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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-03-10 Daily Xml
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BANGKA DAY

Mrs GERAGHTY (Torrens) (11:43): By leave, I move my motion in an amended form:

That this house honours the memory of Australian nurses killed in the Bangka Strait massacre on 16 February 1942, and commends the Australian Women's Memorial Playing Fields Trust for its ongoing commitment to commemorating Bangka Day, and congratulates the government on investigating the most appropriate option for securing the site of the Women's Memorial Playing Fields as a site of recognition of the sacrifices of women.

On Sunday 13 February I was quite honoured to again be able to attend the Bangka Day memorial services conducted by the South Australian Women's Memorial Playing Fields Trust, along with a number of other parliamentary colleagues, including the Hons Bernard Finnigan and Gail Gago, the Leader of the Opposition, the members for Mitchell and Waite, Amanda Rishworth (member for Kingston), and Senators Anne McEwen and Annette Hurley. I apologise if I have left anyone else out. It was a very impressive list of people there.

I would like to acknowledge other members of this house who over the last decade or so have also spoken in the house about Bangka Day, including the members for Florey, Bragg and Waite—yes, indeed—the member for Schubert and the Hon. Joan Hall, who was the former member for Morialta. It is timely to speak again in this house of Bangka Day, as the government is investigating the most appropriate option to secure the site of the memorial playing fields as a site of recognition for the sacrifices that women made in war.

We will soon celebrate ANZAC Day and remember Australians who fought for their country in war. We particularly remember and mourn those who did not return home from their theatres of war and remember the courage and sacrifice of all our military forces. Although women are not forgotten in our memorialisation, they were not combatants in most of the conflicts in which Australia has fought and therefore commemoration, unsurprisingly, concentrates largely on male soldiers. Bangka Day is an opportunity to specifically acknowledge the courage and sacrifice of Australian women in war.

The Bangka Strait massacre is a familiar story to many of us, especially here in South Australia because the sole survivor of the massacre was the famous South Australian nurse Vivian Bullwinkel. As I mentioned, other members of the house have related the events of that day in February 1942, but they bear repeating, particularly as we have a few new members since this was last addressed in the house.

Early in 1942, when the Japanese captured Singapore, 140 Australian nurses were stationed in Singapore. On 6 February the nurses were ordered to evacuate. Civilians, wounded soldiers and the nurses were evacuated hastily on three ships, two of which suffered attacks. Death and injury resulted, but some made it home to Australia. The third and final ship, which left on 12 February was the Vyner Brooke, carrying 65 of the nurses. When the ship reached the Bangka Strait near Sumatra, it was attacked by Japanese aircraft and quickly sank.

Some survivors managed to reach Bangka Island in lifeboats. In this group were 66 civilians and 22 nurses. They were joined by a group of British soldiers who had escaped another sunken vessel. I must say, it is quite emotional when you hear it at the site and just repeating it brings that emotion back. The group decided their best survival option was to surrender, and a group left the beach to find Japanese forces to whom they could surrender. Those who remained on the beach, however, were discovered by Japanese soldiers, who separated the nurses from the British soldiers.

The British soldiers were shot or bayoneted and then the nurses were forced towards the water and machine-gunned. This is where Vivian Bullwinkel's remarkable story began. She was hit by a bullet that pushed her into the water, but it went straight through her body. She then floated in the water pretending to be dead until she was able to scramble to the shore. All her companion nurses died.

Once ashore in the jungle she came across Patrick Kingsley, a wounded British soldier, with whom she hid in the jungle for some 12 days—which I think must have been a dreadful experience. Some accounts of the story say that the two decided to surrender; others suggest that they were captured. In any event, the two were taken to prisoner of war camps on 28 February. Patrick Kingsley unfortunately died as a result of his wounds, but on arriving at the prison camp Sister Bullwinkel found 31 other nurses who had survived the sinking of the Vyner Brooke. She and her fellow nurses remained prisoners of Japan until the end of the war, enduring unthinkable hardship. By the end of the war, in 1945, 24 of the 65 nurses on the Vyner Brooke had survived.

It is these types of acts of sacrifice and courage by women in the Australian armed services that the Australian Women's Memorial Playing Fields Trust honour and remember, and there are many examples. For instance, some nurses fleeing Singapore were luckier than those killed on Bangka Island and luckier than those who lived and died in a prison camp but whose courage was still tested during their escape. Two such nurses were Vera Torney and Margaret Anderson, who stayed on deck while the ship was under enemy fire so they could nurse wounded soldiers. It has been reported that they tried to protect the wounded with their own bodies. Vera Torney was to receive an MBE and Margaret Anderson the George Medal for 'conspicuous gallantry under danger'. Vera and Margaret were not from our state, but their story is well known, and they certainly exemplify the servicewomen honoured by the women's memorial trust.

I now turn to the work of the trust. The Women's Memorial Playing Fields, located at the corner of Shepherds Hill and Ayliffes roads, St Marys, were established in 1953, following a grant by the then premier, Tom Playford, of 20 acres of reserve land to the South Australian Women's Amateur Sports Council. In 1956, the grounds were dedicated to South Australian servicewomen of the two world wars. The annual Bangka Day memorial ceremony is conducted each year to commemorate the heroism of South Australia's servicewomen.

The Women's Memorial Playing Fields Trust is to be congratulated on the vital role it has played in promoting women's sport and encouraging participation in sport. Organisations that use the playing field include the Cumberland United women's soccer club, Sturt Lacrosse Club, South Australian Women's cricket, southern districts tennis and several primary schools. Some of the amenities available are the three ovals and eight tennis courts, along with the clubroom facilities.

Management of the playing fields now rests with the Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing. The trust is anxious to secure the future of the site, and Veterans SA has been working with the Office for Recreation and Sport, the playing fields trust and the Crown Solicitor's Office to work out the most appropriate option for securing the long-term future of the site. I congratulate our government on its endeavours to meet the aspirations of the trust to secure the site for its current purposes.

In closing, I congratulate the trust for its wonderful work in honouring the bravery and altruistic actions of all South Australian women in military service in the two world wars and for its long-standing promotion of women's sports. I commend the motion to the house.

Mr PENGILLY (Finniss) (11:53): I have pleasure in supporting the member for Torrens' motion. I recognise that it was extremely difficult for her during her speech, and I commend her for getting through it in the manner she did. I also commend her for bringing to the attention of the house the Australian Women's Memorial Playing Fields Trust, and I am sure that the member for Waite will pick up on that shortly.

The issue about Bangka Strait has been ingrained time and time again in the minds of our generation, as indeed is the case with the fall of Singapore. The very fact that one of our divisions was sent to Singapore and the other division (the one in which my father served) came back to Australia, and the fact that the British government at that time basically abandoned Australia for various reasons, not the least being that they were being hammered in Europe, makes it an enormous tragedy.

Picking up on this issue of the Bangka Strait massacre and the ship Vyner Brooke, I noted the member for Torrens' comments in relation to Vivian Bullwinkel. I was reading about it only the day. The reason she did not get killed outright is because of her height. She was a tall woman and the bullets did not hit her where they hit other people. So, she was wounded, as the member for Torrens said, and collapsed in the water. That was the only thing that saved her at the time.

I just want to pick up on a local issue. In that massacre there was a nurse called Lilla Lashmar from Antechamber Bay on Kangaroo Island. The Lashmars are an extremely well-known family over there. It is only a few years since Lilla's brother, Tom, passed away. I was actually talking about it with my mother-in-law this morning.

The story of Lilla Lashmar's contribution in the services is well known and it is well known that she sacrificed her life when she was murdered by the Japanese on the Vyner Brooke. I thought it was worthy of bringing this to the attention of the house after all these years. The Lashmar family still live at Antechamber Bay and they will never, ever forget the sacrifice of Lilla. I commend the member for bringing the matter to the attention of the house and, as I indicated earlier, I am very happy to support the motion.

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite) (11:56): I commend the member for bringing this excellent motion forward and I commend it to the house. I am not the local member for this particular precinct, but my electorate does come quite close to it. A lot of the women and sporting families who use the precinct come from within the seat of Waite.

I have had the pleasure of being to all but one, I think, of the Bangka Day celebrations since I have been the member for Waite, beginning, I think, in 1997. I was as moved as the honourable member when I first heard the story. I was loosely aware of it as a military historian, but I had not heard the full detail of what had occurred in those terrible days until I attended the first Bangka Day celebration.

It is a worthy memorial not only to veterans but to female veterans in particular. In that respect, it is virtually unique and warrants a special place in our hearts. I worked with a few nurses in the 24 years that I served in the Army, and they are a special breed. What they have to endure during war, and in peace time, too, is quite extraordinary. Their service was simply quite remarkable, and the many brave stories that have emerged from this entire tragedy of their experiences in the Pacific and Southeast Asia during World War II are a testament to their bravery and their courage.

I have a particular interest in seeing this site protected. I must say that I share the member's concerns that, if it is possible, then it may occur. If it is possible to sell the site, a future government of any political persuasion may, for reasons unknown to us, choose to do so. When making laws, I think we need to realise that, if it can occur, it may occur. If we do not want this site to be sold, we need to do something about it in the form of legislation. That is my personal view, and I have expressed that view to others in this place in recent years. I would be very keen to see something come forward to the house that seeks to protect this site so that, if a future government gets itself into a financial pickle, it is not tempted to dispose of this very worthwhile memorial to our courageous women nurses and their fantastic efforts on our behalf.

I would also say as part of this debate that the playing fields themselves are a very valuable asset to this state, thanks to the vision of those who set up this wonderful memorial and the playing fields in the first place. There is plenty of land there, and I think it is probably under-utilised. I know it is used exhaustively by the women's groups and others who use it at present, but it does seem to me that there might be scope to broaden it even further.

I have been approached by at least two sporting groups in my electorate who have expressed an interest in the site: one, I believe, was a women's hockey team which has some issues with its site at Forestville and is looking for a new home; another was one of the local baseball clubs in my electorate, which I think was being encouraged by Mitcham council to look for alternative lodgings. That is a matter for the council, but in both instances this particular site—the Women's Memorial Playing Fields—has come up in debate as a possible venue for their relocation.

It may be that, quite apart from protecting the site, the government could look at ways to further utilise it so that more people get to go there and use it as a sporting venue. For instance, maybe the boundary needs to be expanded a little. I am not sure what the relationship is, or where the exact boundary is around the site, with what seems to be the adjacent parkland or tree space, but maybe there is scope, for example, for an additional playing field or for the relocation there of one or two other sporting groups within the community who might be under pressure where they are but who might comfortably fit at this particular site.

There is car parking there and it is centrally located at a crossroads of major routes. It is on the boundary of the seats of Waite, Davenport, Mitchell, Elder (which is not far away), and Fisher, and it sits within the seat of Boothby. There are lots of active sporting groups around this area, and here is a fantastic site that could perhaps be better utilised, but that is something for the relevant ministers to consider as they develop a strategic plan for the site.

In so far as it is a memorial to our brave women nurses, it deserves a long future in our hearts, and I think it would be very worthwhile making sure that it is protected for future generations to enjoy and to respect. I commend the member for bringing the motion to the house, and I look forward to supporting it.

The Hon. T.R. KENYON (Newland—Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing, Minister for Road Safety, Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Minister Assisting the Premier with South Australia's Strategic Plan) (12:02): I am very pleased to support this motion moved by the member for Torrens. It would be very difficult for me to add to the debate in any better way than the member for Torrens already has, so I will refrain from doing so. I will, however, give a commitment to the house to resolve the issue of the memorial. It is one of the very few memorials dedicated to women who have served over the course of conflict, and it is one that needs to be protected.

By happy circumstance, I am both the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and the Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing—the two portfolios at hand in this matter—so I can give a commitment to the house that I will resolve the matter, and I am very, very pleased to support the member for Torrens in this important motion.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (12:03): As the member who represents the Women's Memorial Playing Fields, and has done so for 17 years, I am pleased to support this motion. The members in their debate have raised the issue of the protection of the lands. I am happy to talk to the minister for sport about that. Having been a former minister for recreation and sport, I know a little bit about the lands.

My view is that no government in its right mind would be so stupid as to propose the sale of the lands. The honour that is bestowed upon the lands by the very nature of their purpose to my mind guarantees them from sale. Even the government's Sustainable Budget Commission, which looked at things like subdividing the Wittunga Botanic Garden in Blackwood and selling it off for housing, never contemplated touching the Women's Memorial Playing Fields. My view is that they are well protected simply through the fact that they are a memorial, and no government would ever contemplate the sale.

I am supportive of the view that other sporting groups could go there. I know the Woods Panthers netball club in my electorate wish to go there, but the land is currently leased to the South Australia Cricket Association and therefore it is a little more complicated than it probably needed to be. In terms of the memorial that is attached to the land, I have been in communication with the federal minister on a regular basis about the maintenance of it and maybe contributing to the upgrading of it. There is a two-storey clubroom there, which a lot of the elderly find very difficult to navigate; so I have done work with the federal minister in regards to that issue.

There is a fantastic book on the Bangka Strait issue that led to this memorial, on the Fall of Singapore, the terrible treatment by the Japanese, the survival of Vivian Bullwinkel, and how she survived. It is a magnificent book. I am pleased that there is this memorial and I am pleased that the member has moved the motion, and I am happy to support it as the local member.

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg) (12:06): I indicate that I will be supporting this motion, and thank the member for moving it. Although she indicates it has been recognised by previous speakers in this house, each year a new wave of South Australians have the honour of attending the Bangka Strait ceremony. New members of this house are invited and attend, and I think are moved for life by the story, the celebration and recognition of this important day. So I think it is important that the member has brought forward this motion.

I will say that the foreshadowed amendment that is also moved with it to congratulate the government for investigating appropriate ways of securing the site I think is a little premature, and I do want to say something about that because of conduct that has occurred in the last four of five years.

In relation to the memorial itself, under Sir Thomas Playford, the then premier of South Australia, it is in recognition of an event during World War II, which not only is one of bravery, of Vivian Bullwinkel, who is the surviving nurse in the sad story that is being recounted by the mover of this motion, but also the brutality and cowardice of those who inflicted this, a story which confirms to us not only the idiocy of war but also the recognition of the courage of those women who walked into the ocean no doubt in the full knowledge that they were going to be slaughtered and the bravery of the surviving nurse, and it should remind us of why it is important that we have these memorials, and we give new generations of South Australians the opportunity for that to be recognised.

Under the leadership of Sir Thomas Playford, the SA Women's Memorial Playing Fields Trust was established. The current Vice President of that trust, Eve Balfour-Ogilvy, has a personal link to this. Her aunt, Elaine Balfour-Ogilvy, was one of the 22 military nurses who were machine-gunned by the Japanese troops after the nurses had surrendered at Bangka Island off Sumatra in 1942. So there are living links to these very brave women.

The story of Vivian Bullwinkel has been reported and celebrated on many occasions, of course, in literature as well as the book about her part in all of this. Being a South Australian, who has now passed away, it gives all South Australians a link to this. The importance of the event, the significance of it being recognised in a memorial, and the value to South Australians now and in the future in maintaining the memorial ought to be obvious to everyone.

What concerns me is that some four years ago, as has been highlighted by the current President of the trust, Mr Bruce Parker, there was a threat to the continuation of this memorial as a result of the direct indication that the land may be available for sale. Everyone knows that this land is owned by the government and that it is sublet. Since that threat, the trust has been calling for legislation to protect it. So, even though the member for Davenport pointed out that any sensible government would not even consider threatening the continued occupation of the memorial at this site, it has occurred; the threat is there.

It is a real and present danger for this site, and the trust has called for the government to act. It is not just a possibility any more. The threat was there; it was imminent and it needed to be dealt with in light of that to ensure that the current minister could not be persuaded or directed by his own cabinet to act in a manner that was contrary to the interests of the preservation of this site and to listen to the words of the trust. That needed to be secured.

I indicate that if a bill comes to this house supporting the preservation by this legislature of this site then I will support it, and I am sure many others here on both sides of the house will support it. However, it is at risk and that is what is important. That is why I say to the mover of the motion that I cannot yet congratulate the government. Only in the history of this government has this site, to the best of my knowledge, actually been under threat. So, it is up to this government now to act honourably and for the minister to bring in a piece of legislation to protect it. Whilst I do appreciate the minister's indication that he is now looking at the matter and will review the options and all the other palaver—I say 'palaver' respectfully because if the trust is not strong enough, when the people have spoken and established a trust and been given that opportunity by previous governments, and it has come under threat then he must act.

I endorse the sentiments expressed by the mover of the motion. I thank her for bringing this important institution, a memory which should never die in this state, to the attention of the parliament so that the people of South Australia and new generations will have that on record. I congratulate her sincerely but I cannot be persuaded that the foreshadowed amendment has merit at this point. However, I will be the first to congratulate the government if they bring in legislation to protect it.

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (12:12): I rise to support the motion by the member for Torrens. As the shadow minister for veterans affairs, I have been to a number of memorial services at the women's playing fields; unfortunately, I did not attend this year. There are two things we should really be focusing on here: first, that these are memorial playing fields and should be maintained and preserved for the people of South Australia as a memorial; and, secondly, they are also a good recreational facility.

This is an issue which we hope the government supports. I hope the member for Bragg's comments do not come to fruition and that the fields are not in any way under threat because that should never be the case. This is an important memorial that offers opportunities for people to play sport there and to remember what their forebears (and relatives, in some cases) went through. This is a memorial to those people, and we should never forget what they went through.

I have never experienced the horror and terror of war or anything close to it, and I certainly would never wish that upon any Australian in the future. However, we still have brave Australians serving overseas in many areas of the world, and there was a very poignant ceremony on Kangaroo Island last Friday for a fallen young sapper. The need to remember war is not through memorials, through ANZAC Day or through Bangka Day. It is not glorifying war in any way, shape or form, and nor should it be because, as I say, the horrors of war must be beyond description.

You try to imagine what was going through Vivian Bullwinkel's mind when the Japanese opened up with their machine guns, and the courage and fortitude of Vivian, the nurses and the soldiers who were in that position. What went through their minds? What did they feel? I had a very dear friend (who was a member of the Liberal Party branch at Glenelg, at Morphett) who was in Changi Prison for many years, Max Venables. Max died in 2009. Max used to tell me about some of the things that he had been through. Until his dying day he had a hatred for the Japanese.

It was interesting to see the apologies the other day to people who had been Japanese prisoners of war during World War II. For Max, unfortunately, when he did die in 2009, that hatred was just as strong as it was during the war. It was unfortunate, but, when you read what happened to Max, you can understand that. I will just read a little of what Max wrote in a letter to the Sunday Mail back in 2007. He said:

At the age of 18 years and a few weeks, in July 1940, I joined the AIF at Wayville, where on October 20 the 9th Division Ammunition Sub Park was formed and with 64 soldiers moved to Woodside to train. In 1941 we left for Sydney to go overseas and eventually to Singapore. We fought the good fight until we were taken prisoners of war and moved to Changi Barracks on February 18, 1942.

We worked on Singapore Island at various jobs—lime carting, wharf work, stripping businesses and cars to ship to Japan until April 1943 when we were sent to the Siam-Burma railway on F Force with 7,000 troops. I nearly died. I was 21. After nine months on the railway, 3,500 men were returned to Changi, all near death, in December 1943. After three months of feeding us, we were sent to build the Changi airfield until June 1945, when many troops were sent to Singapore to build defences in preparation for an English invasion.

We were starved, bashed and very sick on the working parties at Bukatima, digging foxholes. As the soil was brought out from the foxholes it was put around the hill to make slit tranches to fight off intruders. About August 10, 1945, while I was carrying the soil past a Japanese soldier, he said to me: 'If Singapore is invaded, you will carry the ammunition to the foxhole and we will shoot you in the slit trench.'

Peace came in August 15, but we did not know it. On August 17 we stopped working and, while resting, the locals would pass, giving us the V for Victory sign.

That is a very short piece. Max has actually written a very good book about his experiences during World War II. I think that the motion today urges us to remember the Australian nurses who were killed in the Bangka Strait and the massacre on 16 February 1942. It is just so important that, come 25 April, ANZAC Day, we remember people such as Vivian Bullwinkel, Max Venables and all those young soldiers alive and fighting overseas for us today.

It is just so important. This sort of motion always receives bipartisan support. There may be issues raised around some of the concerns and priorities about the way in which things are organised for memorials and to protect memorials, but the bottom line is that it is the memory that we should always hold precious. I support this motion very strongly.

Mrs GERAGHTY (Torrens) (12:18): I thank members for their contributions. I know it is something that members speak on each year in this place, and we do so because we do have a genuine interest. Obviously, we feel for the families of those women, and, of course, we are very proud of them.

In closing, I just say that I was a little concerned to hear the member for Bragg's comments, because, in all my discussions around the site, I found no evidence of any threat to it. Maybe that could have been a little bit of scuttlebutt that runs around (as it does) from time to time. When I approached him about it, the minister was more than keen to look at ways to protect the site. There is a difficulty around it, and I appreciate that. I know the former minister understands the way in which the community holds that site close to its heart. I am sorry to hear the comments made by the member for Bragg, but I am very confident the minister will be able to find a way of resolving the issue to everyone's satisfaction.

Motion carried.

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