Anne McEwen (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I begin by acknowledging today’s tragedy in Afghanistan where three Australian defence personnel have died and a further seven have been wounded. I offer my sympathy to their families and friends and to the loved ones of others on board the helicopter that crashed. We can never forget how dangerous war is and how brave are those who serve on our behalf.

Tonight I would like to speak about another wartime tragedy, the 1942 tragedy of the Montevideo Maru, and the efforts of a group of supporters, families and friends to make sure Australians know the story of the Montevideo Maru and of those personnel and civilians who served in defence of Australia in Rabaul and the New Guinea islands during World War II. The sinking of the Montevideo Maru was the worst maritime tragedy in Australia’s history and the campaign to remember it was acknowledged today by motions in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Earlier today, the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Mr Alan Griffin, made a ministerial statement in the House expressing Australia’s gratitude to members of Lark Force. He also expressed regret and sorrow for their sacrifices and extended condolences to the relatives and loved ones of all those who died in the conflict.

It is the first time the story of the sinking of the Montevideo Maru, which occurred on 1 July 1942, has been officially recognised by the federal parliament. Today, more than 300 people came to Canberra to be part of the recognition activities in this place, and it was my pleasure to meet many of them this afternoon. Although it has taken close to 70 years to get here, today is a very important day in Australia’s history and I hope the formal acknowledgements in this parliament will give some solace to the families and friends of those who never returned from the islands of New Guinea after the conflict in Rabaul.

In 1941 a small Australian Army garrison of approximately 1,400 personnel was deployed to Rabaul, New Britain, on the tip of the eastern province in then New Guinea, to garrison the outpost, protect its airfields and seaplane anchorages and act as a link in a chain of observation posts across the northern frontiers. Lark Force consisted of a number of Australian battalions, representing Australia’s first line of defence in what is now Papua New Guinea. As is the case now whenever we recall the Australian battalions that fought in World War II, we know there are so few of the members that are still alive. It is important we acknowledge their stories—and their hopes—while we can. That applies to the members of the battalions that comprised Lark Force.

Unfortunately, when Lark Force was deployed it was not suitably manned or equipped to defend Australia’s territory from the Japanese assault. Mr Norm Furness, a Lark Force veteran who made the trip to Canberra today for this historic event and who has devoted over 50 years to trying to gain recognition for his battalion and his comrades, has spoken about what it was like to be out there as a 19-year-old during the conflict. He said:

We were poorly equipped, mainly with stuff from WWI that had been packed in grease for 20 years … we were supposed to be a garrison force and build up the fortress to protect the base and the airfields, but the extra equipment and reinforcements never came. We had two field guns and one was cracked … and our airforce consisted of 10 Wirraways and two Lockheed bombers—trainer planes really.

In late January 1942, it is estimated that a contingent of between 15,000 and 20,000 Japanese soldiers overwhelmed our defences in Rabaul. The Australian garrison was not reinforced, nor was it ordered to withdraw, leaving the commanding officer to declare ‘every man for himself’ just hours into the invasion. That situation had been foreseen by the Australian chiefs of staff months prior to the attack. Five days after the Japanese entered the war in the Pacific, the Australian chiefs of staff had to advise the war cabinet whether to reinforce, withdraw or leave the troops in Rabaul. Despite Australia’s awareness that our defences would not be able to hold out against a strong Japanese force, the troops were left in place and only European women and children were removed from the territories. The Australians left behind had to fend for themselves. Approximately 400 of them fled into the jungle. Many were recaptured and an estimated 130 were tortured and massacred at Tol Plantation. About 300 members of Lark Force, Norm Furness included, spent nine long weeks battling the jungle, enduring starvation and avoiding Japanese patrols to reach safety 450 kilometres away on the southern end of the island. They were the fortunate ones and were returned to Australia. Most Australian soldiers, though, became POWs, held by the Japanese at their compound for a number of months along with civilian POWs.

On 22 June 1942, months after their imprisonment, the surviving POWs were marched to the unmarked Japanese freighter ship Montevideo Maru for transport to the Chinese island of Hainan. Approximately 1,050 Australian soldiers and civilians boarded the doomed ship. On the morning of 1 July 1942, the Montevideo Maru was torpedoed by the US submarine the USS Sturgeon in the South China Sea approximately 100 kilometres west of Cape Luzon in the Philippines. The Montevideo Maru sank with its hold full of Australians. For reasons still unknown, the Japanese had failed to announce that their steamer was carrying POWs, even though it was an established practice under the Geneva convention. The American submarine had no way of knowing that the Montevideo Maru had POWs onboard. A few crew survived the sinking and some eventually made it to Manila to report the sinking but, despite a search, no survivors were found.

The sinking of the Montevideo Maru was the worst maritime disaster in Australia’s history. But what happened afterwards was perhaps almost worse. The sinking was not immediately reported back to Australia. When the sinking was finally confirmed, there was doubt as to who was on the ship, who had died at sea, who had died on land beforehand in camps or when captured and who had survived. Families spent more than three years wondering about the fate of those they loved. Some received misinformation and were told their family members had survived when they had died on the ship. Some were told their family members had died on the Montevideo Maru when in fact they had not been on the vessel and had probably been killed when still on land. And now, 68 years later, some families still do not necessarily know the truth about how their grandfathers or fathers died. That is partly because of incomplete information and the loss of the original Japanese nominal roll that listed those who had been POWs. But it was also because of a lack of determination by the Australian and Japanese authorities to acknowledge the atrocities that occurred at Rabaul and the terrible mistake that led to the sinking of the Montevideo Maru.

For the families and friends of those who were in Lark Force and of those civilians who were in Australia’s service in the New Guinea islands during the war, the grief and misunderstanding of not knowing exactly what happened to their loved ones or having any official recognition of their service has been a lifelong burden. Today’s events in the parliament go some way to redressing those wrongs. I would like to thank all those who worked tirelessly to get the federal parliament to the stage we were at today to make acknowledgments through our motions and through the afternoon tea that was hosted by the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs. It was well attended, I have to say, by members of all parties in the parliament. All of those involved in the Montevideo Maru campaign deserve our support. Unfortunately, there are far too many of them for me to mention tonight. I was pleased therefore to hear Minister Griffin announce today a government commitment of $100,000 to assist the Montevideo Maru Memorial Committee to build a national memorial in the grounds of the Australian War Memorial. Let us hope we do not have to wait too much longer for that memorial to be opened. As we say on Anzac Day every year, ‘Lest we forget.’ We should not forget what happened with the Montevideo Maru.