AUSTRALIANS ON GERMAN STEAMER

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 12915, 9 December 1939, Page 7

AUSTRALIANS ON GERMAN STEAMER

How three Australian women, travelling on the German steamer 'henna when war broke out, planned all sorts of ruses to attract British attention, despite friendly but watchful German officers, was described by Miss Adele Glas, of Neutral Bay, Sydney, when she arrived home last week. * ' Miss Glas, after spending a holiday in Germany, was returning to Sydney on the Leuna, which left Hamburg on August 2. There were three other Australians aboard. War was declared when they were two days off the Cape of Good Hope, and the Leuna swung in a big circle. Captain Moritzen, well known in Sydney for years, at last admitted to the women that they were turning. “W had no idea where we were going,’’ said Miss Glas, “and the captain would not tell. “The Chinese crew could not speak German, but knew a little English. They repainted the Leuna to make her look Danish, and the Danish flag was painted on the side. This disguise was completed with speed and efficiency. , “Off the Azores, two British cruisers sighted us and the captain turned towards them. Our disguise must have been good, for they did not bother stopping us, much to our disappointment.” The Leuna was now heading north, avoiding shipping, and the Australians were being watched closely by the officers, who otherwise were quite friendly, and offering them every courtesy. “We talked to the Chinese crew whenever we could and tried to urge them to throw coal overboard, but they just looked blandly at us,” Miss Glas continued. “Miss Mcßae, one of the Australians aboard, would write messages, shove them into lemonade bottles and, under cover of darkness, would slip out on deck and cast them into the sea in the hope that they would he picked up. “I vowed that at night I would use my torch if we saw a British ship. The Leuna managed to reach Hammerfest, Norway, and, through the pilot, the women got a message to the British Consul at Bergen, who arranged for their release. ."Captain Moritzen could not ...understand, why we wanted to go. He thought we were idiots, and said so. We would go to London, where we would starve and be. bombed, he said. We wo-uld be much safer in Germany. “The night before, we went ashore to catch a Norwegian steamer for England, we had a farewell party with the officers and mutual good wishes were exchanged. They had treated us very well. “The. captain and the chief officer were ardent Nazis, but the rest of the officers were not so keen.' They were' not enthusiastic about going back to Germany and having to fight. We never saw the Nazi salute given on the ship. “At last we landed at night at Newcastle-on-Tyne. On the railway station we had eight shillings between us. We ate some mouldy biscuits. Railway porters heard our story in the early morning.' They tried to force money on us with which to buy our breakfast, and a Customs officer produced three shillings which he asked us to take. The kindness was amazing, and when we reached London, Australia House treated us wonderfully.”