From the Wesley-Smith Collection
A most unusual souvenir of the struggle for East Timor is this photograph of a birthday party staged about the boot of a car in Darwin bearing the Northern Territory numberplate XANANA- referring to Jose Alexandre Gusmao, nicknamed Xanana , the guerrilla commander who was held prisoner in Jakarta at the time . Gusmao became the first president of East Timor from 2002-2007; fourth Prime Minister , 2007-2015.
Point of interest: His nickname Xanana was taken from the American rock and roll band Sha Na Na, who in turn were named after a lyric from a doo-wop song of 1957 by the Silhouettes.
