Just a comment, without hijacking the Canadian thread, POW camps in Australia were a joke. The Italians captured in the desert were quickly put out into the farming community and integrated well (marrying a number of Australian girls)
The Germans on the other hand were a pretty tough lot, mostly Afrika Corps and Sailors. The Australian Guards were made up of Dad's Army and the Germans ran rings around them, It is an embarrassing story. There were so many escapes by blokes with no where to go in such an isolated country - just wanting to get out of confinement.
Two German ship engineers escaped, walked to Melbourne and got a job in an aircraft factory. They were doing well, ready for promotion before they were discovered!
The local police commander got so sick of the camp commandant calling for help in rounding up escaped prisoners told him "If they call in to the police station I will bring them back but the army will have to find them yourselves because I am taking my wife to a movie"
Lang
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