There was a
dramatic development in the hunt for the Stayput Malays on October 4, 1961 . A person claiming to be a member of the Anti-Deportation Committee rang police and said a group
, not members of the committee , planned to kidnap or injure the Assistant Secretary of the Immigration
Department, H. Gordon Brooks, who had
been sent from Canberra to head the dragnet.
The NT News
ran a report which said the
person who had alerted the police , said to be a well-known and respected member of the Darwin
community , had given full details of the “ plot” to the paper.
Brooks’s account of this extraordinary twist was thus:
It
was apparently intended that a Malay
should come to my room in the
Hotel Darwin late one night with a report that bin Hashim and bin
Saris wished to see me. If I accompanied this Malayan to a secluded spot then I was then to be
either assaulted or kidnapped. The police attached some credence to the possibility but while I took some
precautions it was extremely difficult to take the
threat seriously . In the event
nothing happened…
Communist Brian Manning, who
died late last year, confirmed that a person described as “ over-keen
hard- head ” had
raised the possibility
of kidnapping Brooks
and holding him
hostage to take
the heat off the
Malays. This extreme proposal had been
quickly “hit on the head”.
By Peter Simon
Receiving further intelligence that the Malays
were being shifted about in the
homes of
people associated with the committee,
more mass raids were
carried out in the mornings. The Bowditch
home was twice searched
; Mrs Bowditch was home on both occasions and an
injunction was sought in the Supreme
Court to restrain police from further raids.
In all, about 100 homes were searched.
Another anonymous
telephone caller, a woman , told police the Malays had been
seen in the home of a member of
the Eureka Youth League and a neighbour of Mr and Mrs Robson .
Fearing it might be “ a trap ”, the information was discussed with the Deputy Commissioner of Police , who
authorised a raid , no Malays being found.
. The next day , the same informant
rang and passed on information
which raised doubts about it having been a trap. The
possibility , however, of it having been
a diversionary tactic could not be discounted.
At an
Anglican Synod held
on Thursday Island
there was support
for a Darwin
resolution condemning the
White Australia policy .
Darwin lay member Peter Spillett ,
the Darwin vicar’s
warden , called on
the government to
consider a policy
of controlled migration
from Asia and
Africa . Spillett criticised
the cynical attitude
of the federal government
which did not recognise
Communist China yet
had trade relations
with her.
KUALA LUMPUR CALL A HOAX ?
The government
responded by saying
that the men in
hiding had family
back home who
wanted to see them.
It was pointed
out the men
had been absent
from home for up
to 12
years, and if the pearlshell industry
had remained buoyant
they would have
been kept in Australia for
many more years . Lawyer
Dick Ward was reported as saying the
government’s attitude to the Malays
was unnecessarily cruel.
Canberra kept
in close contact with Darwin , issuing
instructions, speaking to Crown Law officers , sending teleprinter messages . One such message was from
the Australian High Commissioner
, Kuala Lumpur , claiming that the father and brother of bin
Hasham were urging him to
return home to Malaya. The ABC and
the commercial radio station ran
the report with a claim by the Anti- Deportation Committee that it was a
hoax. The NT News
ran a story claiming to
have received the following message from
bin Hasham :
I
have heard the broadcast
over the wireless that said my father asked me to return home . I have not heard from my father for years and cannot see why he takes a
sudden interest in me . I
sympathise with my father but I am 24 years old and wish to stay
in Darwin where I have lived
amongst fine people
. Please tell Mr Downer (Immigration Minister) this .
Mann
