Coastwatcher

Story of a New Ireland Coastwatcher

What a surprising thing it is that true stories of the Pacific war are still being published. And, more to the point, that they are still of popular interest.

R Junted: A Coastwatcher’S

1 STORY, which tells of the ex loits of New Ireland planter Harry lurray in New Guinea and the olomons, was published in Adelaide i August, at the same time that a arty of US marines was making a mtimental journey to the Solomons, 5 years after that campaign.

The book, by Murray’s wife Mary, a sequel to Escape: A Thousand Wes to Freedom, which she wrote i 1965, and which told of Harry lurray’s escape from Kavieng with 5 other civilians. After that escape i 1942 Murray was used by the Aus alian Coastwatching organisation, id made sorties back to New eland, via Guadalcanal. Hunted is le narrative of his exploits.

Adventure

It is a pity that it loses something i the telling. Mrs. Murray has losen to write the story in the third jrson. She is not a good writer: id her material is full of trite irases and cliches, and opportunities issed. In the circumstances it would ive been better to let Murray tell e story himself, with some editing, furray’s exploits are full of adven ire and interest, and in more skilled mds Hunted might have been one : the great personal war stories.

Having said that, let me add that itter Hunted in its present form than i book at all. It is a useful addition i the war records, and as a yarn, •r those who expect to enjoy their ading, it is certainly not dull. New uinea people with personal know dge of those times will find it of •ecial interest.

Harry Murray was an officer in War I. which makes his Pacific r ar exploits the more extraordinary, e outfought many a younger man, id used his particular local know ege to real effect.

Murray started with Z Special unit, hich was part of the Allied Intelli :nce Bureau, and soon became first imp commandant at M Special unit’s aining camp at Tabragalba, Queens nd. Besides training parties for the

Islands the camp also acted as a rest camp for incoming parties.

Among its first recruits were 360 New Guineans selected by J. K.

McCarthy in New Guinea, who arrived “miserable, dejected and dressed only in their lap-laps”. Cold weather was something new to them.

Some of these men, like some of the planters, shipmasters and Administra tion officers who also passed through that camp, made their names before the Japanese were pushed out of New Guinea. A number of them did not survive.

Ashore by submarine

Murray’s own chance at glory came when somebody with New Ireland experience was needed to lead a party there to cover a proposed American landing on Bougainville.

The party was put ashore on the east coast of New Ireland from the US submarine Scamp, and this particu lar exploit is a fascinating section of the book.

They were helped by a local chief named Boski, who later was executed by the Japs. In this area, as in many others in New Guinea, there were pro-Japanese groups of natives, as much feared by their own people as by coastwatching parties or crashed airmen.

After being recovered (by PT boat) from the New Ireland main land, Murray made a second landing, this time on the islands off the east coast, but not before he had an argu ment with the American command on just how the landing party should be controlled and equipped. The incident gives interesting insight into the difference of approach of the two forces.

The American plan was to land a number of American technical men, with Murray as guide but not in command, to make a survey of likely landing and airfield sites and then get out. Murray protested that the men selected had never worked as a team; they would be given no time to train; they were not experienced with weapons and were being equipped with insufficient fire-power anyhow; and they were not under the control of anybody with local knowledge.

Suicidal

Murray had not been given the details of the task, although he was supposed to be the guide. The thing was suicidal.

There was uproar when Murray announced that he would be “a non starter” under the scheme proposed.

But he took the argument to the Admiral and won his point. Events justified his stand.

Hunted is filled with names and places, but those who want them will need to do their own hunting, for regrettably the book has no index, and only a sketchy, ineffective biblio

graphy.-

SI.

(HUNTED. Rigby Ltd. $3.95.)