HOPE ABANDONED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24783, 6 December 1941, Page 10

HOPE ABANDONED

NO SURVIVORS FROM SYDNEY OFFICIAL DECLARATION (Rec. 0.30 a.m.) MELBOURNE, Dec. 5. Hope of finding any survivors from the cruiser Sydney has been officially abandoned, declared the Minister of the Navy, Mr N. J. Makin, to-day. "We have done everything humanly possible to locate survivors and now have reached the end of our hope." Survivors of the raider Kormoran, who are being closely questioned, say that the Sydney had its seaplane poised for launching when the Kormoran's first salvo crashed into the cruiser.

Naval Experts are of the opinion that the plane's petrol tank exploded, starting a conflagration amidships. Heavy seas were running at the time of the action, which occupied only 20 minutes.

The naval authorities have come to the conclusion that a charge of piracy against the Kbrmoran will be difficult to sustain for the reason that a raider need only break out her own flag simultaneously with the first salvo in order to comply with international law.

RADIO STATIONS PUNISHED CENSORSHIP DISOBEYED REFERENCE TO H.M.A.S. SYDNEY (O.C.)' SYDNEY. Dec. 3. For disobeying an express censorship order forbidding the broadcasting of news of, or reference to. the disappearance, of H.M.A.S. Sydney, three Australian broadcasting stations were ordered off the air by the Federal Government. The stations are 3AR, a Melbourne National station, and two commercial stations, 2UW Sydney, and 3KZ Melbourne. Because the breaches were due to a misunderstanding they were penalised for one day only. The Prime Minister, Mr J. Curtin, said that, as a security measure, it was essential that the clear instruction relating to the broadcasting of the news of the loss of the Sydney should haye been obeyed. . The Government had the most positive evidence that such broadcasts were of great value to the enemy. It was stated that 3AR broadcast a hymn and a special prayer on Monday for those who had lost their lives on the Sydney. According to information given to the Government, this transmission, and the news broadcast from the two commercial stations, were accidental. It was claimed that the censorship instruction had not been passed on to announcers before they went on duty to conduct their sessions.

Mr C. F. Marden, general manager of-2UW, said: "We have at all times carried • out zealously all censorship regulations. .In this particular instance a mistake occurred. It was purely a clerical error on the part of our staff. .Although seized with the importance of exercising the strictest supervision on all broadcast. matter, they did on this occasion misunderstand the telephone instructions' received from the authorities."

During the broadcast, the schoolmaster announced that the school band would play " Lead Kindly Light" in "honour of the men of H.M.A.S. Sydney." The reference to the Sydney frbm 3AR was made by a schoolmaster of Melbourne State School in a school band session. The reference took the station technical officers by surprise, and was broadcast before it could' be stopped.