Category Archives: Tasmania Italian POWs

The Footprints Project

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Footprints of Italian Prisoners of War Project is a community project supported by Australians in six states and Italian families in sixteen countries.**

Did you know?

The website operates as a ‘virtual’ museum and library.

Over 300 articles have been written for the website.

The website has a wide reaching readership to over 120 countries.

What makes this research unique and diverse?

Perspective.

Contributions have come from far and wide:  farmers, farmers’ wives, farming children, the town kids, families of Australian Army interpreters, children of Italians who were prisoners of war, Italians who were prisoners of war, the local nurse, the mother of an ex-POW, government policy and reports.

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What does the research encompass?

Website: italianprisonersofwar.com

Facebook Page: Prigionieri di guerra Italiani in Australia

Music Book: Notations for songs and dance music by Ciccio Cipolla.

Farm Diary: daily notations regarding farm life during war time including information on Italian POWs and Land Army Girls.

Feature article in Corriere della Sera [Italy] in March 2021.

Memories in Concrete: Giuseppe Miraglia from Enna Sicily and Adriano Zagonara from Bagnara di Romagna Ravenna.

Donations to the Australian War Memorial of two artefacts made by Gympie Italian prisoners of war

Two publications: Walking in their Boots and Costanzo Melino: Son of Anzano (in collaboration with Rosa Melino)

Journey of two Italian families from Italy to visit Queensland and ‘walk in the footsteps of their fathers’: Q1 Stanthorpe and Q6 Home Hill

POW Kit Bags: Adriano Zagonara and Sebastiano Di Campli

The Colour Magenta: The Australian prisoner of war uniform for Italians, Japanese and Germans.

Theatre Productions: Details of  plays performed by the Italians

Handbooks: L’Amico del Prigioniero, Pidgin English for Italian Prisoners of War, Piccolo Guido per gli Italiani in Australia

Voices from the Past:  testimonials from Italian soldiers who worked on  farms.

Letters written by Italian prisoners of war to family in Italy, to their Queensland farmers and to the children of farmers, written by mother of an Italian POW to a Queensland nurse, written by the Italians to their interpreter, Queensland farmer to Italian, letters written between Italian POW places in different states.

Photographs of Italian soldiers in full dress uniform, Italian soldiers in Italian and Libya during training, Italians as POWs with their farming families, Italians on their Wedding Day and with their families, Italians in POW camps in India.

Handmade items: embroideries, wooden objects, cellophane belt, silver rings, paintings, cane baskets, metal items, chess sets, art work, theatre programs.

Contributions by Italian families whose fathers and family returned to Australia as ‘new Australians’.

Identification of buildings used as prisoner of war accommodation.

Publication of three guides for Italian families to assist in their search for information about their fathers and grandfathers.

Collaboration with numerous Italian and Australian families; local museums and family history associations; journalists; translators; collectors of historic postal items; local libraries.

Discussion about our Queensland research at conference in Catania Sicily May 2019 on prisoner of war experiences.

My Wish List

In the beginning:

I had one wish, to find one Queensland family who remembered the Italians working and living on their farm. Thank you Althea Kleidon, you were the beginning with your photos and memories of Tony and Jimmy.

My adjusted wish list, to find three photographs of Italian POWs on Queensland farms. Then came Rosemary Watt and Pam Phillips with their collection of photos, a signature in concrete and a gift worked in metal.

….

Now:

To have the three Finding Nonno guides translated into Italian.

If I win Gold Lotto, to have Walking in their Boots translated into Italian or an upgrade to the website.

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**Background

What started out as a personal journey to read about the Italian POW Camp outside of Home Hill has resulted in a comprehensive, diverse and rich collection of stories, letters, photographs, testimonies, artefacts, music, newspaper articles spanning over 80 years: the battles in the Mediterranean and in Libya 1940 to the present.

Over the past seven years, I have heard these words many times over, “but you have it wrong, there were no Italian prisoners of war in Queensland”.

And this became a focal point for the research: to record this chapter in Queensland’s history before it was completely forgotten.

But like ripples in a pond,  Queensland’s history of Italian POWs expanded across and was part of a greater history and so the project extended and expanded: to other Australia states and to Italian families in sixteen countries around the world.

Join the journey and follow the footprints of the Italian prisoners of war.

Uniform Regulations

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Article 12 of the PW Convention, inter-alia, reads:-

“Clothing, underwear and footwear shall be supplied to prisoners of war by the detaining Power. The regular replacement and repair of such articles shall be assured.  Workers shall also receive working kit wherever the nature of the work requires it.”

What the records tell us

All prisoners of war were allowed to wear their badges of rank and insignia on their uniforms.

Clothing items, except for pyjamas, could not be purchased from the Canteen.

Clothing Issue

1 hat (a)1 hair brush
1 overcoat (a)1 shaving brush
2 coats, medical detachment (a)1 toothbrush
2 pairs of trousers, medical detachment (a)2 pairs of short cotton underwear (b)
1 pullover, labour detachment (a)1 comb
1 pair of trousers, labour detachment (a)2 pairs of woollen and cotton underwear (c)
1 pair of shorts (a) (b)1 jersey pullover (c)
1 pair of shoes1 safety razor with blade (d)
1 pair of laces2 flannel shirts
1 pair of braces2 cotton singlets (b)
2 pairs of woollen socks2 wool and cotton singlets (c)
2 towels3 cotton handkerchiefs
  • (a) Dyed burgundy
  • (b) Summer
  • (c) Winter
  • (d)One new blade a week in exchange for old blade

N.C.O.s and other prisoners of war

This group received a free issue of clothing and necessaries.

All articles were replaced free of charge when necessary.  Facilities were provided for repairs to shoes and clothing and prisoners of war employed as bootmakers, tailors, cobblers.

Prisoner of War Officers

Officers and men of equivalent rank must provide their own items and paid for at their expense. The clothing was manufactured in Australia and issued by authorities. Replacement officer uniforms were made after measurements were taken.  Completed uniforms were made in a venetian grey material, and cost approx. £5 each. The exception was for Japanese officers who were supplied with magenta dyed Australian Military Forces uniforms only but were allowed to wear any national uniforms they had in their possession.

Guerre 1939-1945. Myrtleford. Camp 5 B. Prisonniers de guerre italiens.

Camp 5B Myrtleford June 1943 ICRC V-P-HIST-03290-33A

Merchant Seamen Prisoners of War

Both officers and other ranks merchant seamen were provided with clothing and other items free of charge. Merchant Seamen officers and other ranks did not receive a payment as did other prisoner of war. When arrested, they had been in the employment of shipping companies. There was no agreement with the Italian government to provide a stipend (payment) for merchant seamen.

For this group, the seven first articles on the above list were replaced by a peaked cap, an overcoat, a vest and a pair of trousers suitable for merchant marines.  The material used was a dark green cloth.  The two flannel shirts were grey and had two collars each.  A blue tie was also issued.

What do the photos from Myrtleford Camp tell us

Guerre 1939-1945. Camp de Myrtleford. Groupe numéro 27. World War 1939-1945. Myrtleford camp. Group number 27.

Non regulation overcoat possibly made from government issue blanket (centre)

Group Number 27 Myrtleford Camp ICRC V-P-HIST-01882-27

Guerre 1939-1945. Camp de Myrtleford. Groupe numéro 23. World War 1939-1945. Myrtleford camp. Group number 23.

Non regulation fleecy winter vests Group Number 23 Myrtleford Camp ICRC V-P-HIST-01882-32

Guerre 1939-1945. Camp de Myrtleford. World War 1939-1945. Myrtleford camp.

Handmade plaited belt?

February 1945 Myrtleford Camp ICRC V-P-HIST-01882-19A

Guerre 1939-1945. Myrtleford. Prisonniers de guerre italiens.

Regardless of being a prisoner of war, the officers wore their uniforms with pride

Myrtleford Camp ICRC V-P-HIST-03290-36A

Remarkable…

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In November 1945 Giuseppe Quarta from Arnesano Lecce Italy lived with Mr and Mrs Dixon on their farm in Golden Valley Tasmania.

In November 2020 Jan Dixon, daughter of Reg and Elsie shared 75 year old photos with Giuseppe’s children Antonio and Anna.

This is remarkable.

Giuseppe Quarta celebrated his 24th birthday, thirteen days before arriving in Melbourne from Bombay India. He was processed and photographed at Murchison PW Camp Victoria before travelling to Tasmania. 

Giuseppe Quarta Murchison Victoria NAA: A376 T321

Giuseppe’s son Antonio had obtained a copy of his father’s extra file in the National Archives of Australia which contained the PWI58832 photos. This file also provided the name of Giuseppe’s farming family: RR Dixon Golden Valley. But the research stalled.  A google map could provide Antonio with a geographic location for Golden Valley. But Antonio had a deep yearning to know something more about his father’s 17 months with the Dixon family.

On 30th November 2020, Antonio’s dreams came true.  Jan Dixon had seen a Facebook post on Tasmanian History and knew immediately that this man: Giuseppe Quarta was the man from her family stories and in her family photos.

Giuseppe was known as JOSH and while Jan was born after Josh had left her family’s farm, her parents often talked about Josh and referred to a few photos with Josh and the Dixon family.

Jan recalls her mother Elsie telling her, “Josh always called me Elsa.”  Just as the Dixons had given Giuseppe an Aussie name, Giuseppe gave Elsie an Italian name. There is no doubt that Giuseppe was well looked after by the Dixon family as the photos show a healthy young man as a result of the good hospitality of the Dixons.  Antonio agrees, “…senza ombra di dubbio , mio padre in quei due anni che ha trascorso presso la famiglia Dixon , si e’ trovato benissimo lo si puo’ vedere anche dalle foto che gode di ottima salute. belle foto.”


Giuseppe Quarta with Grandpa Dixon Golden Vally Tasmania 1945-1946

(photo courtesy of Jan Dixon)

Jan Dixon remembers that the farm had dairy cows and small crops hinting that fresh milk and butter were on the table; there was an abundance of bread made by her mother; and fresh vegetables came straight from the farm.  The photos also hint at the acceptance and inclusion of Giuseppe into the Dixon extended family.

Giuseppe Quarta with the Dixon Extended Family 1945-1946

(photo courtesy of Jan Dixon)

For Antonio and Anna Quarta from Lombardy Italy, these photos are a special early Christmas gift. Speaking from the heart, Antonio writes, “e’  un bellissimo regalo di Natale , proveniente dalla lontana Australia dalla cara Joanne ,e’ stata anche una grandissima sorpresa che mi ha fatto tanto piacere , aprendo lentamente il messaggio ho capito subito che si tratta di notizie importantissime… mi ha invaso la commozione e la felicita’ con gli occhi di lacrime.”

There is a remarkable series of events which has brought together the Dixon and Quarta family. Most importantly, this research project, Footprints of Italian prisoners of war in Australia, is a community project. From Antonio Quarta who entrusted me with his father’s story, to John Towers in Tasmania who pointed me in the right direction and gave me links to the Facebook group Tasmania History, to the administrator of the Facebook group who approved my post, to Jan Dixon for recognising Josh and sharing her family photos: this is a remarkable story.

Anna Quarta  adds, “Voglio Ringraziare tanto la signora Joanne Tapiolas , la Famiglia Dixon in modo particolare Jan di aver messo a disposizione le sue foto di famiglia e tutte le altre persone che hanno collaborato alla ricercar.”

Searching for King George

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My search for King George began when Malcolm Davis from South Australia sent me a document about Italian prisoners of war near Gladstone South Australia in December 2019.  And so a needle in a haystack treasure hunt began…

1. from Gladstone a meeting of creeks – a breaking of gauges. Published by The Gladstone Centenary Committee, 1980. Printed by Gillingham Printers Pty Ltd Adelaide SA.

Post War Years

It was at this time that 5 CAD became host to Italian prisoners of war… One POW told the then depot commander, Capt. L.E. Ash, that he was a painter before the war.  Paint was produced from depot stocks, and canvas, but no fine brushes were available.  The POW overcame this problem by using hair from his own head to fashion brushes, and the resulting portrait of King George IV [sic.] copied from the cover of the then current edition of Women’s Weekly, now hangs in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

I sat on this information, for two months, calculating my plan of action.  During this time, I used varying combinations of wording for searches in the Australian War Memorial online collection.  I had no luck finding the King George portrait.

2. Women’s Weekly: maybe I could find a portrait of King George on the cover of the Women’s Weekly.  Logically, I was looking for a 1946 magazine, as this is the time that Italian POWs were sent to Australian Army facilities to undertake maintenance work. Fifty two copies later, no luck.  I broadened my search to 1945.  And there King George was on the cover of the April 7 1945 edition.

1945 April Women's Weekly Cover

1945 ‘The Australian WOMEN’S WEEKLY’, The Australian Women’s Weekly (1933 – 1982), 7 April, p. Front cover. , viewed 07 Mar 2020, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47117733

3.   Australian War Memorial: taking the philosophy of nothing ventured, nothing gained I sent an enquiry to the Australian War Memorial: “This is a long shot, but do you have in your collection a portrait of King George VI painted c. 1945-46 by an Italian prisoner of war?  I attached a copy of the Women’s Weekly Cover and also included the details from Gladstone a meeting of creeks – a breaking of gauges. I received a reply stating that my query had been forwarded to their Art Section.

I waited… and within two days, Hugh Cullimore Assistant Art Curator sent me an email. Yes, ART28179 is a portrait of King George VI painted by an Italian prisoner of war in 1946.  The artist’s name appeared to be ‘Godulo’.

ART28179

Portrait of King George VI

Australian War Memorial Art Collection ART28179

This was clearly not a portrait painted from the Australian Women’s Weekly. It was much more beautiful and detailed, a very regal portrait.

4. Godulo: a search of the National Archives of Australia came up blank.  BUT a little known trick is the wild card search:  first three letters followed by *  I found three Italian prisoners of war: GOD*  but only one had been in South Australia.  I had found our artist:

Alfredo Goduto from Roseto Valfortore Foggia; Occupation: Painter.  He was in South Australia from 9.4.46 to 14.12.46 having previously worked on farms in Tasmania.

Now I wanted to know more about our painter eg. Did he continue to paint when he returned to Italy?  But google searches for Goduto Roseto Valfortore Foggia came to zero.  I had come to a dead end.

5. Sydney Cape Breton Novia Scotia and the Goduto family.   Alfredo and his family migrated to Nova Scotia in 1952. He continued to paint and his house and its painted decorations are featured in Heritage Trust Painter Rooms of Nova Scotia. Take the time to click on Building Images at the bottom of the page for a walk through Alfredo’s home.

The last treasure has been the Goduto family’s recollections of  King George…

 “In Australia, someone noticed his paintings and wanted him to paint a full–sized portrait of King George V [sic.] to hang in a community hall.  It took Dad months to paint this life size portrait.  The Australians treated him like a king, at that point… they gave him anything he wanted because he was working very hard on this important project.  When he notified the official that he was finished, he was told that an art expert wished to see it.  Not expecting this, he panicked.  He was really worried about someone coming to critique his work, and he told them that he was not a real artist. But the expert came and spent a couple of hours examining the portrait of the king.  The expert was truly impressed with the work and could only find one problem.  He pointed to the king’s hands. “You made his hands too feminine; they should show his veins.”  Dad quickly touched up the King’s hands.  The expert offered Dad a job in Australia after the war, but Dad never did go back.  Much of his artistic ability was nurtured during that period because he had a lot of leisure time at his disposal.”

from Migliore, S., and E. DiPierro, eds. 2017. Italian Lives, Cape Breton Memories, 2nd edition. Sydney: University College of Cape Breton Press.

6.  The King George VI portrait Australia War Memorial

Hugh Cullimore AWM has been informed that the portrait requires restoration work. Once restored, a high quality digital photograph will be taken and uploaded to the digital catalogue of the Australian War Memorial.

Contact has been made with Alfredo’s son, Dominic and the family is very grateful to finally ‘see’ the King George portrait that they had heard about so much.

7. A community effort: Malcolm Davis, Hugh Cullimore and Dominic Goduto have been instrumental in writing this history of the King George Portrait.  My research is very much about connecting memories, stories, photographs and artefacts to their history and historical context, so this has been an absolutely amazing outcome. 

WATCH THIS SPACE: Hugh Cullimore will write an article on the AWM website once the portrait is restored and photographed

Alfredo Goduto Alfredo Goduto: Self Portrait

Photograph by Leeann Roy, 2009

 

 

Remarkable…

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What do Giuseppe Quarta, Tito Neri and Antioco Pinna and  have in common?

 

Giuseppe Quarta Tito Neri Antioco Pinna

(Photos courtesy of Antonio Quarta, NAA: A367 C85639, Luigi Pinna)

This is the question I had to ask myself when Antonio Quarta contacted me recently.  Antonio’s father  was from Arnesano (Lecce), he was captured in Bardia (Libya) and he worked on farms in the Burnie and Deloraine districts of Tasmania.

Remarkably, Giuseppe Quarta had a photo of ‘Adam and Eve’, the same photo Antioco Pinna from Palma Suergio (Cagliari) also had. ‘Adam and Eve’ was a statue sculptured by Tito Neri in the Loveday Camp (SA) in 1946.

Caporale Tito Neri

‘Adam and Eve’ by Tito Neri

(Photo courtesy of Antonio Quarta)

All three men were captured in different battles of war and came from different parts of Italy, but all three are connected to ‘Adam and Eve’.

The connection is that Giuseppe, Antioco and Tito had all resided in Camp 12 POW Camp India (Bohpal) before boarding the ship Mariposa in Bombay, arriving in Melbourne on 5.2.44.  After being processed in Murchison Camp (Victoria) they went their separate ways: Giuseppe to farm work in Tasmania, Tito to farm work in South Australia and Antioco to forestry work in South Australia.

In 1946, all Italian prisoners of war were brought back into six main camps around Australia to await repatriation.  It was at Loveday Camp (SA) that the three men were reunited once more: Tito Neri arrived at Loveday Camp (SA) on 27.2.46, followed by Antioco Pinna  on 3.4.46 and Giuseppe Quarta on 10.4.46.

Sometime between 27.2.46 and 7.11.46, Tito Neri created and destroyed his statue of ‘Adam and Eve’. Fortunately, Tito Neri and his statue were photographed and more than one copy of the photograph was produced with one copy now in Sardinia (Pinna) and one copy in Puglia (Quarta).

So many more questions are raised: who took the photo? how many photos were reproduced? do other Italian families have the same or a similar photo? do any Australian families have a photograph of ‘Adam and Eve’.

The completion of the statue must have been an important event for the Loveday Camp. Not only were photographs taken, but as  Dott. Andrea Antonioli, Commune di Cesena. explained in his biography of Tito Neri,  “Adam and Eve … nevertheless appears even in an Australian magazine.”  

Another reference to the statue can be found on Flickr: “Life size statues of Adam and Eve and the serpent (snake) which was sculptured by the Italian prisoner in the background. He had requested permission to make the statue out of cement, but it was denied, so he made it out of mud, and it was so beautiful that the commandant of Camp 14 gave him permission to cover it in concrete. According to the chief engineer at the camp, Bert Whitmore, the man destroyed the statues after the war, before he left.”

6393183925_fbdf382cf6_b

Adam and Eve and Sculpture at the Loveday Internment Camp

(from Flickr)

 

Questions. Answers. And more Questions.

Tasmanian ‘Italian Farming Soldiers’*

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There were seven prisoner of war centres in Tasmania including Brighton Prisoner of War Camp. Some of the boundaries for a centre changed as additional centres were established during 1944 to accommodate the increasing numbers of Italian POWs in Tasmania. I have put together a summary of this information.

Brighton Prisoner of War Camp

It was the PARENT Camp for all Italian prisoners of war in Tasmania. One of the Camp Commandants was Major C.R. Hawker. For serious breaches in discipline, a POW would be awarded 28 days detention. He would be transferred from his farm placement and sent to Brighton Camp for detention. Brighton Camp also had a hospital unit.

T1 Prisoner of War Control Centre Burnie

The centre’s office was in Jones Street Burnie and Captain G.D. Pollington was the commanding officer. Burnie farm placements included: Table Cape, Penguin, Leven, Circular Head, Burnie, Kentish, Devenport, Latrobe. An April 1944 report documents that there were 248 Italian POWs placed with 143 farmers. A May 1944 report documents that there were 161 Italian POWs placed with 106 farmers.

T2 Prisoner of War Control Centre Launceston (April 1944 Report)

The T2 Launceston district included: Beaconsfield, Westbury, Deloraine, Longford, Campbell Town, Ross, Evandale, St Leonards, Fingal. An April 1944 report documents that there were 145 Italian POWs placed with 92 farmers.

T2 Prisoner of War Control Centre Scottsdale (June 1944 Report)

The centre’s office was in the Drill Hall Scottsdale and Lieut. G.H. Napier was the commanding officer. Scottsdale farm placements included: Scottsdale, George Town, Lilydale, Ringarooma. A May 1944 report documents 86 Italian POWs placed with 55 farmers.

T3 Prisoner of War Control Centre Hobart (May 1944 Report)

Hobart farm placements included: Esperance, Huon, Cygnet, Kingborough, Glenorchy, New Norfold, Brighton, Clarence, Sorell, Tasman, Spring Bay, Richmond, Green Ponds, Bothwell, Hobart. A May 1944 report documents that there were 146 Italian POWs placed with 84 farmers.

T3 Prisoner of War Control Centre Glenorchy (June 1944 Report)

The centre’s office was in the Drill Hall Glenorchy and Lieut. A. Coulthard was the commanding officer. Glenorchy farm placements included: Hobart, Glenorchy, Richmond, New Norfolk, Kingborough, Sorell, Huon, Brighton, Esperance, Clarence, Tasman, Cygnet, Spring Bay, Green Ponds.

T4 Prisoner of War Control Centre Smithton (June 1944 Report)

The centre’s office was at 2 King Street Smithton with Lieut. E.W.D. Lacy as the commanding officer. Farm placements were at Smithton and Circular Head. A May 1944 report documents that there were 152 Italian POWs placed with 70 farmers.

T5 Prisoner of War Control Centre Deloraine

The centre’s office was at the Drill Hall Deloraine with Lieut. R.K. Lane as commanding officer. In June 1944, the area included Deloraine, Devonport, Kentish, Westbury, St. Leonards, Longford, Latrobe, Evandale, Fingal, Ross, Campbell Town, Beaconsfield. A May 1944 report documents there were 165 Italian POWs placed with 109 farmers.

By Sept 1944, some of these areas became part of T6 Conara.

T6 Prisoner of War Control Centre Conara

The centre is documented as “Conara Camp” and Captain A.A. Thompson was the commanding officer. The areas of St Leonards, Longford, Evandale, Fingal, Ross, Campbell Town became part of T6 with an addition of Oatlands, Bothwell, Green Ponds.

*Alan Fitzgerald coined the phrase “The Italian Farming Soldiers” as a title for his 1981 book about this history. It was the first work undertaken to document the history of Italian prisoners of war in Australia.

italian-pows-in-north-west-tasmaniaDownload

I pray for a special favour…

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Giuseppe and Tarquinio Scatena spent the duration of the war together: 231 Leg. Blackshirts, capture at Bug Bug 11.12.40, processing in Geneifa (ME Numbers 30249 and 30243), arrival in Australia onboard Lurline 16.11.43, processing in Murchsion (PWI 56934 and 56935), transfer from Murchison PW Camp to Brighton Camp 17.2.44, allocation to farm work T2 PWCC Launceston 24.2.44, awarding of 28 days detention for disobeying a lawful command on 1.4.44.

Family men from Capistrello L’Aquila, Tarquinio was 31 years old with a son and two daughters while Giuseppe was 34 years old with two sons and one daughter.

On 1.8.44, unfortunately Giuseppe and Tarquinio  go separate ways when Tarquinio was returned from Brighton to Murchison as medically unfit.  This separation lead Giuseppe to pen a letter to the Brighton Camp Commandant on 2.8.44.

Comandante

Translation

To Camp commandant

Dear Sir,

During five years of military life, of which four years have been spent as a prisoner of war, I have always been united with my brother SCATERA – Tarquinio.  In whichever command we have been under, we always have had the privilege of being together and I cannot understand the reason why we have been separated.  Therefore I beg you to let us re-unite at the earliest opportunity.

I pray, as a special favor, to take into consideration, the pain and desperation that two brothers would feel in being apart.

I would like to explain that we  have not received any news from our families for about 14 months, and the only consolation we have is to speak a word of comfort between us.

Thanking you in anticipation.

sgd SCATERA Giuseppe

PW56934

(NAA: P617, 519/3/159 Part )

In response, Captain Pearson wrote to Captain Tiege to inform Giuseppe that a transfer to Murchison PW Camp might not necessarily mean he would be reunited with his brother. The memo continues that while no promise could be made, the matter would be considered when the next draft of Italian prisoners were returned to Murchison Camp.

A year later on 28.8.45, Giuseppe was transferred to Murchison Camp.  This transfer resulted in the brothers returning to Italy, together onboard Ortranto 10.1.47.

Had Giuseppe remained in Tasmania, he would have been transferred to Sandy Creek then Loveday Camps in South Australia and repatriated without Tarquinio in 1946.

Someone somewhere in the chain of command had shown a little understanding and humanity.

Searching for Vito

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Noel Frankham from Dulcot has drawn together memories and photos to document the history of two Tasmanian Italian POWs.

Tony, George Hanslow, Vito (Photo courtesy of Hanslow family Tasmania)

Noel’s cousin sent him two photos of great uncle George Hanslow with the Italians. He took the photos to show his mother Molly Frankham (née Hanslow) and his aunt Mavis Fitzgerald (née Hanslow) and recorded their memories:

Both remember the two Italians in the pictures. The taller was Tony, assigned to the Blackburn’s ‘Lauderdale’ farm and the other was Vito, assigned to ‘Milnathort’, the Murdoch farm, also at Dulcot. Mum clearly recalls a sing-a-long session at the Hanslow family home (former Dulcot Schoolhouse, and now my home).

Apparently, Tony had a lovely voice and mum accompanied him to ‘O Sole Mio.’ She retold the story noting that she – then 15 – had the audacity to suggest that Tony should up the tempo a bit. She is still embarrassed more than 75 years later that she, as an accompanist, should suggest the singer might change the tempo – and more particularly embarrassed that she was suggesting how a national Italian song might be better sung.

Mum and my aunt remember the two men fondly – mentioning that they had hot chocolate with Vito at his house at Milnathort. Apparently, their cousin, Aileen, corresponded with the sister of either Tony or his successor at Lauderdale for some years.

This history is a bit of a giant jigsaw puzzle. While Tony (Antonio) is a common Italian name, Vito however is not so common, so begins a search to find Vito. There were 5 Vito’s assigned to T3.

T3PWCC (Prisoner of War Control Centre) was referenced on the cards of the Italian POWs as T3 Hobart.  Other documents reference the district as T3 Glenorchy.  The Drill Hall at Glenorchy was the administrative office for the Australian Military Forces staff who was in charge of the prisoners of war in the district. It was from this office that farmers applied for workers, Italians were assigned to farmers, Italians were detained in a lock up room on the premises, mail for the Italians was distributed and collected, the canteen truck took provisions to the Italians on the farms.

Lieut. A Coulthard was the commanding officer of the centre which placed Italian POW workers on farms in the following areas: Hobart, Glenorchy, Richmond, New Norfolk, Kingborough, Sorell, Huon, Brighton, Esperance, Clarence, Tasman, Cygnet, Spring Bay and Green Ponds.

Vito Di Tello only had 1 week in the T3 district. Vito Buragina spent from June 45 to Oct 45 on a T3 farm; he was 43 years old with a dark complexion. Vito Lombardo a bootmaker from Trapani worked on a T3 farm/s from May 44 to March 46; he was 30 years old with a ‘sallow’ complexion. Vito Rescinito worked on a T3 farm from Sept 45 to March 46; was 40 years old and had a ‘fresh’ complexion.

And then there is a young 24 year old Vito Monteleone a farmer with a dark complexion who spent February 44 to March 45 on T3 farm/s before spending some time in detention and being sent to T4 Smithton farm/s.

Unfortunately, few questions are answered. Maybe Vito Monteleone is the Vito in the Hanslow photo. A Vito Monteleone returned to Australia in 1949 and registered his address with immigration as Hobart.  This Vito can later be found working as a waterside worker and living in 12 Falconer Street Fitzroy North, Melbourne.

If only it was possible to give a a background and name to Tony the singer!

Vito Monteleone (NAA: P1184, Monteleone V)

Public Perceptions

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History needs to be written with balance and perspective.  War is complicated.

The system which placed Italian prisoners of war to work and live on farms was a necessary strategy to keep ‘food on the Australian table and in the bellies of US and Australia military’.  As our young Australians joined the military services, farmers were left without a farm labour workforce.  The labour shortage situation was dire.  War Cabinet documents convey this view.  It was imperative to keep farms operational.  With 18,000 Italian sitting idle in camps,  allocating the Italians to farms, was a matter of supply and demand.

BUT more importantly,  placing the Italians on farms, was a major benefit to their physical, emotional and metal health. With no barbed wire, these men settled into a familiar routine in a family environment: there was work to be done, attention to keeping their accommodation clean and orderly, cooking of meals, growing of vegetables in small plots, new skills to be learnt and new farming techniques to be mastered.

The other side of this history is the resentment and prejudice of many Australians. Criticism ranged from Italians being treated favourably in local hospitals to resentment that the POWs could buy items from the canteen truck that were unavailable to the civilian populations eg. canned peaches, chocolate.

The following report highlights some of the complaints in Smithton, Tasmania.  This is an example of ‘name and shame’…

NAA P617, 519 3 151 PART 2 Page 116

(NAA P617, 519 3 151 PART 2)

The newspaper Smith’s Weekly was well known to headline anti-Italian and migrant sentiment from 1919 through to 1950. Its criticism was therefore not only aimed at Italian prisoners of war but Italians in general. The below article highlights one of Smith’s Weekly’s complaints.  The full article is available via the link below:

Petrol f or Luigi

1944 ‘PETROL TO DRIVE LUIGI TO CHURCH’, Smith’s Weekly (Sydney, NSW : 1919 – 1950), 18 November, p. 1. , viewed 06 Feb 2020, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article235761465

Prisoners Eat; Guards Starve relates to the Italian prisoners of war who travelled by train to Sydney December 1946. They were in transit to board the Alcantara for repatriation to Italy.  I think that the Italians POWs would have been able to see the humour in this situation.

1946 Dec 23 The Telegraph

1946 ‘Prisoners Eat; Guards Starve’, The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 – 1947), 23 December, p. 7. , viewed 06 Feb 2020, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article187263650

POW Camp Order No. 13

2 Replies

February 1944

  • Prisoner of War Camp Order No.13 is published and circulated
  • Mariposa transports 1014 Italian prisoners of war from India to Melbourne
  • Ruys transports 2028 Italian prisoners of war from India: a group disembarks at Fremantle and the the remainder disembark at Melbourne.
  • Italian prisoners of war in Australia total 11051 plus a group of merchant seamen from Remo and Romolo who were first processed as internees and then reassigned as prisoners of war.  In 1941, 4947 had been sent directly from Middle East to Sydney. During 1943 and 1944 transports brought Italian POWs from India.

I have been blessed with much luck while researching Italian Prisoners of War.

I might be researching a topic or a PWCC or a specific POW and one statement or one document will lead me to another and then another and then another.

105

(National Archives of Australia)

The booklet ‘ Prisoners of War Camp Order No. 13’ is one such find. Dated 18th February 1944  it contains eight parts:

  1. Preliminary
  2. Prisoners of War Camps
  3. Maintenance of Discipline
  4. Health and Hygiene
  5. Communication by and with Prisoners of War
  6. Privileges of Prisoners of War
  7. Prisoners of War Awaiting Trial
  8. Unguarded Prisoners

The previous Prisoners of War Camp Orders No. 1 to 12 were repealed upon publication of No. 13.  These orders are of a general nature, as they are the guidelines for the operation of all prisoner of war camps in Australia.

However, more comprehensive and detailed explanations of the operations of prisoner of war and internment camps in Australia can be found with the links below:

The ‘History of Directorate of Prisoners of War and Internees 1939 – 1951‘ is an invaluable document regarding this period of history as is the section Employment of Enemy PW and Internees.

I have also compiled a list of Further Reading  with links to information for India, UK, Zonderwater South Africa, Egypt  and Australian states.