Loveday – Part 3: Tunnel

Loveday – Part 3: Tunnel

Barmera, South Australia. 1943-03-11/17. Detention cells of the 10th Australian prisoner of war and internment camp, loveday group. (Australian War Memorial)

Loveday internment camp had many escape attempts, the most notable being a tunnel dug from under a tent near a permitter fence, which came out on the other side of the barbwire fence, hidden by a bush.
The tunnel was deep enough underground that trucks passing over the top on the road did not collapse it. To get around the large amounts of dirt being pulled from the tunnel excavation, prisoners asked for permission to make a mud brick hut, which was granted. Surprisingly, no officers questioned where the dirt was coming from.

Internees used kitchen knives to dig the tunnels, and handkerchiefs to cart the dirt from the tunnel. The dirt that wasn’t used for mud bricks was spread around the camp day and night, without soldiers guarding the camp realising.

On 30 April 1942 three internees reported to a guard that they believed there would be a mass escape that evening. The three men were removed from the camp for their own safety. An inspection of the entirety of Camp 10 revealed the tunnel. It was believed that within a few hours of the report to the guard, the tunnel would have been big enough for the escape of hundreds of detainees. Soldiers filled the tunnel with water and collapsed it to prevent escapes and seal the exit route.[1]

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2024

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[1] Max Scholz, ‘As I Remember: The Loveday Interment Camp,’ (Barmera, 2004), pp. 32-33. ; 'Last Prisoners Have Left Loveday', Murray Pioneer, (23 January 1947), p. 1.

Beachport: Casualties of War

Beachport: Casualties of War

We think of you in silence.

With a heart that is sincere.

And cherish all the memories

Of the days when you were here.

The 19th of February 1942, the Japanese bombed Darwin, the first attack on the Australian mainland by a foreign invader in a major global conflict. The two air raids on Darwin killed 235 people with a further 300 to 400 wounded.

7^th months earlier, in the southern coastal town of Beachport, South Australia, two other deaths, directly associated with the war occurred on the 14^th of July 1941. The deaths of Able Seaman W.L. Danswan and Seaman T.W. Todd of the Royal Australian Navy.

 Sea mines, laid by the enemy, had begun to be found along the shipping routes of South Australia’s southern coast, with two sea mines found previously to this one. The mine was found 8 miles out at sea from Beachport, by local fisherman, Mr Stephens, who reported the find to the local constable.
 The navy was called, and three men, Lieut. Commander Greening, Able Seaman Danswan and Seaman Todd were sent from Adelaide to defuse or detonate the 4ft diameter iron sea mine.

Photo: An unidentified man standing next to the enemy mine 

which exploded and killed Junee serviceman 

William Danswan, as well as Thomas Todd.

(Source in Bibliography)

The Navy men arrived in Beachport on Sunday the 13^th, and with the help of four local fisher boats, headed out to sea to tow the mine back to the shore and examine it. On Monday the 14^th the mine was pulled ashore at Beachport for dismantling, but instead, it was decided that it would be easier to blow it up, so the mine was pulled across the bay by a boat, and taken ashore near an old piling to be destroyed.
 A demolition charge was connected to the mine, with a mile of cable ran out towards the cemetery, over a railway line, to ensure the safety of the 3 navy men. They pushed the plunger to detonate the mine, but it didn’t work, so a second line of cable was run out. This time, as the plunger was pushed, a passing railway truck disconnected the cable, and again the bomb did not explode.

The two Seamen waited 15 minutes, and made their way down to inspect the mine. They got within a few feet of it when it suddenly exploded, killing them almost instantly. Their Lieut. Commander, who had not descended the sand dunes, remained unharmed.
 Many locals, standing on the local jetty and beach front witnessed the large explosion and death of the Seamen, and many more came out to see what was going on after hearing the concussive blast of the detonation.,

 Able Seaman W.L.E. Danswan, who was from the town of Junee in New South Wales, was transferred from the H.M.A.S. Canberra to the Birkenhead Naval Base only 4 months previously. He left behind a widow.

Seaman T.W. Todd, who was from Rosewater, S.A. left behind a wife, Gwendoline Todd, and a young son, Ronald.

A monument to the men, the first two casualties on Australian soil of World War Two, stands at the eastern end of the surf beach carpark on the Millicent-Beachport road

Researched and written by Allen Tiller.

© 2018 Allen Tiller

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Bibliography:

1941 'MILLICENT NEWS.', Southern Cross (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1954), 25 July, p. 6. , viewed 01 Jan 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article167770740

1941 'MINE EXPLOSION AT BEACHPORT.', The South Eastern Times (Millicent, SA : 1906 - 1954), 18 July, p. 2. , viewed 01 Jan 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article200099123

1941 'No Title', The South Eastern Times (Millicent, SA : 1906 - 1954), 22 July, p. 1. , viewed 01 Jan 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article200099143

1949 'Family Notices', The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954), 14 July, p. 14. , viewed 01 Jan 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article36675976

National Archives of Australia, 2018, The bombing of Darwin – Fact sheet 195, National Archives of Australia, Australian Government, viewed 01 Jan 2018, http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs195.aspx

Source: https://www.juneesoutherncross.com.au/story/4601686/junee-servicemans-tragic-wwii-demise-photos/#slide