Australia and Lend-Lease

[Lang]

Mike

There is no denying there was a lot of American stuff left here - $6,500,000 worth - if it does not go on the Australian disposal sales records how was it disposed of.

Did they have large American-only sales in big places like Townsville. Of course we got all the stuff in Australian territories and there is plenty of evidence of Theiss Bros etc bringing that gear back to Australia.

In Mikes advertising thread there is an ad for a massive number of vehicles in Rabaul in the one sale - I would presume many, if not most of these, might be of American origin. This is not just any sale, it is a vast number of vehicles - 1,700. Far beyond one would imagine the Australians had in that area. Were they brought across from Bougainville, but once again, there were probably more American vehicles there than Australian?

I also note there was a Lae sale the week before and one would imagine there would be even more vehicles there than in Rabaul.

Any ideas?

Lang

[Mike Cecil]

Lang,

I'm not going to hazard a guess at the 'how or when': I'm only relating what I have found - and not found - in the surviving CDC disposal records.

As for the Rabaul CDC auction, a look at the actual catalogue list would answer your question, if a catalogue can be found. But I would not be surprised about that number being left by Australian forces - Army, Navy & Air Force - in the greater Rabaul area, and concentrated there for the purposes of disposal. For example, 1 Aust Corps, in February 1945, listed 6,005 vehicles on charge (they were in the SWPA). I'd have to go hunting to find what the allocation to a Division equipped for jungle operations would be, but 11th Aust Div at Rabaul would have had a sizable number of vehicles on hand at wars end, let alone the RAAF and RAN contingents in the Rabaul area as well.

I've a number of pieces of correspondence relating to the CDC disposal of vehicles in various locations throughout the SW Pacific/New Guinea areas, and again, the jeeps, trucks etc listed are all LL items with Australian registration numbers, ex-Australian military forces, and not US military equipment ex-US forces with US registrations.

Mike

[Lang]

Looks like anything USA just disappeared into thin air. There must be something, somewhere to tell us what happened to them.

Keep looking!

Lang

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by Lang

Looks like anything USA just disappeared into thin air. There must be something, somewhere to tell us what happened to them.

Keep looking!

Lang

...or deep water!

There are many references of the items dumped at sea at Vanuatu's Million Dollar Point, so named because of the (1945 dollar value) US $1 mill worth of gear dumped there.

Surely not the only dumping ground the US used?

[Lynn Eades]

With out finding any documentation, so this is just hearsay, rumour and opinion, but it is my understanding the Mr Giltrap and Mr G.T. Gillies became quite wealthy (probably were already) by hauling vehicles back from the Pacific islands For resale. How did the NZ built C8AX that was a restoration feature on this forum, some time back, get to Australia? Was it hauled back from the islands by a similar enterprising Australian? Let me know.

[Tony Smith]

The majority of the C8AX's in Aust were purchased in bulk from Post-war NZ auction sales (or was it a tender?) in the Solomons. There may be a couple that have come over from NZ individually since then, but that's the source of the majority.

[Lang]

8. (a) The Government of the United States, in partial consideration of the payments to be made by the Commonwealth of Australia pursuant to section 3 of this Agreement, agrees to transfer property, selected by mutual agreement, located in or outside Australia, heretofore or hereafter declared to the Office of the Foreign Liquidation Commissioner, United States Department of State, as surplus to the requirements of any department or agency of the Government of the United States, of a total value aggregating $6,500,000 computed at prices to be mutually agreed. There shall be included in the property covered by this paragraph

(i) all property so declared as surplus included in sales or agreements to sell heretofore entered into between the two Governments; and

(ii) all such property included in sales or agreements to sell to any firms or individuals in Australia or in Australian territories, heretofore or hereafter made by the Government of the United States, in respect of which import licenses have been or may hereafter be issued by the Commonwealth of Australia;

and the contract value of the property included in such sales or agreements to sell shall be taken into consideration in computing the total value of surplus property transferred hereunder. This Agreement shall govern in any case in which the terms hereof are in conflict with the terms of any of the agreements described in paragraphs (i) and (ii) above.


That amount paid by the Australian Government is getting close to 100 million dollars in today's terms. The written down value of all the surplus US stuff adds up to a massive amount of gear - vehicles probably made up a large proportion.

There must be records somewhere of where it went. Once Australia owned it, certainly not dumped as the Australian Government was scrambling for every penny and newspaper articles have politicians trumpeting after every big disposals sale how much money they are recovering.

Lang

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Lynn Eades

How did the NZ built C8AX that was a restoration feature on this forum, some time back, get to Australia? Was it hauled back from the islands by a similar enterprising Australian? Let me know.

Lynn

As Tony wrote, the C8AX vehicles were imported from the Solomons. Apparently the company involved was 'Torokina Spares' , based in Sydney. The final number imported must have been significant because C8AX's are fairly common in NSW . Could have been 400 or more ?

It's been noted that C8AX were seen driving around Sydney during the later stages of WW2 with RN markings ( The old W&T article ) . VMVC member Len Schutt's C8AX was found to have the RN script on the doors, he contacted the RN in the UK archives but no luck. Len's C8AX is a regular Corowa antendee , I followed it back down the Hume and it was speeding along like no other CMP I've ever seen! On the back to track outing, it blew a head gasket and passing semi driver loaded it to Adelaide for free !

I had a C8AX and the NZ built GS body, I sold my example to two young brothers in Perth WA . I've still got the plans I had drawn up up of the GS body . Somebody in NSW actually built a body from my plans. Might have been the restored C8AX that was destroyed by catching on fire .

I had a C8AX article published in Army Motors the US MVPA club magazine years ago.