HIDING MURDER
Margaret and Scott Henderson,
PO Box 1217,
North Haven,
SA 5018.
26 April, 2008.
Mr Mark Butler, MP,
Parliament House,
Canberra,
ACT, 2600.
Dear Mr Butler,
We begin by thanking you for your attendance at the ‘Candles on the Water’ celebration and the Dawn Service at Semaphore. We also thank you for persuading the Government to provide some financial support for the River ceremony.
You will be aware, of course, of the enormous favourable response to the discovery
of the wreck of HMAS Sydney. This has meant so much to so many people. You will
probably also be aware of the movement to discover the wreck of the Montevideo Maru.
There was a Compass programme on the ABC last Sunday and a campaign by Channel
Nine via its web-
The Montevideo Maru was a Japanese transport ship sailing from Rabaul to Japan with
a manifest of 1035 Australian prisoners-
Past Australian Governments have been very secretive about and non-
The attitude of the Australian Government has created an aura of uncertainty about the Montevideo Maru disaster. As with the HMAS Sydney saga, this uncertainty has led to rumour, speculation and conspiracy theories. Some of these theories are that:
· The Australians were executed and thrown overboard after the ship sailed and that it was empty when it was sunk. This would, perhaps, explain why there were no survivors or bodies.
· The Japanese ‘amended’ the manifest to include people who had been executed in prison camps.
· The Australian Government ‘amended’ the manifest to conceal Australian inefficiencies or ineptitude.
· Bishop Scharnack even suggested that there was no such ship and that the Japanese invented it to cover atrocities.
At the very least, it would be a huge step forward if the Government would release all files and material about the New Guinea war in general and the Montevideo Maru in particular. This could reduce the uncertainty and, perhaps, confirm or refute the theories. In our opinion, the relatives and descendants of the victims of this disaster deserve this simple gesture of openness.
The other issue is whether the wreck of the ship should be located. There is no question that this is feasible. We know the coordinates where she was sunk. It is, of course, unlikely that discovery of the wreck would resolve the questions about its human cargo. It is, however, certain that locating the wreck would be of immense comfort to surviving relatives and descendants. It would be declared an official war grave and could become the focus of memories. The experience of the HMAS Sydney is ample testimony to the importance of knowing where loved ones lie.
We should declare our personal interest in this matter. Margaret’s father was a Methodist missionary on the island of Lavongai off the coast of Kavieng, New Ireland. Margaret was six months old when she was evacuated to Australia with her mother leaving her father behind. No attempts were made to rescue her father or other Australian civilians. Indeed, the general belief is that the Australian Government refused permission to evacuate the civilian men on a ship that came to Rabaul. Instead the ship was loaded with copra. Nothing more was heard of Margaret’s father until her mother received a telegram after the war ended saying that he had been drowned when the Montevideo Maru was sunk. Margaret has, however, heard from otherwise reliable sources that her father was beheaded on a beach in Kavieng well before the Montevideo sailed. Perhaps one of the theories is confirmed!
We beg that you will consider this matter and if you are persuaded by the reasonableness of these requests that you will actively support any move to open relevant files and to discover the wreck.
Yours sincerely,
Margaret and Scott Henderson.
BETRAYAL, CONSPIRACY & CONTROVERSY
As you can see from the forwarded message, we are looking for evidence of how our father/grandfather/great grand father Harold Jo Ross died, after the Jap invasion of Rabaul, Territory of New Guinea January 23rd, 1942. I have the note that was addressed to my mother Marjorie Ross in Sydney from him, saying he was in a Jap. POW camp & not to worry. That was the last she heard from him.
His name was on the Montevideo Maru list, which was ostensibly taking them to Japan's coalmines... but it was sunk by the USS Sturgeon near the Phillipines enroute.
As well my Grandfather Edmund Martin Hawnt was listed; there were 1053 Australian civilians/English/"Herstein" crew/ PNGVR/ other names of men who were all "drowned" on this ship.
Cynthia Schmidt's father was beheaded in Rabaul before this ship left for Japan ... yet his name also was on the MvM list.
Please help us now to establish whether they were killed in Rabaul as well OR actually on the MvMaru, as claimed by both the Australian & Japanese Government officials.
Thanking you in advance, may God bless us all,
Janet Ross Dykgraaff.
If you want to clarify something, may I suggest you contact Cynthia Schmidt on rabaul1941@gmail.com direct; she has been working on this for many years.
We have now contacted our Prime Minister, every MP, every Senator and our Governor General requesting that they release all sealed confidential files with regard to Rabaul before and during the Japanese occupation and the Montevideo Maru 1939 to 1953. It is important for setting the Australian World War II historical record straight and to enable descendants of these men to have closure to find the Montevideo Maru and establishing who was on the ship.
Now for us to get the results we need to have our Petitions signed by thousands of people and the originals returned.
I am hoping that you will all assist us to bring an end to the long suffering relatives of "Our Brave Missing Lost Men"
Thank you for caring,
Best Wishes,
Cynthia