MV Montevideo Maru
AWM Neg. 303640

MV  Montevideo Maru

A Japanese Prison Ship

The Japanese merchant ship Montevideo Maru was torpedoed and sunk enroute to Japan in July, 1942, by the American Submarine Sturgeon. More than sixty years have passed since the end of the war and the mystery surrounding the fate of the Rabaul prisoners-of-war, on board this unmarked prison ship, continues to this day to be shrouded with doubt. The official report stated that all the Rabaul prisoners perished and lie entombed at the bottom of the sea.

On another Japanese merchant ship bound for Japan, also bearing no indication that prisoners-of-war were on board, The Rabaul Nurses and officers of Lark Force crossed those same, ghostly waters two weeks later.

Relatives of those believed to have perished on the Montevideo Maru, indeed, relatives of all prisoners captured in Rabaul, found comfort for three and a half years in the belief that their loved ones were safe, in Rabaul, as prisoners-of-war. The sinking of the Montevideo Maru and the fate of those believed to be on board was never reported to Australia by Japan; it was reported however to the Japanese shipping company who owned the vessel, with additional information that seventeen Japanese merchant crew members survived! Diverse rumours surrounding the disappearance of Australian prisoners circulated at the end of the war in the Pacific and an investigation, by Australian Authorities in Japan into this mammoth loss of life, discovered (in October 1945) the official Japanese report ".....on the 1st July 1942, the Montevideo Maru was sunk with all prisoners lost." Why were none of these crew members interviewed at war's end when this sinking was uncovered? Reports have recently come to light that there were survivors among the prisoners and it was believed they would be taken to Japan after being picked up by a Japanese patrol boat in the area, which, ironically, was to rendevous with the Montevideo Maru and escort the prisoners to Hainan Island!

Did one thousand and fifty-three prisoners-of-war from Rabaul — believed to be on board the Montevideo Maru — lose their lives?

It is the haunting belief of many descendants and several other interested persons, that a substantial number of prisoners were, in reality, never transported to Japan but executed in Rabaul! And have no known grave! Names appearing on the only shipping list, located in Tokyo after Japan's surrender, were Japanese translations of a muster of prisoners compiled in Rabaul in May 1942, by Gordon Thomas, editor of The Rabaul Times. Gordon Thomas was one of only four civilian prisoners detained in Rabaul during the Japanese occupation; all four survived the war.

The Montevideo Maru and the HMAS Sydney

The sinking of the Montevideo Maru in the Second World War is the greatest single maritime loss of life in Australia's history — a fact little known, if not forgotten. It could be said to be on a parallel with the sinking of HMAS Sydney, Australia's worst Naval disaster with loss of that ship's entire complement of 42 officers and 603 ratings — a fact very well known and not forgotten. The sinking of these two ships, less than eight months apart, is not a closed chapter.

We know that the Sydney sank with loss of life of all on board. We know that the Montevideo Maru sank and we have been advised that all prisoners on board went down with the ship (advice which has never truly been substantiated) and that nine members of the Japanese crew of 88 officers and seamen also perished. In 1945, the government of the day refused to seek further information into this disaster; the report from Japan was officially accepted and the investigation closed. This was never a satisfactory conclusion for the relatives of those who did not return. It should be remembered that the official Japanese report to the Merchant Shipping Company stated that a very small number (seventeen in all) of Japanese crew members survived the sinking and eventually reached Japan; the remainder perished on Luzon at the hands of hostile natives and enemy stragglers! What information did these survivors hold? If there were to be an official Australian Government inquiry into the sinking of the Montevideo Maru and extensive investigation into disturbing stories which have surfaced concerning some prisoners purported to be on board, it is possible some truth may yet be uncovered and years of speculative doubt lifted. A source of controversy has prevailed in Australia particularly among those who grieve the fate met by those on board the Montevideo Maru and would seek to solve its haunting mystery. It is a sad fact that the fate of the Rabaul prisoners-of-war may never, unequivocably, be determined and controversy will always accompany this disaster, unless perhaps, action is taken by the Australian Government equal to that of action taken in relation to the HMAS Sydney.

Defensively Equipped Norwegian Merchant Ship Herstein

The fate met by Norwegian sailors from their Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship (DEMS), the Herstein, adds to the controversy. They, too, were prisoners-of-war on the Montevideo Maru — a fact barely known but remembered in Not Now Tomorrow. Ironically, the Herstein with its brave merchant sailors went in search for survivors of the Sydney when she was sunk by the German raider on 19th November 1941. Following this fruitless task the Herstein after being fitted as a DEMS was sent to Rabaul in January with supplies and ammunition for the garrison and commissioned to return to Australia with that precious commodity of the islands — copra. The Herstein sank as a result of direct hits received during a bombing raid on Rabaul on 20th January, three days before the Japanese landed; eleven of her crew were killed. A civilian escapee from Rabaul tells of the heroism of the Herstein's gunner who remained at his post, with fire surrounding him, shooting in defiance at the attacking Japanese aircraft. Bowie makes mention in her book of the injured Norwegian sailors being brought into the hospital for treatment. Thirty-two sailors of the Herstein's crew were taken prisoner by the Japanese— her Captain was the only one to escape to freedom.

Barely four hundred men escaped from Rabaul in 1942: soldiers, civilians and air force personnel. Their story of hardship and survival in the unforgiving jungle, Rabaul 42, is personally told by one of the few 2/22nd Battalion (Lark Force) escapees, Douglas Aplin, and is an epic in itself — a must read story of several different groups and each group's desperate quest for freedom.

Among the captured civilians who are believed to have met their fate on the Montevideo Maru were many First World War veterans working with the Australian Administration. In 1921, New Guinea became a Trust territory of Australia. The old German New Guinea had been under Australian military rule since its captitulation very early in the First World War and many military men continued an administrative role with the civilian Government when the war ended; others would find the lure of a newly created Civil Administration of New Guinea a challenging career.

Major Harold Page
DSO MC First World War
Photograph courtesy PIM

Harold Page (Major DSO MC First World War) of the prominent Page family of Grafton, NSW and brother of Sir Earle Page served his country with distinction at Anzac Cove and in France from 1915 to 1918. After completing his BA degree on return from war service in Europe he joined the Civil Administration in Rabaul in 1921. Harold Page was Government Secretary and Deputy Administrator in charge of proceedings at the civilian level when the Japanese invaded Rabaul. His attempts, albeit in vain, to evacuate the civilians as early as 15th December created no alarm in Canberra. An urgent, and desperate plea to make use of the Herstein for evacuation met with no immediate response which undoubtedly could only be translated as copra before people. His proposals would go before the War Cabinet on 19th January! All too late for the civilians in Rabaul; and indeed the Norwegian crew of the Herstein. In July 1945 Harold Page's only son, Captain Robert Page DSO, (a member of "Z" Special force) was captured and executed by the Japanese in Singapore. Father and son paid the ultimate price for their country's freedom and the end of the war brought unimaginable grief to the widow and daughters of Harold Page. This was the tragedy of just one family among more than a thousand, who had waited in anticipation for three and a half years, totally unaware of the grim fate met by their loved ones just six months after their capture.

Many other civilians to meet their fate on this prison ship were members of the celebrated New Guinea Volunteer Rifles, formed when war was declared in 1939; First World War veterans were among NGVR ranks also. The book The New Guinea Volunteer Rifles 1939 - 1943 was carefully researched and written by Ian Downs (a member of the Administration for many years) and published in 1999. It covers in stark reality the important role these civilians played in the defence of Rabaul. Also to meet their fate as those comprising Lark Force were members of an anti-aircraft battery, an anti-tank battery, an Australian coastal defence battery and orderlies of the detatchment of the 2/10 Field Ambulance.

Among the remaining civilian population, who perished (or were purported to have perished) on the Montevideo Maru, were many private and company businessmen, plantation owners, as well as several pastors from the Methodist Mission and the Seventh Day Adventist Mission. One of the Methodist Missionary prisoners was the uncle of the present leader of the Opposition government in Australia, Kim Beazley. With the civilians working for the Australian Government Administration it is interesting to note that they were not formally in the service of their country and unless an official paper had been signed by them, their evacuated families in Australia were to receive no recompense!

Revealed in Not Now Tomorrow Bowie also lost the man she intended to marry and the question is again posed "Can we be certain he was on board this ill-fated ship?" It is difficult to believe that, sixty years on since this catastrophic sinking became a known fact, many questions still need answers. It is hoped that these answers are not buried with time so that the truth can never be forthcoming. Bowie's story, Not Now Tomorrow, of the capture of Rabaul and The Rabaul Nurses and the loss of those who gave their lives for their country, is a touching reminder of this tragic episode of the Second World War.