* Stone. Ken. * Swanson.* Walker, Garth.
Sweetapple.t Woods.
Targett. Wilmott.
Explanatory Notes
rE following notes_ should be read in conjunction with the foregoing lists:— I. —All the men named in this division appear to have been shipped away from Rabaul in the “Montevideo Maru,” late in June, 1942, and to have perished when the vessel was torpedoed off the coast of Luzon a few days later. Including the 36 men of the motor vessel “Hoerstein” (caught by the Japs in Rabaul and sunk there) the total number of civilians sent away from Rabaul was apparently 205. The ship also carried several hun dred men of the Australian 22nd Bat talion, all of whom were lost.
II. — Some of these deaths were from natural causes—some were not. Mr.
Good, for instance, was murdered on his plantation, in Buka, early in 1942.
IV. —There is tragedy here, apparently.
The 14 men in this list were regarded by the Japs as technicians, and used by them for the maintenance and running of machinery. As already stated, Messrs.
Creswick, McEachnie. Ellis, and Gordon Thomas, who were kept mostly at the freezer, came through alive; but the other ten men, who were employed elsewhere by the Japs, have disappeared. Mr.
Thomas savs that they definitely were re ported alive about the end of 1944, but that then all trace of them was lost. The few Europeans left suspected from cer tain signs* that these ten men were mur dered. A search for their bodies is being made.
V.—The Six men whose names are shown in this division have disappeared entirely, and it is feared now that they are dead. They, apparently, for some reason, were not sent away on the “Montevideo Maru.”
VI.—A good many Europeans were re ported alive, in New Ireland in 1942-43, and it was hoped that they would have been found in the jungles of the narrow island when the Japs surrendered. But only one or two have been found, and hopes now are dwindling.
VII.— It should be emphasised that this list was made by the men in Rabaul when compiling the names in Division I.
They set down in Division VII. the names of men who. they believed, were in the Rabaul and New Ireland districts, and of whom they had had no word. A large proportion of these men escaped.
A COMPARISON shows that the fol lowing, included in our lists of miss ing, as published in September and October, are not in any of Mr. Thomas’s lists: — Ashby. Davies. L.
Attwood. Deacon.
Benham. Diercke.
Bollard. Downs Bowman. Doyle, H. G.
Box. Drane.
Brennan. Duns.
Burns Edwards.
Carson. Furlong.
Chadderton. Garnett.
Clark, I. Garrett.
Cogan. Geldard.
Collett. Gordon.
Considlne. Gordon.
Consterdine. Goss.
Cottee. Gray.
Craig. Greenwood,
Griffin. Page.
Grundy. Parkinson, Mrs.
Haydon. Paul.
Hemming. Pinnock.
Herterich. Poole, -Rev.
Hooke. Raff.
Hooper. Reed.
Ives. Roberts.
Johnson, A. A. Rundnagel.
Johnson, V. C. Savage.
Johnson, E. F, Sawkins.
Johnson, L. Scott.
Kapple, Mrs. Shelton.
Kyle. Simpson.
Lampton. Ratcliff.
Levy. Smith, D.
Levien. Smith, T.
Lightbody. Snook.
Livingstone. Solomons.
McCulloch. Stewart, G. W.
McDougall. Symes.
Maclennan. Talmadge.
Macpherson. Turnbull.
Mathis. Tynan. .
Mernin. Waterman.
Merrel. Werner.
Moore Wilkin.
Moseley. Williams. L.
Munster. Wilson, H.
Naughton. Woodhouse.
Oaten. Woolcott.
Alterations in List of Missing
WE have received various corrections of the list *of New Guinea missing civilians, as published in October.
Hooper, Alan. This well-known radio operator is not missing. He escaped, and was later stationed at Thursday Island.
Hay, Dr. Arthur. He was a member of the Department of Public Health, and was captured in Rabaul, and his fate is unknown. His name was confused with that of Sister Hay, who was liberated in August.
Shoobridge, Ivan. He was erroneously described as medical assistant. He was a well-known member of the Crown Law staff.
Alley, Rev. D, C., well-known Metlupdist missionary at Bougainville. Omitted from early list. Believed to be among Rabaul’s missing civilians.
Holland, W., operator at the Regent Theatre, Rabaul. Mr. W. G. Absolon reports that Mr. Bolland left Rabaul by plane on January 10, 1942; arrived safely in Australia; and subsequently Mr.
Absolon spoke to him by telephone and saw him in a Brisbane tramcar.
Crockett, J. A., Morobe, New Guinea, called at “PIM” office to report that, he left New Guinea (Morobe goldfield) in 1940; enlisted in the AIF, 19th Battalion, and recently arrived in Australia after being a prisoner of the Japanese for 3 h years. “Plantation manager” was a wrong description.
Fund From New Ireland
Canberra, Oct. 31.
ALL remaining funds of the New Ire land War Effort are to be paid to the New Guinea Women’s Club, Sydney, according to the following announcement in to-day’s Commonwealth Government “Gazette”:— “By mutual arrangement, and at the suggestion of the responsible officials, and pursuant to Regulations 10 and 11 of the National Security (Patriotic Funds) Regulations, the Repatriation Commis sion hereby withdraws its approval tor the establishment of the New Ireland War Effort, and directs that any moneys remaining in that fund be paid to the New Guinea Women’s Club, Sydney, for the purpose of Providing comforts for New Guinea soldiers, and to assist New Guinea residents.” {Continued on Next Page )
Thoughtful Help For NG Widows
Canberra, Nov. 1.
NEW GUINEA, women, widowed by the sinking of the prison-ship “Monte video Maru,” are being granted free holiday facilities by a well-known Syd ney businessman, says the president of the Sydney Branch of the New Guinea Women’s Club, Mrs. H. H. Page. The businessman is Mr. F. J. Salisbury, of Pennant Hills Road, Pennant Hills. He is head of a company which manufac tures travel goods.
Mr. Salisbury offered his Palm Beach home to the ladies soon after they offi cially learned of the disastrous sinking, which resulted in the apparent loss of a large proportion of the white men of New Britain and New Ireland. He first offered his house for a month; but, upon seeing the results of his gesture, extended the term.
One of the first to take advantage of the offer was Mrs. Kath Bignell, who recently returned to Australia after more than three years in Japanese prison camps. She then learned that her son, Ted, was one of the men on the sunken ship.
“Mr. Salisbury was a stranger to most of us, and that makes us appreciate his attitude perhaps even more,” said Mrs.
Page. “‘The first I heard from him was when he offered to store some luggage for some returned nurses. Later, he con tacted the club and asked whether the ladies, who had lost relatives on the boat, would like to holiday at his home, which he was not using at the time.
“Club members have been suffei Ing much anxiety over three years, and this last terrible news has been a great blow to them. Nothing could have been more welcome than Mr. Salisbury’s gesture.
The women are now arranging to go to Palm Beach in groups. Each groun stays a fortnight. I should like very much to go there myself, later on, but I haven t had the chance yet.”
Mrs. Page has been formally notified that her husband, Mr. Harold Page, Gov ernment Secretary, was aboard the ill fated “Montevideo Maru.”
Pensions For "Dependants"
following was published in
some Australian newspapers on November 4: “Dependants of civilians lost on the “Montevideo Maru” will be given com pensation by .the Commonwealth Gov ernment, probably on the Army scale. It is believed they will be given the choice of an outright grant or of weekly payments.”
We have tried to find out whether this applies to civilian officials only, or to all civilians lost in Rabaul, but Canberra is elusive.
Unofficially, we are informed that Can berra’s view is that Canberra will take responsibility for the dependants of men
sent by Canberra to the Territory’s Ad ministration, but that the dependants of all other men, who went there for “pur poses of profit,” must be taken care of by their employers or by their estates.
This is a typical politician’s argument.
It ignores the fact that all those Rabaul civilians were lost through the culpable negligence of the 'Australian Government, in failing to get the civilians away from Rabaul when the Jap invaders were approaching, although there was ample opportunity for them to do so.
Missionaries Died in Prison Ship rE entire Methodist missionary staff of New Guinea was lost when the Jap prison ship was torpedoed. The names of the ten missionaries are: Revs.
L. A. McArthur, W. D. Oakes, W. L. I.
Linggood, H. J. Pearson, J. W. Poole, H. V. Shelton, T. M. Simpson and J.
Trevitt, and Messrs. E. W. Pearce and S. C. Beasley.
The superintendent of the Seventh Day Adventist New Guinea Mission, stationed at Rabaul, Pastor Edwin Abbott, and Mr.
Trevor Collett, are also presumed lost in the “Montevideo Maru.” One other SDA missionary, Mr. Arthur Atkins, died in a Jap hospital after capture.
Another Fiji girl to marry an overseas Serviceman is Miss Margaret Willoughby, of Suva, who married Sgt. Frank Godfrey, of the New Zealand Forces, on October 6. They will make their home in New Zealand.