*
Generals Douglas MacArthur and George Blamey
sat at each end of the long conference table in the gracious old
residence in Port Moresby which served as MacArthur’s advance
headquarters. On each side of the table sat high ranking Australian
and American officers from all three services of the armed
forces.
‘Gentlemen,’ MacArthur began, ‘since the last
time we convened here we have achieved a great deal of the
objectives set for us by the Chiefs of Staff at that time. By
pushing the enemy into the sea at Gona, Buna and Sanananda we have
driven him out of Papua. And by reinforcing our land forces at the
village of Wau, we have managed to maintain a foothold in
north-eastern New Guinea which of course is the lynchpin of the
enemy’s western defensive perimeter in the South Pacific. But our
victories came at terrible cost and I know you all share the same
personal grief I feel, with respect to the number of casualties we
have sustained.’
MacArthur paused, lit his pipe cigar and
tugged on it hard, sending a thick cloud of smoke swirling up into
the ceiling fans overhead. ‘But, Gentlemen, we must press on. The
time has come to implement the next stage of our overall offensive.
It will be undertaken in coordinated phases. Firstly, US Army
combat teams will take the islands of Kiriwina and Woodlark in the
Trobriand Islands from the Japanese forces presently occupying them
and our engineers will construct airfields. In the second phase,
five Australian divisions will drive the enemy from Lae, Salamaua,
Madang, Finschafen and western New Britain.’
There was a murmur from around the table.
‘Yes, Gentlemen—five divisions.’ MacArthur
nodded his head in satisfaction. ‘Because of recent legislation in
Canberra allowing conscripts to be sent outside Australian
territories, it is now possible for Australian forces to mount such
a large scale offensive. Now, in the third phase of the offensive,
a United States Marine Division, will push north through the
Solomon Islands to Bougainville. Once again, we expect a long, hard
campaign with high casualties. But when we have achieved these
objectives, Rabaul will be ours for the taking. After that, we’ll
be on our way to Manila and Tokyo.’
‘But can the Australians commit five
divisions to New Guinea bearing in mind the current Japanese build
up in Timor,’ one of the American officers asked. ‘Will there be
still be enough troops in the Northern Territory should the
Japanese invade the Australian mainland?’
MacArthur gestured to general Blamey
who took his cue. ‘We believe Northern Australia can be defended
with the Allied forces presently in and around Darwin,’ Blamey
said. ‘In any event, we believe once we take on the enemy in
strength in north-east New Guinea and New Britain, the bulk of his
forces in Timor will be sent to that front anyway.
’
‘And what of shipping, sir? another officer
asked, ‘If we are to expect high casualties, what additional
provisions have been made to transport the wounded.’
MacArthur fielded the question. ‘The
shipping situation is improving at last. We have several American
vessels presently being converted into hospital ships for service
in the Pacific theatre and in the meantime another Australian
hospital ship, the
Centaur,
was commissioned very recently to join the three others
already in service.’
MacArthur signaled to an aide who began to
distribute documents and maps around the conference table.
‘Gentlemen, we will now look in detail at the complexities of the
upcoming offensives.’
*
The first thing Joe wanted
to do the morning after he arrived in Darwin was to see the
Walrus.
Joe and Herbert
left Weasel and Monday at Larrakeyah Army Barracks where everyone
was billeted and made straight for the naval yard beside the
harbor. The moment Joe laid eyes on the
Walrus
he could see the old sailing
vessel lived up to her name .
Like the snub nosed, lumbering sea creature
first called ‘valross’, meaning sea horse, by Norsemen, and then
later, walrus, by the English, the forty foot timber ketch was a
strong, sturdy, but cumbersome looking boat. Before arriving at
Darwin she had never made a passage without a press of wind in her
red canvas sails. But that was all changed now. When Joe and Xavier
Herbert clambered aboard her, Captain David Herbert and an Army
mechanic had just finished installing an inboard petrol engine.
‘She’s not much to look at and there’s
not a lot to show for all the work we’ve put in on her over the
last few weeks,’ Captain Herbert said soon after they came aboard.
‘But she’s well found vessel and ready to go out on patrol. In fact
we were just about to take her out and put her through her
paces.’
e
He turned to Joe. ‘As her new
skipper, perhaps you’d like to take the helm?’
‘
I’d like nothing more.’
Joe glanced at Xavier Herbert who turned to
his brother and said, ‘ Joe and his sister have a house here in
Darwin, David. So does a Japanese friend of theirs. We were going
to take a quick look at them before we did anything else.’
David Herbert shrugged. ‘When did you see the
house last?’
‘About a year ago,’ Joe said.
‘Then brace yourself for a big
disappointment. You must have seen when you came into town last
night there’s not too many places left standing. There’s been over
fifty enemy air raids in the past twelve months. Unfortunately,
what the Japs haven’t destroyed in Darwin, has been willfully
vandalised by civilians. Some say the locals and the servicemen
stationed at bases around here have done a lot more damage than the
Japs.’
‘If you’d rather familiarize yourself
with the boat, Joe,’ Xavier said. ‘I’ll stay ashore while you
fellows take the
Walrus
out.
It’s been a long time since I lived in Darwin. There are a few
people and places I’d like to check up on myself. While I’m at it,
I’ll take a look at your place and the Hamada cottage, if you
like.’
From the moment the
Walrus’s
mooring lines were let go Joe was in his
element. It didn’t matter that the old ketch was slower, harder to
handle, and wasn’t as comfortable below as
Faraway
. The fact that he had a sailing boat
beneath his feet again more than made up for that. David Herbert
told Joe that before being commandeered by the Army, the
Walru
s had been used in waters around
Broome as a poor man’s pearling lugger, since well before the turn
of the century.
After a few adjustments, the newly
installed forty-five horse power engine pushed the
Walrus
along at almost seven knots.
Later, Joe familiarized himself with the vessel’s workings under
sail and carefully inspected everything in her inventory. It was
plain Captain Herbert enjoyed seeing the ketch being put through
her paces by an experienced skipper.
It was almost three hours before they sailed
back into the naval facility. As they neared the wharf Joe saw a
grey-haired Northern Territory Police trooper standing on the dock
beside Sergeant Herbert. When Joe recognized him as his old friend
Sergeant George Maxwell, he shouted out a loud greeting and threw
the policeman a mooring line.
‘I ran into Sergeant Herbert earlier
this morning,’ George Maxwell said a few minutes later when
everyone shared a billy of tea under a tent awning slung over
the
Walrus’s
boom. ‘We knew
each other when he was the pharmacist at the hospital. He’s filled
me in on what happened to everyone on
Faraway
since you all slipped away that night.’
The sergeant shook his head sadly. ‘From what he told me about
Koko, it would have gone a lot better for him if he had given
himself up, you know’
‘Things are always easier to judge in
hindsight, George,’ Joe said. ‘At the time, and under the
circumstances, it seemed the best thing to do.’
The police sergeant cupped his hands
around his mug of tea and stared into it. ‘We never did charge
anyone over his mother’s death, you know, Joe. When Xavier told me
that you reckon Aki was murdered by a couple of sea-tramps, it
jogged my memory. When I was making investigations after she was
killed, an Army lieutenant happened to tell me he’d had a run-in
with two croc shooters at the railway station the night it
happened. They told him they had a boat called the
Groote Eyelandt Lady,
anchored
at Mindil Beach—as you know that’s only a stone’s throw from
the Hamada place.’
‘Joe reckons the bastards may well be fifth
columnists as well as murderers,’ Xavier Herbert said. ‘It seems
that boat is always around whenever there’s Japanese air
raids.’
‘I’ll notify every Nackeroo small craft
across the Top End to be on the lookout for that vessel,’ Captain
Herbert interjected. ‘It’ll be just a matter of time before someone
spots it.’
Joe turned to Xavier. ‘Did you get a chance
to see the houses, Sarge?’
‘Yes,’ Xavier said sadly. ‘I’m afraid there’s
not much left of either one.’
George Maxwell signed in exasperation.
‘This town has gone mad since Japs started bombing, Joe. There’s no
respect for property or law and order. Nobody gives a damn.
Darwin’s still under martial law, of course. I only come up here
from Katherine occasionally.
A
t first I
tried to keep an eye on private property but after awhile it just
became hopeless. If you and Faith ever come back after the war
you’ll have to rebuild. There’s nothing left of the house except a
framework shell. And Aki Hamada’s cottage is in worse
shape.’
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
Dan had been in Hospital for almost three
weeks before Faith was allowed to see him. When she arrived at
Greenslopes, Sister Horwood accompanied her from the nursing
station to Dan’s room.
‘Captain Rivers is out of danger but he is
still extremely weak, ‘Sister Horwood said as they walked down the
corridor. ‘He’s still receiving blood transfusions and daily doses
of antimalarial drugs and he’ll require them for a long time yet.
He is on the road to recovery but it’s essential he gets absolute
rest, so I can only let you see him for a minute.’ The sister
smiled knowingly. ‘I think it will do the captain a lot of good to
see you, Miss Brodie. He mentions your name in his sleep all the
time.’
Dan appeared to be sleeping when they entered
the room. His face was still thin and haggard but the cold sores
and blemishes that Faith had seen on her first visit had gone.
Sister Horwood touched his cheek gently with the back of her hand.
‘There’s someone here to see you Captain Rivers, if you feel well
enough.’
Dan’s eyes opened slowly. When he saw Faith,
the corners of his mouth formed a faint smile. Sister Horwood
gestured to a chair beside the bed and Faith sat down. Dan slowly
turned his head on the pillow and his eyes held hers. After a
moment, he tried to reach out to her with his hand. When Faith
quickly took it in both of hers, Sister Horwood slipped quietly
from the room.
‘It’s so wonderful to see you, Dan, ’ Faith
said. Suddenly her eyes welled with tears. ‘I’d all but given up
hope.’ She felt his frail fingers try to squeeze hers and she
leaned forward and gently kissed his hand. ‘Oh, Dan they told me
what happened. It must have been so awful for you.’
‘But it’s all over now, Faith, and I’m going
to get well again.’ Dan spoke in a soft, barely audible whisper.
‘You know, it was only thinking of you that kept me going. I just
kept telling myself that we’d be together again someday soon.’
Faith felt tears begin to roll down her
cheeks.
‘They told me what happened at the dock,
Faith.’ Dan’s whisper became more distant and his eyes began to
close again. ‘Tell your uncle, the first thing I’ll do when I’m on
my feet again is buy him a drink.’
‘I will Dan,’ Faith said gently. She watched
as his eyes slowly closed. Thinking he had drifted off to sleep she
was about to let go of his hand. But his fingers tightened ever so
slightly around hers, and she remained sitting silently beside him
until Sister Horwood returned to the room.
‘I know seeing you will only speed up his
recovery,’ Sister Horwood said as they walked back down the
corridor. We hope it won’t be too long before he’s out of bed and
on his feet again.’
‘
What happens then?’ Faith
asked
‘He’ll need constant attention for a long
time. Malaria is a particularly stubborn thing to shake. It’s one
of the world’s oldest known diseases. Once the daily doses of
quinine stop, the attacks usually return, sometimes up to four of
five years later, and again, without warning, the blood pressure
drops, the pulse rate accelerates and the fever sets in. Even after
years, there can be very severe attacks bringing on delirium, even
coma.’
‘Some of the Americans at headquarters were
saying that prolonged use of quinine based drugs can have serious
side effects, Sister. Is that true?’
Sister Horwood shrugged ‘It’s hard to
say. No one really knows for sure. A lot of servicemen refuse to
take it as preventative medicine in the field. They say regular use
of quinine can leave them impotent. A lot of soldiers prefer to
just leave it alone and take their chances.’
‘How long do you expect it will be before Dan
is well enough to be up and about,’ Faith asked when they reached
the nursing station.
‘I expect he’ll be well enough in two or
three more weeks to be able to go to Melbourne.’