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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-06-17 Daily Xml
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EAST TIMOR

The Hon. DAVID WINDERLICH (16:21): I seek leave to move my motion in an amended form.

Leave granted.

The Hon. DAVID WINDERLICH: I move:

That this council—

1. Remembers that at least 40,000 Timorese civilians were killed as a result of their assistance to Australia in the Second World War;

2. Regrets that there has been no official recognition of the Timorese in assisting Australia in World War II;

3. Notes that the United Kingdom awarded the Island of Malta the George Cross on 15 April 1942 to honour the courage of its people; and

4. Supports the call by the Mary MacKillop East Timor Mission for the nation of East Timor to be given the award of the Companion of the Order of Australia for the extraordinary service rendered by the Timorese people to Australia during World War II;

5. Conveys its support for the awarding of the Companion of the Order of Australia to the Australian Honors Secretariat in Canberra.

The proposal to award the nation of East Timor the Companion of the Order of Australia has been developed by the Mary MacKillop Mission to East Timor. I became aware of this when I attended the Australian/East Timor Friendship Association's annual independence dinner held to celebrate the achievement of independence for Timor Leste on 24 May. The dinner was also a fundraiser for the Alola Foundation, which was established by Kirsty Sword, the wife of President Zanga Guzma, to raise funds for projects for women and children in East Timor. The guest speakers were Abel Gutteres, the Consul-General for Timor Leste—a charming man who is, sadly for Australia, moving to Brussels to be East Timor's representative to the European Union—and Sister Susan Connelly of Mary MacKillop's East Timor Mission, who outlined this proposal. I will quote extensively from the material that the Mary MacKillop East Timor Mission has prepared in support of its initiative, as follows:

During World War II Portugal and its territories including East Timor were neutral. In 1941 Australia sent two battalions and some support troops to the strategically important Timor environs: Gull Force, to be headquartered in Ambon, and Sparrow Force to Kupang in West Timor. On 17 December 1941 almost 400 men of the Australian 2/2 Independent Company, along with a few hundred Dutch troops, landed in Dili, Portuguese Timor. Antonia Salazar, the Portuguese President, called this the first invasion of Timor and the Portuguese Governor in Dili at the time, Manuel Ferreira de Carvalho, showed Portugal's displeasure by remaining in his residence and demanding to be treated as a prisoner of war. Not long after landing, the 2/2 Independent Company was decimated by malaria.

During the night of 19 February 1942, thousands of Japanese, under Major General Takeo Ito, invaded the island at Kupang and Dili, the same day as the bombing of Darwin. The main body of Sparrow Force in West Timor surrendered on 23 February 1942, leaving the 2/2 Independent Company in East Timor without higher command, fighting a rearguard action against the Japanese, who increased their number in April or May with specially trained guerrilla troops. The Australians were without radio contact with Australia for two months, until 19 April, when they successfully used a radio they had made from items raided from the Japanese.

In May 1942, the Australians in Timor were ordered to keep harassing the Japanese forces, since there was no possibility for them to be evacuated. The 2/2 Company was reinforced by the 2/4 Independent Company on 20 September 1942, bringing the number of Australians to about 700. Portuguese civilians were evacuated with the 2/2 to Australia in December 1942, while the 2/4 was withdrawn in January 1943, around the same time that the Japanese 48th Division reinforced with at least another 14,000 troops, bringing their number to around 20,000.

The final Australian groups, a small intelligence collection and reporting team, S Force, and a small detachment of Z Special Force were evacuated at the end of February 1943. The Japanese remained in control of East Timor until the surrender on 15 August 1945. There was widespread Japanese coercion and retaliation against the Timorese throughout the campaign, including the bombing of villages, destruction of livestock, rape and wholesale murder of the civilian population, resulting in the loss of an estimated 40,000 to 60,000 East Timorese lives.

'The census of 1947 showed that the population of the colony had declined from 472,221 in 1930—the year of the previous census—to 433,412. From these figures it has often been estimated that 40,000 Timorese died as a result of the war, but the real figure must have been much higher—probably more than half as high again, even if a minimum natural growth rate is taken into account.' James Dunn [author] Timor: A People Betrayed.

The testimony of the Australian troops who were there attests to the overwhelming support of the Timorese people as a whole, and of the Criardos in particular, the young Timorese men who led, fed, nursed, hid and warmed them with loyalty and courage. No Australian soldier from the 2/2 or the 2/4 was taken prisoner.

In the words of the Australian soldiers themselves, John (Paddy) Kenneally of the 2/2 said:

We went to Timor and brought nothing but misery on those poor people. That is all they ever got out of helping us—misery...In 1942 we were just a handful of men, short of everything and fighting an all-conquering enemy. We are the only unit from the Philippines, Malaya and the Netherlands East Indies which didn't surrender and survived, and only because of their help. We were living off them. We arrived in Timor with plenty of ammunition, but only one month's ration and we were there for 12. They didn't sit down and say, 'The fight's between you and the Japanese. You paddle your own canoe.'

According to Archie Campbell of the 2/2:

...at this point we get into the fifth column business by using the initiative and courage of our wonderfully faithful Timorese. It is the Chefe Francisco who comes up with the idea. He is an ideal choice as a chieftain because he is shrewd, intelligent and full of valour. He is also very pro-Australian. Using a mixture of Tetum and a few well-known Aussie words, he unveils a plan of his own. Why not, says he, send a Timorese with eggs, bananas and chickens to sell to the Japs. He can see where they are, how many and what they are doing. 'I will fix it'.

I never do learn the name of the boy they send in, but after a briefing by Francisco on our requirements, he goes without demur. As he departs with the produce secured on a stick carried over his shoulder, I am overwhelmed by the man's loyalty to his chief and his faith in us. It is almost incredible that he is willing to risk torture and death for the Australians, who were indirectly responsible for the all the misery the Japs have heaped upon the Timorese: the burning villages, the killings, the terrified women carried into slavery and defilement. Yet there he goes—no fanfare, no drama—just a casual wave and a smile and he is gone.

Lance Bomford of the 2/40th Battalion, who joined up with the 2/2, said:

Each of us had his native called a criado. They carried our packs so we were free with our guns, and without them we just could not have fought like we did. The natives would spot when the Japs were making a move and relay the message to us, so we could set up ambushes. Even at the end, when it was tough, we were dependent on them to keep one jump ahead of the Japs. It wasn't just the criados, there were lots who helped us.

Once we were all asleep and this bloke came and said 'Japanese!'. We pack up quick and sneak up the hill. Then we see these Japs bring this bloke to where we've been camped. We heard the shots and they killed him because he'd warned us. The hill was too high up to do anything, but we felt awful about him getting it. He was a beaut fellow, really bright. By November things were gloomy. It was very hard for us and the poor natives. Early in December we got orders to move to the coast. It was a great feeling to be going home, but it was a sad parting from the Timorese boys who'd done so much for us. Quite a few of us had tears in our eyes. I'd have loved to have taken my little fellow back with me. He cried when the time came to leave. I gave him a note (praising him), what a good lad he was, and gave him a few odds and ends. What happened to him, Lord knows.

The Companion of the Order of Australia in the Australian honours system makes appointments for recognition of outstanding achievement and service. The Companion of the Order of Australia is awarded for eminent achievement and merit of the highest degree and service to Australia or humanity at large. Nominations to the Order of Australia come directly from the community, either individuals or groups—in this case, the Mary MacKillop East Timor Mission.

Once a nomination has been submitted, the Australian Honours Secretariat at Government House in Canberra conducts further research and contacts referees, and the Council of the Order of Australia then considers the nominations and makes its recommendations, independent of the government, directly to the Governor-General. Awards in the Order of Australia are publicly announced on Australia Day and the Queen's Birthday public holiday, as we have just witnessed.

In support of this nomination, the East Timor Mission points out that the extraordinary Timorese support was essential for the success of the campaign in East Timor in 1942, which occupied large numbers of Japanese troops who may otherwise have joined with their forces in Papua New Guinea and possibly changed history on the Kokoda Trail.

It was an extraordinary loss. The only people ever to have lost 40,000 civilians as a result of their loyalty to Australians are the Timorese. Then there was the extraordinary response of the East Timorese. It was pointed out that there has not yet been any adequate Australian recognition of the role of the Timorese in assisting us in World War II. Possible objections are noted. 'What about the "fuzzy wuzzy angels"?' is one possible objection.

Their contribution is recognised, but reparation of £6,710,799 was paid to cover almost all damage or loss, including death, personal injury, illness, disease or suffering caused by the death of a spouse or relative, destruction of crops or housing and permanent damage to land. That amount was paid by Australia to the fuzzy wuzzy angels and their relatives. On 28 April 2009, the Australian Prime Minister announced that the angels or their survivors would receive commemorative medals.

It could be said that there is no precedent for giving this award to a nation: it is given to an individual. It is true that Australia has not yet made such an award but Britain, upon whose honours system ours is based, gave the nation of Malta the George Cross on 15 April 1942 to honour the courage of its people. The people of the island of Malta sustained heavy casualties fighting Italian and German bombers during World War II. Throughout the war they defended the island against overwhelming invasion attempts despite having limited supplies, ammunition and substandard aircraft.

The island provided an important strategic base for the allies in the middle of the Mediterranean between Italy's southern front and the German operations they supplied in Africa. At the time that the George Cross was awarded on 15 April 1942, Malta was literally starved of military and civil resources. It managed to hold off the Axis advance until British supplies fought their way through in mid-August that year. King George IV said at the time:

To honour her brave people I award the George Cross to the Island Fortress of Malta to bear witness to a heroism and devotion that will long be famous in history.

So, there are some clear parallels with Timor there. I think that by supporting this motion it will simply add weight to the initiative taken by the Mary MacKillop East Timor Mission to give overdue recognition to a people who suffered greatly because they helped Australian soldiers to survive a two-year campaign by the Japanese in World War II, to the great advantage of Australia, in that it tied up significant numbers of Japanese troops who might otherwise have been freed for the campaign in Papua New Guinea. I commend the motion to all members.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. B.V. Finnigan.

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