NAURU BOMBARDED

Greymouth Evening Star, 28 December 1940, Page 7

NAURU BOMBARDED

HEAVY DAMAGE CAUSED

RAIDER FLIES JAP. FLAG

[by cable— press assn.—copyright.]

LONDON, December 27. The Australian Prime Minister (Mr Menzies) has announced that an enemy raider heavily shelled Nauru Island soon after daybreak to-day. • Considerable damage was caused, but there were no casualties. The raider attacked under a Japanese name and Japanese colours. Mr. Menzies added: “Nauru Island is entirely undefended against such an attack, and it must be so under the terms of the League of Nations Mandate, whereby the territory is administered. This fact is well-known to the enemy, and, in itself, removes any justification whatsoever for his action. The crime of the enemy is aggravated by the fact that he used neutral colours—those of a country with whom we are at peace.” —LATER.

Mr. Hughes, Minister of the Navy, supplementing Mr. Menzies’ announcement, emphasised that it was typical of the enemy raider that she [never approached British merchant ’shipping under her own colours, but ■•always under the colours of a neutral 'or friendly power. It was also apparent that her supply ship was not very far away, and it could further be presumed that the raider was getting her supplies from one of the many isles of the Pacific, whose watchful eye was '“conveniently turned the other way.”

NEARLY £ 1,000,000 DAMAGE

(Recd. Dec. 28, 11.55 a.m.) MELBOURNE, December 28.

The sea raider which shelled Nauru Island is believed to have done nearly £1,000,000 damage to the Phosphate Commission’s plant and buildings. The raider sailed in to point-blank range, and hurled shells into the plant which is concentrated on the foreshore.

The general manager of the Phosphate Commission (Mr. A. H. Gaze) said that the damage done would probably be irreparable. The buildings and plant are valued at £2,000,000. He believes that the raider’s purpose was to destroy the huge cantilever loader, the power-house, administrative buildings, wireless station, and any ships loading at the island. It is now yet known how far the enemy (Succeeded in that purpose. The' Prime Minister (Mr. Menzies) said that the public could rest assured the Navy was doing everything possible to destroy the enemy ship. He had communicated the facts of the shelling to the Japanese Government. He added: “In this latest manifestation of German methods, of waging war, the peoples of the world have yet another example of German duplicity and lack of regard for any common decencies which exist among civilised nations. Among such nations, this action will only deepen, if that is possible, the disgust with which Nazi Germany is regarded.” - GERMAN CRUDE PLAN RUGBY, December 27. Observers in London, noting that the Nazi forces have now added an attack on the undefended island of Nauru to their record of attacks on unarmed ships and open towns, wonder if the choice by the German raider of the Japanese colours, under which to masquerade in this attack, may have been prompted by the rather crude idea of creating an incident involving Japan. JAPANESE ATTITUDE.

(Recd. December 28, 10.35 a.m.) TOKIO, December 27

Navy and other official sources have no information regarding the raider which shelled Nauru, but said it would be regarded as a serious matter if the report that Japanese colours were used, were substantiated.

Nauru is 26 miles south of the Equator, an oval-shaped atoll, about 12 miles in circumference, and with an area of about eight and a-half square miles. Its population is about 2,700, of whom 163 are Europeans, 933 Chinese and the balance natives or other islanders. Its rich phosphates are exported at the rate of more than 225;000 tons a year to Australia and 100,000 tons to New Zealand. The total phosphates exported from Nauru and Ocean Island amount to more than 500,000 tons a year. Nauru was annexed by Germany in 1888, and was occupied in 1914 by a detachment from the Australian expedition that captured Rabaul. Under mandate from the League of Nations it is administered by the British- Empire (Britain, Australia, and New Zealand). Lieutenant-Colonel Chalmers has been the Administrator since 1938.