MV Montevideo Maru

AWM Neg. 303640

MV  Montevideo Maru

A Japanese Prison Ship

The Japanese prison ship Montevideo Maru is believed to be the tomb of over one thousand men. It was torpedoed and sunk enroute to Japan on the 1st July 1942 by the American Submarine Sturgeon. A lifetime - almost three score years and ten - has passed since the sinking. Mystery surrounding the fate of the Rabaul prisoners-of-war, said to be 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. That all on board the Montevideo Maru perished there is no doubt; controversy surrounds "Who were the prisoners on board?" who must lie entombed at the bottom of the sea. Controversy surrounds those who might not have been on the Montevideo Maru and have "no known grave".

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. Their vessel escaped enemy attack and arrived safely.

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 and a list now missing, 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 for their expertise during the Japanese occupation of Rabaul; all four survived the war.

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 or near 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 the sinking — reduced to only three after being attacked on reaching the shores of the Philippines! Diverse rumours surrounding the disappearance of so many 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 the surviving crew members interviewed at war's end when this tragedy was uncovered? Reports (not proven) have come to light that there were survivors among the prisoners and it was believed they would have been taken to Japan after being picked up by a Japanese patrol boat in the area, which, ironically, was to rendezvous with the Montevideo Maru and escort the prisoners to Hainan Island!

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, was never resolved until recent events in relation to HMAS Sydney closed that part of this disastrous chapter of Australian maritime history.

We know that HMAS Sydney sank with loss of life of all on board. We know that the Montevideo Maru sank and have been advised that all prisoners on board went down with the ship (advice not truly substantiated) and that most 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 (purportedly three) of the Japanese crew eventually reached Japan — they were the remainder of those few who survived the sinking and did not perish at the hands of hostile natives and enemy stragglers on reaching Luzon in the Philippines! What information did these surviving crew members 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 purportedly on board, it is possible some truth may yet be uncovered and years of speculative doubt lifted. It is a sad fact that the fate of the Rabaul prisoners-of-war may never, unequivocally, be determined; controversy will always accompany this disaster, unless action is taken by the Australian Government equal to that of the action taken with HMAS Sydney.

Norwegian Ship MS Herstein    Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship (DEMS)

The fate met by the Norwegian crew of Herstein, a Defensively Equipped (Norwegian) Merchant Ship, is a little known important part of this tragic, unresolved saga. They, too, were prisoners-of-war believed to be on the Montevideo Maru — they are remembered in Not Now Tomorrow. Norway had the largest merchant fleet in the world — almost one thousand ships — when she was invaded by Germany in 1940. Norwegian merchant shipping and twenty-seven thousand merchant seaman remained loyal to the King and were placed in Allied services under the auspices of the Royal Norwegian Government (displaced in England). Herstein arrived in Australian waters from America, in November, and was assigned to the Australian Shipping Control Board. This merchant ship, with its brave merchant seaman, was one of the ships searching for survivors of HMAS Sydney when she was sunk by the German raider on 19th November 1941; ironically, a little more than seven months later Herstein's Norwegian crew were to meet an equal fate!

Following this fruitless search Herstein was sent, on 28th December, with the Aquitania ZK5 Convoy to Port Moresby from whence she proceeded to Rabaul with supplies and ammunition for the garrison. Her orders were to return to Australia after loading that precious commodity of the islands — copra. On 20th January, three days before the Japanese invasion, there was a fierce bombing raid on Rabaul; the MS Herstein was a drifting inferno until she sank the next evening as a result of direct hits received. The ship's steward from Sweden was killed. A civilian escapee from Rabaul, Eric Howard (Master of a small Administration vessel), records in the Pacific Islands Monthly (PIM) the heroism of the Herstein's gunner who remained at his post, with fire surrounding him, shooting in defiance at the attacking Japanese aircraft. Eric Howard states that this brave man was American — it is fair to assume that, at such a time, the maritime fraternity of Rabaul would have been well acquainted with Herstein's crew. Warsailors website places on Herstein's crew list: Jack Hansen (mess boy) from the USA. Among the missing New Guinea civilians (listed in the October 1945 Pacific Islands Monthly) against Jack Hansen's name is written: "officer on ship Herstein" which seems to indicate he was more than a "mess boy"; address of his next-of-kin: Fru Sigrid Hansen, Copenhagen; no other crew members are named as missing civilians in this widely read, monthly publication. Herstein's crew had its full complement of officers and possibly the position of "mess boy" (in name only) was the option offered to this Danish merchant seaman, Jack Hansen, wishing to leave American waters and serve on a ship closer to his nationality; this could explain his being assumed to be from the USA. Many Danes remained loyal and would not collaborate with Germany when Denmark was invaded by Germany at the same time as Norway. The mystery surrounding Jack Hansen lies in Eric Howard's statement about the bravery of the American gunner. We know Jack Hansen did not escape; he was taken prisoner as verified by a "letter received" in PIM of November 1942 — these letters which the Japanese requested the prisoners write in April 1942 and were subsequently delivered via a mail drop over Port Moresby. Bowie makes mention in her book of injured Norwegian sailors being brought into the hospital with severe burns of the upper body and arms; she does not mention nationality. The very admirable Warsailors site (www.warsailors.com/POWs/pows2.html#herstein) names three who were hospitalised, Jack Hansen's name is not one of them. Reliable information can only have its origin via Herstein's Captain Gundersen who was the only one fortunate enough to escape to freedom and record the story of his ship. It appears thirty-two sailors of Herstein's crew were taken prisoner by the Japanese and are believed to have perished on the Montevideo Maru; twenty-six were Norwegian, whose names appear on the memorial at Stavern in Norway. Three were Swedish, one from Estonia and one from Australia and Jack Hansen from Denmark.

The assignment to Herstein of two Royal Australian Navy DEMS ratings is an added mystery surrounding the Montevideo Maru and Herstein's not totally all-Norwegian crew! It is not known if the training of these two DEMS ratings for Herstein, who were to join HMAS Rushcutter, the "stone frigate" in Sydney, for gunnery and possibly radar training in August 1941, had been completed before Herstein left Sydney with ZK5 convoy on 28th December; to date I have found no record of them apart from an achival document. Merchant seaman were trained in gunnery practice at the outbreak of war, but this did not always meet the need; a ship's crew could be left without someone to man the defence equipment if that crew member signed-off at a given port. The introduction of DEMS ratings, from the Royal Australian Navy, assigned to all merchant ships under the jurisdiction of the Australian Shipping Control Board, solved this problem for ships in Australian waters. These ratings from the DEMS pool, not only operated the defence equipment, but trained merchant seaman as well.

One only needs to read the introduction to the book "DEMS? What's DEMS?" by Alexander Bennett Marcus to appreciate the important role played, the valour and tragic loss of Allied merchantmen in World War ll. Alexander Marcus, of the Royal Australian Navy, volunteered for service on Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships after serving as Action Stations Mast Head Lookout on HMAS Hobart. In the treacherous sea lanes of World War ll, keeping supplies and troops moving on merchant ships was an outstanding, courageous achievement, especially as these ships were permitted only to play a defensive role.

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 1942, 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. Captain Gottfred Gundersen's escape story is in this book.

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 capitulation 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 the 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 to evacuate the civilians as early as 15th December failed and created no alarm in Canberra. Finally, his urgent, desperate plea to make use of Herstein for evacuation met with no immediate response which undoubtedly could only be translated as copra before people. His proposals were to go before the War Cabinet on 19th January! All too late for the civilians of Rabaul and the Norwegian crew of 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, unaware of the grim fate of the captives.

Then there is the story of Ardie Schmidt, Head Teacher, (Director of Education, Administration) whose daughter, Cynthia, has carried on the work of her mother and has, for years, been tirelessly seeking answers — she must find the truth. The more names on petitions presented to the Government may be the only way to influence a decision. Cynthia's father was a member of the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles and his name is listed among those thought to be on the Montevideo Maru, yet, on her return to New Britain after the war, Cynthia's mother was told by natives who knew him that her husband was beheaded by the Japanese! In 1957, uncertainty in the hearts of relatives was further stimulated when Bishop Scharmach produced his book, This Crowd Beats Us All; he expresses his doubt that the prisoners were on board the Montevideo Maru when she was sunk.

Many other civilians presumed to be on this prison ship were also 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. Those to meet their fate comprising Lark Force were 2/22nd Battalion captives, members of an anti-aircraft battery, anti-tank battery, Salvation Army Bandsmen of 2/22nd Battalion, Fortress Artillery, Signal Units, Engineers, Division Supply Column, Ordinance Corp, Canteen Services, Dental Unit and orderlies of the detachment of the 2/10 Field Ambulance. There were also men of the 1st Independent Company, the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force.

Of the Australian civilian population, who perished (or were purported to have perished) on the Montevideo Maru, many were private businessmen, plantation owners and company managers as well as members of the Catholic and the Seventh Day Adventist Missions and several members of the Methodist Mission. One of the Methodist Missionary prisoners was the uncle of Kim Beazley, of the Australian Labour Party and former opposition leader. With the civilians who were members of the Australian Government's 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!

It is evident that with no attempt by the Australian Government to evacuate the civilian men or the AANS nurses, they were all to be regarded "hostages to fortune", decreed in 1941 for the garrison defending Rabaul. It should be remembered that the civilian nurses were offered evacuation and chose to remain. 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, for a period of sixty-seven years since this catastrophic sinking became known to the authorities, many questions still need answers and it is hoped that the answers will not continue to be buried with time so that the truth will never be forthcoming.