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Old 14-09-17, 03:08
Mike Cecil Mike Cecil is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Cody, Wyoming, USA
Posts: 2,365
Default Wide-ranging thread.....

Blimey! This thread has taken a few twists and turns ... impressment during WW2 evolving into comments on internment, fast cars and modern/current gun control. Where to next? Views on the current Australian gay marriage debate??!

But I'll have a little say about Japanese Internment: the Australian Government had interned 4,170 Japanese and Thai 'enemy aliens' by July 1942, many having been transferred to Australia from places such as NEI and the Solomon Islands. They were interned at Loveday, South Australia, Hay NSW and Tatura Victoria. The Japanese Legation Staff were confined to their residence in Harcourt Street, Auburn, Victoria.

A 'trade' with the Japanese was arranged by the British Commonwealth in August 1942, exchanging 1,834 Japanese for an equal number of British Commonwealth internees. The Japanese included Minister Tatsuo Kawai and the legation staff in Australia. A total of 871 detainees were transferred from Australia, the remainder from the UK and India. The exchange was carried out at the neutral port of Lourenco Marques, (now Maputo in Mozambique). The cremated remains of the four Japanese submariners from the Sydney Harbour midget sub raid were also handed to the Japanese at the same time. The four urns with the remains had been placed under the care of Minister Kawai in Melbourne when he boarded the ship.

The transport City of Canterbury was used to ship the detainees from Australia, complete with a 77 man armed guard unit (the commander of which was eventually tried by court martial and found guilty for 'cooking the books' during the assignment, but that's another story!)

Although other exchanges were proposed with the Japanese, this was the only one the British Commonwealth was actually able to complete. The remaining 3,200-odd internees remained incarcerated for the duration. It is a very interesting story (but a long way from impressed trucks and motorcycles!!)

Mike

Last edited by Mike Cecil; 14-09-17 at 03:19.
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