Abandoned and sacrificed, the tragedy of the Montevideo Maru, Kathryn Spurling
Type
Classification
1
Creator
1
Subject
9
- World War, 1939-1945 + Regimental histories -- Australia
- Montevideo Maru (Ship)
- World War, 1939-1945 + Campaigns -- Papua New Guinea -- Rabaul
- World War, 1939-1945 + Prisoners and prisons, Japanese
- World War, 1939-1945 + Prisoners and prisons, Australian
- Nonfiction
- Prisoners of war -- Australia
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Phillipines
- World War, 1939-1945 + Atrocities -- Papua New Guinea -- Rabaul
Author
1
Label
Abandoned and sacrificed, the tragedy of the Montevideo Maru, Kathryn Spurling
Language
eng
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 296-300)
resource.biographical
collective biography
Illustrations
mapsillustrationsportraits
Index
no index present
Literary form
non fiction
Main title
Abandoned and sacrificed
Nature of contents
bibliography
Responsibility statement
Kathryn Spurling
Sub title
the tragedy of the Montevideo Maru
Summary
Rabaul, New Guinea, is a tropical paradise, but between January and July 1942 it was a tragic and terrifying place. Hundreds of Australian defence force volunteers and civilians were massacred by the invading Japanese. Forced into the holds of the hellship Montevideo Maru, a further 1053 perished in Australiaâ s worst maritime disaster. On 22 June 1942, 845 military POWs and over 200 civilian internees left Rabaul on the Montevideo Maru, a freighter requisitioned by the Japanese navy, for Hainan, off the southern coast of China. On 1 July this vessel was torpedoed and sunk by the submarine USS Sturgeon close to Luzon, resulting in the deaths of all prisoners and internees on board. Most were barely adults, still too young to vote. All were forsaken and sacrificed by Australiaâ s government and military leaders. Decades of official denial and subterfuge have ensued, as families continue to fight for the truth and to understand why the Australian Government was so slow in admitting this ever happened
Incoming Resources
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