INQUIRY ORDERED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22356, 29 February 1936, Page 13

INQUIRY ORDERED

JAPANESE INTRUDERS FLINDERS ISLAND INCIDENTS (Received February 28. 9.25 p.m.) BRISBANE. Feb. 28 Captain T. Smith, who has been conducting a lightering service in the islands of Torres Strait and who, with his wife, lives alone on Flinders Island, one of the Thursday Island group, said yesterday that in recent months the crews of five Japanese sampans At different times had landed on the island looking for water. The most alarming incident arose out of a demand on one occasion for charts, crude oil and other marine supplies. Captain Smith said that about 20 men, half the crew of a sampan, almost naked, came ashore and when he told them he had only a limited supply of water they took possession of the place and walked through the house. The Japanese only laughed when he told them to be off and that he had no water, food or oil to give them. They were very cheeky, and in their search for crude oil entered a storeroom, but apparently did not dare to break the lock of another storeroom where the supplies were kept. Urging that there should be Bome form of patrol in northern waters to keep these Japanese in check, Captain Smith said they were ruining the trocbus shell industry for the beaches were denuded of even smallest specimens of the shell. The Federal Minister of Customs, Mr. T. White, has sent instructions to the Customs authorities at Thursday Island to investigate the report. Mr. White stated to-day, according to a message from Melbourne, that reports of depredations by sampan crews in the north were altogether too frequent and he was determined to do all possible within the jurisdiction of the Customs Department to check them.