GRIM HIDE-AND-SEEK

Evening Star, Issue 24291, 4 September 1942, Page 2

GRIM HIDE-AND-SEEK

AUSTRALIANS’ ESCAPE FROM JAPANESE (N.Z.P.A. Special Aust. Correspondent) SYDNEY, September 3. After 60 days of grim hide-and-seek with the Japanese in the jungles of the Netherlands East .Indies a party of Australians have reached safety. Several of the original iband died of sickness, exhaustion, and starvation, but about 80 reached Australia. All the men spent some time in hospital on arrival here. “ Food was a vital question, but the natives gave us rice and eggs, and so for the first three weeks we got along reasonably well,” said one member oi the party. “ Then sickness and hunger made inroads on our toiling band. Malaria and stomach trouble spread, possibly .because of the foul water wo were compelled todrink, and the situation grew steadily worse, and the change from the dry to the wot season made conditions even more trying. ‘‘The Japanese kept hunting for ns. but friendly natives informed us of the whereabouts of the enemy’s search parties. Wo suspect, however, that other natives told the, enemy of our whereabouts. For 150 consecutive meals we had rice only, and precious little of that. All of us lost weight—some as much as 4st—and towards the end even the slightest exertion would bring on a fresh bout of malaria. When men died wo scraped shallow graves with our steel helmets. It was a strange thing.” he concluded, ■ ■ that as our sufferings increased so the men organised themselves into religious groups for prayer, and we had our services every Sunday.”