A patriotic"smoke farewell" was held in Darwin for a contingent of Territory men who went off " to the front" in 1915 . As the men marched down to the wharf, followed by townspeople, on April 26, to embark for the south to enlist , the Australian flag flew at the front and the Rising Sun of Japan brought up the rear.
Historian Glenville Pike (above) pointed out that Japan was an ally of Australia at the time and its vessels protected us from German warships , raiders and submarines as the north-east portion of New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago was a German colony, as was Western Samoa in the Pacific.
The first convoy of troops which sailed from Fremantle to Aden and then on to Egypt was escorted by Australian warships and the Japanese battleship, Ibuki. Two Japanese cruisers , he wrote, Chikuma and Yahagi, patrolled the coast of North Australia from Broome to Torres Strait. Another two Japanese warships, Aso and Soya, patrolled between Fremantle and Brisbane in May- July 1915. No less than three Japanese cruisers and eight destroyers escorted troopships across the Indian Ocean in 1917 .
At the farewell smoke social in the decorated Darwin Town Hall for the above mentioned contingent one of the flags displayed was that of Japan. Described as a Japanese Darwin merchant, Mr Yamamato, conveyed the good wishes of the Japanese for the Territorians’ welfare at the battle front . Comment was made by Captain R.J. Lewis, leader of the contingent , that Japanese reservist were available to defend Darwin , apparently a reference to the fact that Japanese naval vessels patrolled northern waters protecting vulnerable Darwin from German attacks.
Catholic priest , Reverend Father,F.X. Gsell, a native of Alsace , ushered in by the playing of the French national anthem, La Marseillaise ,performed by the Darwin Brass Band , spoke about the deplorable effect of German rule on the inhabitants of Alsace and Lorraine . The NT Times and Gazette said the reverend gentleman gave the gathering an idea of the “rule of whip and the boot” which would follow if Germany won the war. The Russian anthem was rendered for the “well-known” Darwin Russian resident, Karl Nylander , who addressed the issues at stake for Russia.
*************In August 1918, the NT Times and Gazette received a letter, posted in May , from Gunner Jack Burton , later a Darwin mayor and involved with author Xavier Herbert , in which he wrote about the death of Lieutenant R. Butters . Burton had met Butters in a dugout and said he had been killed in the “big Hun offensive.” A copy of the Darwin paper had been forwarded to Vic Parkhouse, another Darwin soldier. Burton was pleased to hear Darwin had launched a Battleplane Fund. Planes, he said, were a great factor in present day warfare .
There were many leading Chinese merchants present, and Mr Walter Bell , on behalf of the Chinese community, wished the contingent well . Chinese generally wanted the Allied forces to come out on top. One of those who also made a spirited speech was journalist Fred Thompson.
Songs sung included Long Live the King, It’s a Long Way to Tipperary, Three Cheers for Jack, Ginger ,You’re Balmy ,The Song of the Bow and there was a banjo solo. Several speakers urged everyone present to join the rifle club. A prominent Darwin resident , Jack Burton, president of the Australian Workers' Union, a veteran of the Boer War ,who also went off to fight in WW1 ,deplored the fact that soldiers did not get any recognition when they returned from fighting.Of the short, incomplete list of contingent members mentioned in the newspaper acount of the evening , at least nine were killed .
Songs sung included Long Live the King, It’s a Long Way to Tipperary, Three Cheers for Jack, Ginger ,You’re Balmy ,The Song of the Bow and there was a banjo solo. Several speakers urged everyone present to join the rifle club. A prominent Darwin resident , Jack Burton, president of the Australian Workers' Union, a veteran of the Boer War ,who also went off to fight in WW1 ,deplored the fact that soldiers did not get any recognition when they returned from fighting.Of the short, incomplete list of contingent members mentioned in the newspaper acount of the evening , at least nine were killed .
*************In August 1918, the NT Times and Gazette received a letter, posted in May , from Gunner Jack Burton , later a Darwin mayor and involved with author Xavier Herbert , in which he wrote about the death of Lieutenant R. Butters . Burton had met Butters in a dugout and said he had been killed in the “big Hun offensive.” A copy of the Darwin paper had been forwarded to Vic Parkhouse, another Darwin soldier. Burton was pleased to hear Darwin had launched a Battleplane Fund. Planes, he said, were a great factor in present day warfare .
He would watch out for the NT plane to fly over and get the boys to give a great cheer . There were a number of Australian planes over there , flown by daring airmen , he added . Burton urged another 100 men be raised in Darwin for the front. News reports that he was in hospital in England were untrue.
Historian Glenville Pike also stated the NT had an inspiring record in WW1.With only 2800 Europeans in its 523,000 square miles, 40 percent of males enlisted ; 228 went overseas in the AIF; 52 paid the supreme sacrifice, and one Victoria Cross was awarded to Albert Charles Borella.Pike pointed out Territorians raised enough money to buy two planes and Red Cross collections were an Empire record .
