THE TALKING OF GERMAN NEW GUINEA.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12572, 8 March 1919, Page 5

THE TALKING OF GERMAN NEW GUINEA.

Despite Germany’s frequent assertion fla to her surprise at England coming into the war, in German New Guinea sealed orders received months ahead of the actual declaration provided for every movement of German ships of war in. tho Pacific, for the military duties of every German planter and trader, with arms and munitions, trenches and battlcplans, to bo in complete readiness to meet tho only foe possible then in the, far Pacific waters, Australian ships, writes Thomas J. M’Mahon, F.R.G.S.. F.R.C.1., in the Sydney “ Sun.” This navy was, however, too prompt; German calculations wore upset, and their Pacific territory seized, while yet they wore sneering at tho “contemptible” navy of tho Commonwealth, and preparing for the invasion that would make Australia a_ dependency of Germany. “ One shell into the heart of Sydney, and the deed was done,” they said. Instead, with only the loss of six gallant sailors, killed by treachery, and not in fight, tho Australians, in less than a week, had put the German Governor to flight, and had set up an administration which to this .very day is notable for its tact, fairness and progress!veness. AUSTRALIAN PROWESS. Of all tho incidents that might bo told of Australian prowess, the taking of tho wireless at Rita Paka, Herbertshohe, is certainly one of true, British doggedness and pluck, against odds and conditions that might rationally have been considered impossible. This particular wireless station was reckoned by the Germans the finest and most powerful in the Southern Hemisphere, hidden away on high land, and approached witli difficulty because of an almost impenetrable iangle which surrounded it. In this jungle, along the narrow route used by the Germans for the bringing in of food supplies, hundreds of trained German soldiers were securely ambushed, while 600 or 700 native solcilery fully armed, foamed in tlie thickest spots of the jungleIn these days to visit the scene of tho encounter and note the trees embedded by bullets and . indented by bullet holes, it seenfs miraculous that a handful of men dared deed, and more wonderful still tnat one of them ever returned alive. i tie heroic Tmnd actually cut its way mto the jungle, routed the Mtire “Mots in two brief skirmishes and the hidden Germans with nl of movement and tactics • . * ' Intelv demoralised them, tbo oft ptare and silencing of the wireless taking just . , r„ ftormnn New Guinea tosix hours. In German day the Germans declare that they thought that station impregnable. To have Mien in a few hours was the final blow that entshed nil rebelbon out of them, and they submitted to the new order without further opposition. The capture of the Komet «Go nex item of duck and adventure. JJe Germon Governor’s y a^ l «^ e g inu in S3? Rabaul the very day before the declaration of war. , ~ „ T To the British Consul. Mr U. •Tolley, and the one other Britisher m Raba.il, Mr S. A. Whiteman, .n trader, on the friendliest terms with the Germans, this sudden departure of the Kornet excited much suspicion, and the next day (August 4, 1914) the declaration of war was not a great surprise. ENGLISHMEN SEIZED. And here might be told the treatment that, was meted out to these two Britishers'that very day when the wireless flasnei the news ot war. The Butish Consul, with Mr Whiteman, was entertaining at midday “ Kni-ai some German officers. All were in the act of toasting, with glasses of German lager, the usual success to tho rich territory of German New Guinea, when an official rushed up the steps. In an instant, the friendly attitude of the German officials towards their British hosts turned to bitter invective and insult. They dashed the glasses away, forcibly seized Jolley and Whiteman, and dragged them with many oaths and insults before' the commandant. They were promptly sentenced to internment. No time was even given for collecting a change or clothing or arranging any business affairs- They were hurried off to their first prison, a native-made church of one of the German missions, five miles out of the town, and slept the first night- tormented by rats and snakes. The next day tbeir properties were confiscated, and to show a real touch of Hunnishness they were parted. Jolley was sent off in a motor tugger to the far-away cud of New Britain, to bo imprisoned in the common “ Calaboose,” or native gaol. It is told that while there, and during the first night of his internment, he fell in with a German, evidently a sport, and after . a night at poker won £1.75. The German settled by cheque, saw it was honoured, and paid in gold and silver tbs very next- moaning before ten o’clock. KEPT IN STRICT ISOLATION. Whiteman was not so kim, v treated. He knew both German and the native languages well, and this made him a .dangerous person for picking up information. He was sent off to a remote mission out-station on the north coast, to be given whatever he wanted, but to be kept in strict isolation. By a trick of feigning sickness, be got in touen, with one of his own faithful native sen-ants, who told him ot the approach of the Australian Navy. After a few days he was brought back, to be interned at the German Governor’s house in Rabaul, but one day, in watching some signalling that j was taking place between the shore and a German warship, and which contained some silly joke about the “ might of the Australian Navy,” Whiteman laughed in derision of the German ambitions, showing that ho understood the signals. This was too much for his German guards, and he was promptly packed off by a night journey to the nill-landa in the- heart of New Britain. Just about this time the Australian ships had come upon the -scene. Whiteman, owing to bis popularity among the natives, kept in touch with events, and the moment the Australian Administration was set up in Rabaul, lie contrived to send a. message of his whereabouts to tho Australian Administrator, with the happy result that he was soon liberated. -Shortly afterwards the position of Jolly was discovered, and he, too, was set free. During all this time the gunboat Koinet was very active, far too active, for a Governor’s private yacht, and as transpired afterwards, was really busy attending tho German warships hiding among the islands around the German territory, feeding them with information as well as food. Her exact whereabouts, and her exact place of hiding, were baffling tho Australian naval authorities, It wa«_ realised that all wireless stations having been silenced, she was undoubtedly conveying information both to the German ships and the German planters and traders, and that until she was captured or sunk the Administration would have trouble. VIGILANCE OF THE AUSTRALIAN WARSHIPS. At last the vigilance of the Australian warships made the position too hot for a continuance of the German ships anywhere in the same waters, and they suddenly disappeared, to reappear, as the whole world knows, on the South

l STORY OF PLUCK iD ADVENTURE, LOCATING THE HIDDEN KOMET.

American coast, to meet their just doom at the Falklands. 'The Komet disappeared completely, but her wireless was constantly at work, and in a marvellous way the Germans were made cognisant every movement of the Australian Navy, and wore still getting news of the conditions in Europe. Whiteman, shrewd little man that he was, determined to make use of the influence he had with the natives- Tho result was that within a week every tribe of natives along tho coasts of the islands, wild ns well as civilised, was secretly engaged in seeking tho Komet’s hiding place. The Australian ships had scanned every mile of tho coasts, examined every opening, hut without success.' Whiteman, as a civilian, was not taken into official confidence, but he held his peace, and "worked steadily at his plans, for he had tho greatest faith in the search of the natives. "Weeks went by, and nothing came to light, then one day a faithful houseboy handed his master just a small piece of stick, with some strange cuts or notches on it. It*was a native letter from a far distant tribe. Whiteman understood, took counsel with bis househoy and tho native messenger, and tho secret of the hiding place of tho cunning Komet was out at last. But tho authorities were not satisfied, would not listen to Whiteman’s story. ||Hdw could a civilian;' they said, ■ kn °w'nuit the naval officers failed to knowf It seemed as if his efforts were to bo all in vain. The assertiveness of ” hiteman, and his earnestness to show that he did know something, eventually attracted tho attention ' of ttie Administrator, and after consultation it was decided that a small motor launch with one small gun should be got lead}, and with a naval officer in charge, Captain Jackson (since killed during the war in the North Sea), and n . cr ®Y of natives, should sot out to the little bay to prove if the Komot 1 S 5 . “ lere - Included in the crew was house-hoy, was destinea to play a very important part. HOW THE DISCOVERY WAS MADE. Ihodong-looked-for -vessel was in the bay, but many hours of the most diligent search failed to locate her, and it had been decided to give up and return, when a strange thing happened. The Germans of German New Guinea are particularly fond of a dish made of sucking pig and a certain wild fruit which sends forth a strong, strange odour when being cooked. The keen nostrils of the houso-bov sniffed suspiciously at first, and then assuredly, as he recognised the presence of this popular dish somewhere, the peculiar odour being wafted from a thick jungle of the hay. * It was too true, pig or their fondness tor it. gave the Germans away. It was tho hour of the mid-day meal, and launch steered straight on the track of the cooked pig, and lo! the party was gazing on the outlines oi the Komet, under a. remarkable covering of vines, staghorns, and bananas. and innumerable dark-green shrubs. In tho most skilful and complete manner the vessel was from stem to stern, from mast-tip to waterline, festooned and hidden under jungle vines. So securely was she covered that evidently it was not considered necessary to keep watch. The little launch approached unseen, and the naval officer and Whiteman were on board, to the instant panic, of the Geunnn officers and crew, who plainly shewed they were much astonished. - Captain Moeller, the German in charge, was much surprised, and came out of his cabin._ his face in a lather for shaving, a shaving brush in one hand, a razor in the other. He no sooner clapped his eyes on "Whiteman tlym he roared in rage: “ I have to thank you for this, Wbitey; but never mind, I will get even with you." He surrendered, however, without much argument, under the belief that this one naval man and Whiteman and the native crew of the launch were supported by some of the big ships of the ‘Australian Naw just outside the bay. Allowing him to think so. Captain Jackson, after a great deal of cutting and hacking to free the shin from tho shrubs, quietly steamed away to Rnhaul Harbour, whore the Germans were taken prisoners and sent eventually to iho internment camp in Now South Wales. GERMAN CAPTAIN’S THREAT. When Captain Moeller afterwards learned hov,- easily they had been captured, and that there were no big warships in the viinity, his rage was unbounded, and he swore that if ever he laid his hands on Whiteman he would “ screw his neck.” The Komet proved a valuable catch, for she had many interesting records of her voyagings, no doubt to appear in German histories of the war, and also a very valuable cargo of champagne, her fairly largo saloon being crowded with cases of this wine. At present German.Now Guinea, is prospering, for revenues under the Australian administration have doubled and the plantations are most fruitful and profitable. According to the terms of occupation, faithfully maintained by the Australians, this German territory is still German in ownership and governed by German laws, military regulations being necessary only to ensure order for the successful administration. An Australian Judge sits in the Court and dispenses German justice, but with a. British fairness that is giving a great satisfaction to German litigants. The Germans in all their offers of pence have never once been willing to sacrifice their South Sea for theSgood reason that besides being territories of incalculable richness in varied resources, they were excellent places strategically, the first step to their i fondest dream of ambition, the ownershin of the vast Commonwealth of Australia. ,