GRIM PICTURE
Life On Nauru Island Official R.N.Z.A.F. News Service BOUGAINVILLE, Aug. 23. Two persons are dying daily from starvation and one from dysentery on Nauru Island, according to information which came to hand just before the Japanese surrender. Nothing has been known of the island since the Japanese occupied it in 1942 until a United States transport picked up two civilian workers who left the island in an open boat because of the food shortage.
According to them there were approximately 5500 persons, including 1000 workers on the island. Starvation was rampant as Nauru received its last supplies from Japan on September 23 last year when a submarine landed rice.
The Japanese garrison, consisting of 3500 officers and men, had made everyone grow vegetables, but there was insufficient fertile land to grow enough. There was also a water supply problem and a danger of droughts.
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Bibliographic details
Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23288, 25 August 1945, Page 4
Word Count
146GRIM PICTURE Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23288, 25 August 1945, Page 4
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