SPIES & SHIPPING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 7 January 1941, Page 5

SPIES & SHIPPING

LEAKAGE TO ENEMY RAIDERS VIGOROUS ACTION IN AUSTRALIA , GREAT ROUND-UP PLANNED. NEW ZEALAND CO-OPERATION SOUGHT. ’. CANBERRA. January 6. The .Minister of the Navy. i Mr Hughes, announced that 'i he is seeking New Zealand's : eo-opcrai ion in a drive against I '' liftli column '’ activity. Be i will ask the .New Zealand fiovernnient to take part in an investigation ~f allegations Hiai shipping information is leaking- . from semi-Govern-i mem sources. ■ Mr Hughes will also investigate sug- | gestions that secret radio stations in j Australian territory may be sending inI formation to raiders. The possibility of l taking more precautions will be eonI sidered after discussions with the New I Zealand Government. i The Commonwealth authorities are i putting into operation secret plans for I the greatest roundup of spies and fifth j columnists in the history of Australia i and the Pacific. This was announced by Mr Hughes, following further start-. ' ling revelations of the information of; British shipping movements possessed! by enemy raiders. Mr Hughes will discuss with the] Naval Board the closing of avenues! through which information of a vital] ] nature may be transmitted to the on-’ I emy. He will particularly raise the fol-* lowing complaints. ' <ll Too much liberty is allowed; .crews of neutral ships when in Austra-’ linn ports, where it is possible for them [ to pick up information and radio it w' [ raiders as soon as they get to sea. (2) Neutral ships are allowed to enter Australian ports, and frequently sail past any warships that may be about. <3) Crews of neutral ships are allowed to roam al liberty about the waterfront, acquainting themselves with the names of ships anti their cargoes. from which they can get a fair idea of their! destination.

j i 4) Frequent proximity of neutral I ships on which Australian troops for overseas service are embarking. - Mr Hughes will investigate various e kinds of action to minimise at least o the possibility of neutral crews obtainy ing information about Australian ships ping while in port, •. Mr Hughes undertook to see whether 5 better control can be imposed over the f telegraphing. within Australia, of - names of ships, from friends who are s about to sail, and wish to send farewell messages. 3 Captains of enemy commerce raiders in the Pacific boasted to their prisoners 11 that they received detailed intelligence si of naval and merchant shipping movet ' ments. according to survivors landed f; at Emirau Island and now in Australia. , | Mr Hughes has indicated that it would r be dangerous to dismiss the reports at, j i Nazi bombast. ii The uncanny accuracy with which the raiders have intercepted victims; [ and escaped detection is considered t fair evidence that they are not operat-‘ I ing blindly. Unofficial deductions are] . that the raiders are getting precise information of secret routing and that] I they aro getting enough information to j give them an approximate idea of them ] victims' positions.

BOAST BY GERMAN. . In Brisbane, the quartermaster of, (the Rangitane Fidward Phillips, said, (that when he and the other survivors’ i of the sunken ships were left on Emi--1 rau Island, one of the Germans frankly boasted of his knowledge. “So long we'll see you on the on ;• s;i id the German, naming’ a liner well-known in the Now Zea- - * land trade, and giving the date on, ’ which it was scheduled t<> leave ths i Dominion this month. ; Phillips said that the men on the' I Rangitane were convinced that the in-’ ! formation leakage was from New Zea-; land. “The knowledge that the Nazisj | had could not possibly have been; j available to the num in the street, anti ■ I there will bo another Roger Casement; I story when the full facts are disclosed U j he said. Phillip.-; added that the survivors s 'were positive that Count von Luckneq J was not on the raiders, but many be-1 I lieved that his was the muster-tnmd■ J behind the commerce raids. The gem I , er.d impression was that von Buckner; J superintended the passage of the irod-. - ers in Australasian waters and t;i ; iw : raider captains were using charts pr - I pared by turn during his voyage m the; Seo Teufel. , During tin’ secret drive to clear ■ i spies and fifth cohinmists the autta . lies will also impr>'" upon l-w.d A < ■ 1 ; lr:d:mi citizens ‘he n»wd tighten ,o- -; themselves <<n diM’ossmg vital inform-i-j I 'lion, or L'it-‘ >-f it which might ceir.i-.* to “hem i Mr Hughes is taking the mU-rmato-. , - ;u> seri'Hisly th.it he h, - led the nav.d aulliorilw make an nve-diga’.: n< ' mt.» reports M eapUims of ’

■diip-. that there imi-t :■■■ i spy ■ *< w S P YIN G IN NEWZEA L A N D ‘ One survivor has made allegations that directly implicate someone m some organisation in New Zealand. This man. a high judicial officer, who. because of his official capacity, would not allow- his name to be pubHshed, laid that Nan officers on the Tokyo. Marti, one of the raiders, told him that they knew the exact contents of the Holmwood’s cargo as soon as she left for New Zealand on September 25. sAt-’EA .'e -r w'n n Li i« d w A ; "rid:.l ’•'■ ■' I” 1 id'-l •- >j, ♦ tV • . .i V■ i; , '■ (,■ *t f : *t> ’ ■ A. 4 4.. ■ ■i f , ... ...... r ‘ L’f F ’ .S'-" 1 ' ’. .I J J **.f SHOPPING DW FOR RAIDER VICTIMS. tI. i ’< 1 Z • - ’ ■ • t - . . ' K . ; .'■> i : - ■■, y- ■ ■ ' ■■“ : " f - ■Y, .

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