Written Records, AWM54 741/5/9 PART 2 - [Patrols - Reconnaissance:] Report on Northern Territory Special Reconnaissance Unit, by Sqn Ldr D F Thomson RAAF [Report minus maps] - Part 6

					CHILDREN
No.	NATIVE NAME	GROUP	LOCALITY	WIFE	MALE	FEMALE	REMARKS
21.	X BINDJARPUMA	Wnaguri	East Arnhem Bay	4	1	3	Bindjarpuma is a man of the Wanguri clan of Arnhem Bay. He went to Caledon Bay about 1926 with a party of police, and has for some years lived the life of an outlaw in the hinterland of Arnhem Bay. He has carried out much guerilla fighting and figured in many avenging expeditions, so that his name has become feared throughout Arnhem Land.
22.	Nyalnga	Dallaiwango	"    "    "	3	3	-	He is a great traveller as well as a renowned leader of a fighting band. The best of his group, the men whose numbers range from
23.	Bangalilwoi	Tjambarpingo	Buckingham Bay	4	1	3	28-31 were recruited with Binjarpuma, these men served with Unit for six months.
24.	Djimbur	Dallwango	South Arnhem Bay	-	-	-	They were at Katherine; at the O.P. at Gulnare Bluff with Sgt.Elkington through
25.	Dalpurrinyun (ii)	Dartiwoi	S.E. Arnhem Bay	-	-	-	out, on Marca Island, the McArthur River
26.	Kumbania	Dallwango	South Arnhem Bay	-	-	-	and Groote Eylandt and [[?O]]. They were returned
27.	Talpurr	"	"    "   "	-	-	-	to their own territory and released in September, 1942.
28.	Bundamarrpa	"	"    "    "	-	-	-
29.	Koigurro	"	"   "     "	1	-	-
30.	Yirlungi (i)	Dartiwoi	S.E. Arnhem Bay	2	1	-
31	Kandallsall	Dallwango	South " "	1	-	-

NOTES: X Section leader, No. 2 Section, consisting of 21-31 plus Nos. 14, 17, 18, 19 & 20, a total of 16 men.

Nos. 21-31 have been issued with wires for Spears and with knives, Nos. 21, 22, 23, 27, 29 and 31 were issued with axes. 

No.	NATIVE NAME	GROUP	LOCALITY	WIFE	MALE	FEMALE	REMARKS
32.	NATJIALMA	Tjapus	Inland South Caledon Bay	1	1	2	NOTE: Nos. 32-37 are all sons to Wongo of )Caledon Bay.
33.	MAU	"	"    "    "	1	1	-	/Natjialma, Mau and Ngarkaiya were released from Fanny Bay Goal, Darwin,
34.	NGARKAIYA	"	"    "  "	1	-	-	in 1936, on my recommendation to
35.	MAUWUNPOI	"	"   "    "	2	-	-	Commonwealth Government and taken
36.	Djerliwoi	"	"    "   "	-	-	-	back by me to )Caledon Bay, 1946.
37.	Barndakka	"	"   "   "	-	-	-
38.	Wawit	Marango	Trial Bay	1	2	-	Crossed Arnhem Land and accompanied me on extensive journey on foot in 1935.
39.	Mitilli	"	"    "	1	2	-
40.	Nungunu	"	"    "	-	-	-	No. 38-44 all sons of one man of the Blue Mud Bay Area, Kararambo.
41.	Mullaiyall	"	"    "	1	-	-
42.	Putjiya	"	"   "	1	-	-
43.	Wakkuraitpi	"	"   "	-	-	-
44.	Bullambi	Wanguri	South Arnhem Bay	2	-	4
45.	Kumuk	Dallwango	"  "   "	-	-	-
46.	Mangirri	Gunibidgi	"  "   "	2	-	3
47.	Yirindilli	"	Liverpool River	1	1	2	Liverpool River Area,
48.	Kuninbal	"	"    "	-	-	-	belong to No. 1 Section
49.	Walagana	Tjapu	Inland, South of Caledon Bay	1	-	-	Recruited at the Roper River where he was a fugitive from his people 24/3/42. In expedition of 1936.

No.	NATIVE NAME	GROUP	LOCALITY	WIFE	MALE	FEMALE	REMARKS
50.	Narrilyauwoi	Wagillak	Walker River, Blue Mud Bay	1	-	-
51.	Djungi	Tjapu	Trial Bay	-	-	-	NOTE: Son of Takaira who was released from Fanny Bay Gaol but who never returned home. Enlisted on second visit to Trial Bay.

/  Natjialma, leader of No. 5 Section, which includes No. 32-46, plus 49,  50 and 51. Total of 18 men.

Natjialma, Mau and Ngarkaiyu figured in the attacks on the Japanese at Caledon Bay some years ago, which led to the disturbances of 1933-34.

All are renowned fighters.

These people were recruited in the Caledon - Blue Mud Bay Area.

 

Note: All natives 32-34 issued with wire for spears and with knives and fishing lines and hooks.

Nos. 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 44, 46 & 48 issued with axes.

 

48.

8.                     ARMS, EQUIPMENT AND TRAINING OF

                                             NATIVE FORCE

 It was not intended to attempt, in training these

nomadic people, to attempt to turn them into orthodox soldiers or

train them in parade ground tactics, although they were drilled

with the crew, but merely to instil into them the elements of

discipline, so that they would be capable of carrying out scouting

work in conjunction with regular formations.

 

Nor was it intended at any stage to arm them with rifles.

It was decided to encourage them to use their own weapons, the

spear and the spear thrower, which they understood, and with which

they displayed great skill, furthermore, in jungle warfare, where

a small force was expected to harry a much larger and stronger force,

this would have taken the form of harassing tactics chiefly from

ambush- picking off sentries and stragglers from the main body

killing men as they went to water, killing scouts and attacking

detachments and O.Ps. And for these tactics, which would be carried

out largely at night, the effect on enemy morale, of having men

constantly picked off or wounded with spears would be considerable,

particularly as they would have no means of assessing the numbers of

so elusive an enemy.

 

The natives were encourage therefore, to carry as a full

complement of weapons, one spear thrower, three fighting spears,

either "shovel nosed" or stone tipped, and one wire fish spear, so that

they would be prepared at any time to hunt fish or game, as well as

to fight. In addition, certain items of equipment, directed to

assist and encourage the members of the detachment in hunting for

food and game, were issued on a set scale. These consisted of

tomahawks, knives, fishing lines and fish hooks. Two pieces of

strong calico and a blanket were also issued to each man. Each of

the men were issued with a number carved on a brass disc around his 

neck.

 

Each man received a weekly issue of at least three sticks

of tobacco at all times. Then they were carried with the snip, or

were working in camp, so that they could not hunt, they were issued

regularly with rice, flour and some tinned food. At other times

they hunted for their food for in this way alone they do not become

dependent and so lose their skill in hunting and stalking the qualities

which are essential to the successful operation of such a force.
 

Each day for weeks the crew of the vessel were sent

ashore regularly for rifle and bayonet drill to maintain their

alertness and efficiency and to prepare them to handle a boarding

party. At the same time as this work was in progress, the native

force was turned out on parade and drilled in elementary movements.

They were taught to come to attention, to dress, and to know right

and left turns. Regular inspections of kit and weapons were held to

assure that these were well maintained. It was, however, considered

highly undesirable to teach the native to move in any orthodox

formations which would at once reveal to an enemy the fact that

they had been trained. They were instructed, in the event of a

landing, to return the metal discs with their numbers inscribed,

which had been issued to them and to abandon the calico which might

suggest a "uniform" or at least indicate the presence of white men in 

the area.

 

None was issued with rifles or taught to handle these with

the exception of Raiwalla who was an enlisted soldier, and who was

trained to use rifle and bayonet, and carried out regularly the

duties of sentry, but the natives were given frequent demonstrations

on the avoidance of M.G. fire. They were also shown that an M.G.

nest was as vulnerable to attack by stealth as another post.

 

All the natives were however instructed, and given

practice in the use of Molotov cocktails, in view of the plan to

employ these to attack aircraft on the ground or fuel dumps if the

 

49.

enemy should attempt to occupy the aerodromes on the islands

off the coast. The natives proved adept in the handling of

Molotov cocktails and looked forward eagerly to an opportunity

of demonstrating their skill.

 

The members of the native detachment were issued with

the following items of personal equipment - two pieces of calico

to serve as loin cloths or "lava lavas", fishing lines, fish hooks,

wire for fish spears, sheath knives and what tomahawks were

available, the object of this issue being to assist the natives

in hunting and fishing and so to render them more independent of

stores supplied from the ship, since, with efficient equipment

less time was required to secure game, fish, "sugar bag" or wild

honey and vegetable foods. In addition, it was intended by this

means to demonstrate to the Solomon Island natives, as well as to

the white personnel, the methods of food capture and food

preparation employed by these aborigines.

 

Blankets were issued to the initial nucleus of the

native force, but these were only used when they were aboard the

ship or in working or training camps close to the main party. At

all other times the natives travelled with their weapons and

tomahawks only, for these people are expert in the arts of

travelling light and living hard.

 

The work of organising and leading the natives was my

own special responsibility as I was the only one who knew the

natives and their language, and particularly because, as has been

explained earlier in this section, discipline among these people

depends on personal relationships and loyalties. This is probably

to a large extent the reason why so many station owners and cattle

men speak with disparagement of the loyalty and constancy of the

aborigines; they very often work the natives, but rarely understand

them, and there appears to the native no very good reason why

he should give the dog-like loyalty and devotion of which he is

capable to men who openly show their contempt for him.

 

During the months of 1942 in which we were engaged

primarily in raising and training these natives, I took advantage

of every opportunity of keeping up and improving my own training

in bush travel, in hunting and living on the country. I made a

number of long severe patrols on foot with the natives and during

this time I accustomed myself to travelling long distances in the

bush, even across the rugged stony hills, barefooted, and strove

to keep my feet hard by travelling wherever possible without

boots. The object of this training was to equip myself to lead

the natives on night raids without leaving boot tracks to

indicate the presence of a white leader with the natives.

 

The necessity for this rigid training may now be

doubted, but it must be remembered that at this time, during 1942,

we were preparing in earnest to meet a Japanese landing which

seemed almost certain, and to continue to live and fight on in

this country it was necessary to be prepared to live like a

blackfellow. I had already lived, travelled and hunted with

these people for more than two years, almost as one of themselves,

and it did not take long to adapt myself again. We were able to

promise the natives that they would not be short of tobacco, and

to assure this we obtained several hundred weights of trade

tobacco. They in turn agreed to remain with me and to help to

feed the white personnel if the Japanese should land on the

eastern flank.

 

The great value of a detachment of this kind lies in

the astonishing capacity possessed by the natives to find their

way at night through dense, rough country without landmarks and

without the use of a compass. In this way they are able to reach

an objective noiselessly and unerringly, to attack, to disperse

and to re-assemble at a rendezvous in a way that would not be

possible to any white scouts, however well trained they were.

I have swum mangrove fringed creeks with these people in the

 

darkness to reach objectives which with white troops would

have been impossible, and would merely have resulted in their

being injured and hopelessly lost. But it has to be admitted

that they could only be led by men who know them and whom they

would follow without question.

 

(i) Operations of Native Unit

During 1942 a thorough reconnaissance was carried out

by the natives of both banks of the Roper River, as well as of

the Hodgson and the Wilton. An extended patrol was carried

out by a small party (detached at the Roper River), right

across Arnhem Land to the Crocodile Islands on the Arafura Sea

where a rendezvous was made with the ship party and was kept.

 

The whole of the detachment of 51 natives was

transported to Katherine in anticipation of a similar role on the

west flank, where Captain Morgan and his party had already been

working in advance (see section 2 above). Subsequently, as

has been already stated, a detachment of 12 natives under

Binjarpuss (No. 21 to 31 and No. 14) were stationed with

Sergeant Elkington at the O.P. at Gulnare Bluff for more than

two months, and did excellent work not only in watching the

entrance and approaches to the Roper River, but also in carrying

out extensive scouting patrols to the north and south.

 

Subsequently, these same men were divided into three

detachments of which two were on Aroetta and of these two

detachments, one was landed at Maria Island while the ship

proceeded to the McArthur River. The second detachment was

employed on an intensive reconnaissance of the mouth and estuarine

reaches of the McArthur River and of Vanderlin Island in the

Fellow Group, and the third detachment accompanied me to Adelaide

River, and thence across the Hodgson overland by M.T. to

BORROLOOLA on the McArthur.

 

Further reconnaissance with this native force was

carried out on Groote Eylandt at various times in order to

familiarise the natives with the approaches to the landing areas

which might have been occupied by enemy forces.

 

Some reference has been made to the question of

discipline among the members of this native Unit, and the importance

of maintaining control and authority. With one exception the

discipline and obedience of these natives was very good, but,

once in the initial stages of the work with the native force, a 

detachment from Caledon Bay, who afterwards proved themselves

among the best and most reliable men, absented themselves and

finally set off overland to their own territory. This was in

part due to the dislike of discipline and restraint natural in a

nomadic people whose territory has never been brought under

administrative control, and partly due to interference by white

men on the Roper River. While the Unit was camped at the 4 Mile

Landing the owner of Urapunga Station reported to the Police at

Roper Bar his premises had been entered, and alleged that

clothing and food had been stolen. Without any evidence other

than the supposition of his own station boys he accused the

Caledon Bay members of the Native Force of having entered his

property. Subsequent enquiry proved that the Caledon Bay natives

had nothing whatever to do with this matter. Investigation

showed that the building had not been locked, that the station

natives were left in charge, and also that none of the tracks

resembled those of the Caledon Bay detachment. It appeared

probable that the sophisticated natives of the settled station

country, of the Roper area, who were all aware of the sinister

reputation of the Caledon Bay natives, against whom several

excusions of a punitive character and already been organised by

Roper Police took advantage of the presence of these people in

the area, knowing that suspicion would inevitably fall on them

The Police Constable then at the Roper River made a call at the

Aroetta during my absence inland at Katherine with Lieutenant

 

Palmer, when an NCO only was in charge of the ship. The

Caledon Bay and other natives were camped at this time beside

the ship, but when the Police took the unwarranted action of

visiting the ship in my absence the natives whose previous

experience of the Police was when they came to their territory

and shot up the area, became uneasy and a few days later slipped

away and set off overland for Caledon Bay.

 

A few weeks elapsed before I was able to return to their

territory, but on 6th June they arrived home at the camp at

Trial Bay when the Aroetta was anchored there. Wongo, the head

man of this area, was then summoned, and a meeting held at which

all the natives, including those who had been AWL, was held and

the seriousness of this action in returning without permission

was instilled into them. Tact and compromise has to be used to

temper discipline among these natives, as indeed must be the case

among all primitive people, especially those of a proud and

warlike disposition. This incident actually was a land mark in

the development of this force, for the old man of the group

upheld me staunchly and as a result, all the men who had returned

home volunteered to serve again, and returned with the vessel for

a further period of work on to the Roper and McArthur Rivers,

where they completed their service with credit. A few days

before the ship sailed the natives made a ceremonial presentation

to me of a sacred object of great value which is one of their

methods of expiating a serious offence, generally a killing when

it is desired to make peace and avoid the starting of a blood feud. 

 

In this way, therefore, gaining the support of Wongo

of Caledon Bay and the other influential old men and by

establishing among the people themselves, a sense of pride in

service and of [[ name?]] in the idea of breaking faith is the undertaking 

that they agreed to complete, this incident was turned to

good account. It should be added that these people served for

the remainder of the reconnaissance with credit. None deserted

again and all were eventually returned to their home territories

in the Aroetta.

 

But this was not the only work on which this force was

engaged, and after the completion of the reconnaissance of

Eastern Arnhem Land including Groote Eylandt, the Roper and

McArthur Rivers and the outlying islands, the members of the

native unit were employed at Caledon Bay on the construction of a

house and store at the O.P. and in the clearing and making a

garden there. A fuller account is contained in Section 10 which

is devoted to the establishment of this O.P.

 

By September 1942, as the Aroetta was due to proceed

to Townsville to refit, the most important part of the work of the

natives had been completed. The nucleus of the force required

had been trained as far as it was considered advisable to train

these people, and they were then returned to their own country

where it was considered that they would serve a useful function in

spreading among the members of their own groups, the information

as to what would be required of them in the event of a Japanese

force landing in this region. Arrangements were also made to

maintain regular contact with representative members of this

skeleton force in the future, through the O.P. which had been

established in the meantime at Caledon Bay.

 

In conclusion I feel that I cannot leave this subject

without stressing the importance of the work carried out by these

people, who, from a sense of duty and goodwill, gave unselfishly

all that they had to give, their service and their freedom. The

other side of the picture is too often shown. While the work

that I have described was in progress, while the natives were

being trained, early and late, while they were engaged in long

hard patrols over country into which few men even now care to 

52.

venture very far, the following, which was published in

Sydney on March 15, 1942, is typical of the statements which

appeared in the press regarding these natives:

 

"...... Thousands of wild aborigines in the Coastal

Areas of the vast Northern Territory constitute one of the

greatest potential fifth columns. These wild blacks,..... for

gifts of tobacco and food would be willing to aid anybody,

whether white or yellow ....."

 

But these people whose territory had never been

brought under control, whose only experience in many cases, of

the white man was of the police who had visited them intermittently

to carry out punitive raids to "disperse" them, who left

voluntarily the peace and security of their country, their wives

and the children who mean more than life to them, give their

liberty for month after month. Freely, and without complaint,

they submitted to the rigorous discipline, and without pay,

without any guarantee of reward, with only the most primitive

equipment, and without arms or weapons, they gave their best in

loyalty, unrelenting hard work and sweat, in the stronghold of

the people from whom they had known neither justice nor understanding. 

When they had killed Japanese before in defence of

their own territories they had been exiled and imprisoned. But

now, they prepared again to Kill Japanese with weapons that they

forged for themselves, beating out their spearheads, cold , from

odds and ends of metal, such as old drums, water tanks from

wrecked ships, old horse shoes, and even from odd pieces of

galvanised water pipe.

 

I would be failing in my duty therefore if I did not

bring forward for very special notice the names of two men who

gave unswerving loyalty, who displayed a devotion to duty that

served as an example to all who worked with the. These men are

Raiwulla, a native of Clyde River, North-central Arnhem Land,

and Natjialmn of Caledon Bay, two full blooded natives of Arnhem

Land of whose outstanding service special mention is made in

Section 14, in which they have been recommended for special

awards.

 

53.

 

9.  RECONNAISSANCE - Roper River - Borroloola Areas.

 

Some account has already been given in the narrative

of the patrols carried out with the ship and of the reconnaissance

of the Roper River and neighbouring areas.

 

Short reconnaissance reports on these areas, with

maps prepared during the patrols, are included in Appendix IV

at the end of this report.

 

10.  ESTABLISHMENT OF O.P. AT CALEDON BAY

The necessity for the establishment of a more

permanent base in Eastern Arnhem Land than any hitherto set up,

was discussed at various periods during the narrative of this

report, and the reasons for the final choice of Caledon Bay

were also set out at some length.

 

It was set out in memorandum at this time that it

was considered essential also to establish a store and garden

in order to provide outward and visible proof of the permanence

of the organisation which had been set up during the months of

reconnaissance and patrol. This permanence would also prove an

important factor in inducing the nomadic peoples of the territory

to pay the periodic visits to the O.P. and it was my object to

encourage this in order to maintain contact with the peoples

we had organised and trained.

 

Early in August 1942, on completion of the work in

the Roper-McArthur River areas, a depot was made temporarily at

Groote Eylandt, and finally transferred to Caledon Bay. We

arrived at Caledon Bay on August 4th and commenced a careful

reconnaissance of the area to determine the most suitable site

for this O.P. An excellent site, with a good water supply near

the beach, was found at the north end of the bay, to the east of

Point Middle. Work was commenced at once in the construction of

a house of two rooms, one of which was to serve as a store, and the 

other as living quarters. An area of about an acre was cleared,

fenced, with bush timber and sown with vegetables. The detachment

of natives, still 50 strong, was employed on the clearing of

the ground for the garden, and for stripping stringy bark for

the walls and roof of the house, the construction of which was

carried out under Lieutenant Palmer's supervision.

 

The soil in this area is not fertile, being relatively

poor and sandy but to compensate for this we called at Low Rock

on return from the Roper River and collected many bags and

barrels of guano there which, though an unpleasant and laborious 

business, was well repaid for the garden responded to an

extraordinary degree and within eight weeks of clearing the area

it was yielding beans and salads for the crew. During my visit to

H.Q. I had obtained some vegetable seeds from Lieut Campbell at

Adelaide River and also secured additional plants such as

bananas and pawpaw at Groote Eylandt, Yirkala and Milingimbi

when on patrol.

 

On account of the reputation of the Caledon Bay people

for aggressiveness I undertook the work of establishing the

garden and O.P. in person and remained there for two or three weeks

to set up the organisation. An arrangement had been completed

at Norforce for the refit of the ship in Townsville before the

end of the dry season it was necessary that the departure of

the ship from this area should not be delayed for long if the

vessel was to return to her station before the onset of the

north west monsoon - about the end of December or early in

January. Before the ship left the area the natives who had

been recruited for the special unit had to be returned to their

own territory and I planned in conjunction with this, to carry

out a final extended patrol along the coast of the Arafura Sea

as far west as the Liverpool River and to visit Cape Stewart,

the Crocodile Islands and the [[?]] before leaving the

area.

54.

 

By August 18th work on the O.P. was completed and fully

equipped, and Pte Kapiu, native of Torres Straits, then serving

as Bosun on the Aroetta, was placed in full charge of the O.P.

Kapiu knew these natives well, was on a friendly footing with them

and was therefore deemed the most suitable man to place in charge

at this time.

 

On August 19th the Aroetta sailed on a further extensive patrol

to the North. A visit was made to Fort Bradshaw where a rough

survey of the small boat or flying boat anchorages was made by

Lieutenant Palmer and myself (see map, appendix V, prepared at this 

time).

 

As some account has already been given in the narrative, of

these patrols, and as the route is set out in detail in the Log

of the ship, appended to this report, details will be committed

here in order to avoid unnecessarily lengthening this report.

Medical work among the natives, to which reference has been made,

was continued at each point of contact with these people. Sick

parades organised by the people themselves were a feature of these

visits, but the work carried out in this direction, though exacting

and strenuous, did a great deal to promote the friendship and goodwill

which we now enjoyed throughout the whole of eastern Arnhem Land.

 

By September 13th this patrol of the Northern coastline and

the Wessel Islands had been completed, the natives all returned

home, and the vessel returned to Caledon Bay. Everything had

progressed smoothly there, and Pte Kapiu had nothing of importance

to report during the absence of the Aroetta.

 

It was now necessary to prepare the O.P. to carry on during

the absence of the vessel in Queensland, and to establish two way

W.T. communication. The set which had been impressed for the O.P.

at Gulnare Bluff was not giving satisfactory service, and accordingly

I sent the Aroetta to Groote Eylandt to the Civil Aviation Flying

Boat Base and to the R.A.A.F.  A.C.[[E.]] to endeavour to have the set

repaired and tested, and to secure other W.T. material. Meanwhile

I remained at the O.P. to complete work at the station.

 

Very little additional W.T. equipment was available at Groote,

but Sgt Harvey, W.T. Operator on the Aroetta was able to establish

satisfactory two way communication with Groote Eylandt with this

equipment brought back with the ship. On account of the limited

range of the set and the uncertainty of communication direct with

Darwin it was considered advisable to arrange schedules with R.A.A.F.

at Groote and to arrange for this station to pass to Advance H.Q.

Norforce all reports and messages from the O.P.

 

On account of the limited personnel available on the ship

Sgt Elkington was selected to take charge of the O.P. and to remain

there during the absence of the ship in Queensland. It was estimated

that the refit would occupy about six weeks, although as no priority

was given to the work when the vessel first arrived in Townsville,

a long delay occurred and this period was much extended. Sgt.

Elkington who had been in charge of the O.P. at Gulnare Bluff and

who had done excellent work there volunteered to remain. It was not

possible to leave the W.T. Operator as he was essential on the ship

and in addition, the period of his secondment from the R.A.A.F had

long expired.

 

By September 15th all arrangements had been completed and

Sgt. Elkington was placed in charge of the O.P. with Operation Order

9 (see appendix II) setting out the work with which he was entrusted,

in particular, the maintenance and of good relations with the natives of

the area. The equipment and medical stores with which this O.P.

was furnished is also set out in this appendix.

 

On September 20th the Aroetta sailed for Groote Eylandt en

route for Townsville. The voyage had already been covered in the

narrative, section T.