LOCATING THE HIDDEN KOMET

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 136, 4 March 1919, Page 5

LOCATING THE HIDDEN KOMET

I WHITEMAN AND HIS WORK - AN ECHO OP THE WAR j Despite Germany's frepent assertion as to ner. 6uiprise at England coming mv to the war, in German New Guinea seal- \ ed orders received Bjonths ahead of the V actual declaration provided for every ' movement of German ships of war in the 1 Pacific,' for the military duties of every 1 German planter and trader, with arms i and munitions, trenches, and battleplaus, to be in complete readiness-to meet the 1 only foe possible then in the far 'Pacific waters, Australian ships, writes Thomas J. M'Mahon, F.R.G.S., F.E.C.1., in the ' Sydney "Sun." *This nnvy .was, however, 'too prompt,-German calculations wore • ■ upset, and their Pacifio territory seized, while vet they were sneering at the . con- ' teniptible" navy of. the .Commonwealth, and preparing for the invasion that '■■ would" make Australia a dependency of \ Germany. "One 6hell into the heart oi • Sydney, and the 3ee3 was done," they paid. Instead, with only the loss of six gallant-.sailoM, killed'by treachery, and J - not in fiyht, the Australians, in less than \ a week,'had put the (ierman Governor i to flight, and.nad.set up an administration which to this wry, day. is notable .', for its. tact,. fairness, and progressiveQf all the incidents that might be told of Australian prowess, • the taking ■: of the wireless at Bita Paka, Herberts- : hohe, is certainly one of true British ■ ddg»edness and pluck, against odds and conditions that might rationally have been considered impossible. ■ This par- ' ticular wireless station was reckoned by !■ the Germans the finest'end'most powerful in the Southern Hemisphere, hidden : ' away on high land, end approached with : - difficult}' because of art almost impenetrable juhglo which 6irrounded it. In t this jungle, along the narrow route used by the-Germans for,the bringing in of .! food supulies, hundreds of trained Ger- ' man soldiers were" swmrely ambushed, while 600 or 700 native soldiery, fuliy armed, roamed in the thickest spots of ; I the jungle. ....'' ; In these days to visit the scene of the encounter and note the trees embedded by bullets and indented by bullet holes, it seems miraculous that a handful of ' men dared so foolhardy a deed, and more wonderful still that oue'of them ever returned alive. The heroic band actually cut its way into.the jungle, routed the native 6oldiers in. two brief skirmishes, and fell upon tho hidden Germans with a swiftness of movement and tactics that absolutely demoralised them, the capture and silencing of the wireless: taking just six hours. In German Now Guinea'to-day .the Germans declare that they thought that station jmpreg- •. liable. To have fallen in a few hours was the final blow that'crushed, all.re- .'■ bellion out of them, and they submitted to the new order without further ' opposition. The capture of the Komet is tho next > item of pluck and adventure. The Ger- ' man Governor's yacht- then called; the ■ "Komet, but now H.M.A.S. Una, w»s car- -, rying a secret and hasty message "some- '■ where" in the Pacific, leaving Eabaul the very day before the declaration of ■i To the British Cononl, Mr.. B. Jolley, and the one.other Britisher.in Eabaul, Mr. S. A. AVhiteman, a.trader, on the friendliest terms .wlthUhe German's, this t .sudden departure of the Komet excited much suspicion, and the next day (Aut gust i, 19U), the declaration of war was not a great surprise. ... . And here might be told the treatment ' that was meted out to these two Britishers that very day whon the ■ wireless 1 flashed the news' of war. The British. Consul, with Mr. 'JVhiteman, was cnter- . taining at midday "Kai-ai" some Ger- ' man officers; All were in th? act of .toasting', with glasses of German lager, the usual success to the rich territory of German New Guijiea, when.., official rushed up the steps. '' .-.-■.. In an instant, the friendly attitude of ! the German officials towards their British hosts turned to bitter invective and insult.. Ther dashed the glasses away torciblv seized. Jollev ahd.Wliiteman, and dragged them with.mnny oaths and.insults

They were promptly sentenced,to-;in-ternment. No time was even given for collecting a change- of clothing or arranging any. business affairs. They ■were hurried off to their first prison, a native-made church of one-of tho German missions, five miles <out of the town, and 6lept the first night tormented by rata and. snakes. The next, day. their properties were confiscated, and to sliow a real touch of HTitunshness they were parted. Jollcy was sent off in.a motor lugger, to tho far-away end of .New' Britain, to be imprisoned in the common "Calaboose," or native gaol. It is told that -while there, and during the first night of his internment, he fell in with a. German, evidently a. sport, And after a.night at poker wonidßl7s. . The Ger- - man settled by - cheque, saw it was honoured, and paid in gold and silver the very next morning before 10 o'clock.

Whitenian was not so kindly treated. He knew both German and the witive languages well, and this made him a dangerous person for picking up information. He was sent off to a remote mission out-fetation on the north cna«'t, to be given -whatever he wanted, but tn be kept in strict Ration. By a trick of. feigning sickness, ho got in'touch with one of his own'faithful native servants, who told him of the approach of the Australian Navy. After a. few days he was brought back, to be interned at the German. Governor's house in' Rabaul, but one day,'in watching some signalling that was fairing place between the shore and.a German warship, and -which contained some silly joke about the "might of .the Australian Navy," Whiteman laughed in derision of the German ambitions, showing that he understood the signals. This Was too much for his German guards, and he was promptly packed off by a, night journey to the hill-lands in the heart of New Britain.

Just about this time the Australian ships had come upon the scene. Whiteman, owing to his popularity among the natives, kept in touch with events, and the moment the Australian Administration -was set up in Rabaul, he contrived to send a message of his whereabouts to the Australian Administrator, with the happy result that he was soon liberated. Shortly afterwards the position of Jolly was discovered and ho, too, was set free. During all this time the gunboat Komet was very active, far tco active, for a; Governor's private yacht, and as transpired afterwards, was really busy attending the German warships hiding among the islands around the German territory, feeding them with information as well as food. Her exact whereabouts, wid her exact place of hiding, were baffling the Australian naval authorities. It was realised that all wireless stations having been silenced, she was undoubtedly conveying information both to the German ships and the German planters and tradera, and that until she was captured or sunk, the Administration would have .trouble. At. last the vigilance of the Australian warships made the position too hot for a continuance of the German ships anywhere in tho same waters, .and they suddenly disappeared, to reappear, as the • whole world knows, on the South American coast, to meet their just doom at .the Falklands. The Komet disappeared completely, but her wireless 'was, constantly' at work, and in- a marvellous way.the Germans were made cognisant of every movement of the Australian Navy, and were still getting news of the conditions in Europe. Whiteman, shrewd-little man that he was, determined to make ude of the influence he had with the natives. The result was that within a week every ■tribe of natives along the coasts of the islands, wild as well as civilised, was secretly engaged in seeking the Komct's hiding place. The Australian ships had scanned overy mile of the coasts, examined every opening, but without . success. Whiteman,. as, a civilian, was not taken into official confidence, but he held his peace, and worked steadily at his plans, for he had the greatest faith in the search of tho natives. Weeks went by, and nothing came to light, then one day a faithful louseboy handed his master just a small piece of stfolt, with some strange cuts or notches on it. It was a native, letter from a far distant tribe. Whiteman

understood, took counsel with his houseboy and-the native messenger, and the secret of tie hiding place of the cunning Kemet was out at last. But the authorities were not satisfied, would not listen b) Whiteman's story. "How could a. civilian," they said, "know what tho naval officers failed to knowP" It seemed as if his efforts were to be all in vain. The assertiveness of Whiteman, and his earnestness to show that he did know something, eventually attracted tho attention of the Administrator, and after consultation it was decided that a small motor launch with one small gun should be got. ready, and with a naval officer in charge, Captain Jackson (since killed during the war in the North Sea), and a crow of natives, should set out to the little bav, to prove if the Komet was there. Included in the crew, was Whiteman's house-boy, who was destined to play a verv important part. _ The long-looked-for vessel was in the bay, but many hours of the most dilirent <earch failed to locate her, arid it had been decided to give up and return, when a strango thing happened. _ The Germans of German Now Guinea are particularly'fond of a dish made of sucking pig and a certain wild fruit whicli semis forth a strong strange odour when being cooked. The keen nostrils of the house-boy smfled su,p.ciously at first, and then assuredly, as 1,3 Cognised the presence of his popular dish somewhere, the peeulwi odour being wafted-from a thick jungle true, pig or their fondness ior it gave the Germans away. It was the-hour of the mid-day meal and he motor launch steered straight on the track of the cooked pig, am! lo! the party was gazing on tho outlines of the Komet, under a remarkable covering ot .vines, staghorhs, and bananas and innumerable dark-green shrubs. In the most skilful and complete manner tho vessel was franc stem to-stern, from mast-tip to waterline, festooned and hidden under jungle vines.. So securely .was she covered that evidently it was, not considered uccessarv to keep watch. The little launch approached unseen, and the naval officer and Whiteman were on board, to tho instant panic of the German officers and crew, who p amly showed they.were much astonished. ._ Captain Moeller, the,. German in charge, was much surprised, and came out of his cabin, his face in a,lather for shaving, a shaving brush m one hand, a razor in the other. He no sooner clapped his eyes on Whiteman than he roared in. rage: . ■ "I have to thank you for this, Whitey but never mind, I will get even with " He surrendered, however, without much argument, under the belief that this ono naval man and Whiteman and the native crew of the launch were supported by some of the big ships of tho Australian Navy just;outside, the bay. Allowing him to 'think so, Captain Jackson, after a great deal of cutting and hacking to free the ship from tho shrubs, quietly steamed away to Babaul Harbour, where the German's were taken prisoners, and sent eventually to the internment camp in New South AVales. When Captain Moeller afterwards learned how easily they had been captured, and that there were no ]>ig warships in the vicinity, his rago was unbounded, and he swore then that if ever he laid his hands on he would "screw his neck." The Komet proved a valuable catch, for sho had many interesting records of her yoyagings, no doubt to appear in. German histories of ~the war, and also a very valuable cargo of champagne, her'fairly large saloon being crowded with coses of this wine.

At present German New Guinea is prospering, for revenues under the Australian administration have doubled, and the plantations are most fruitful and profi table. According to tho terms of occupation, faithfully maintained by the Australians, this German territory is still German in ownership and governed by German laws, military regulations being necessary only, to ensure. order for the successful administration. An Australian Judge sils in the court and dispenses German justice, but with a 'British fairness that is giving a great satisfaction to German litigants. The Germans in all their offers of peace have never once been willing to sacrifice their South Sen colonies, for the good reason that besides being territories of incalculable richness in varied resources, they were excellent places strategically, the first step to their fondest dream of ambition, .the ownership of the.-vast Commonwealth of Australia. •