limousines whisked Forde, MacArthur and the military
entourage off to the Menzies Hotel.
‘My Chief of Staff and senior officers have
briefed me on the situation here in Australia, Deputy Prime
Minister,’ MacArthur said later in informal discussions with Forde.
‘In the very near future, naval vessels and airplanes, fighting men
and weapons of war will be arriving in Australian waters and soon
we’ll be pushing the Japanese back, island by island, from your
country’s doorstep. Just how soon we get our hands on the necessary
will depend on how loudly we make ourselves heard in Washington. It
will be vital in the days, weeks and months ahead that your
government and my command work in complete unison.’
The words were music to Forde’s ears. ‘You
can expect every cooperation from the Australian government, sir,’
he said quickly. ‘As soon as you get settled into your headquarters
here in Melbourne, I’d like to make arrangements for you to travel
to Canberra to meet the Prime Minister and address the war
cabinet.’
‘I’ll be ready whenever you are,’
MacArthur said. ‘ We have no time to waste.’
‘Excellent, General. I’ll get things
organized.’
*
After his discussion with MacArthur, Forde
was driven to the offices of the Australian chiefs of staff. As
soon as he arrived, one of his personal assistants, Professor Bill
Stanner, took his arm and escorted him to a third floor meeting
room. Inside the room, the Australian chiefs of staff were gathered
around a conference table.
‘My apologies for being late, gentlemen,’
Forde said as he took his seat at the head of the table. He nodded
to an officer at the other end. ‘Shall we begin, Lieutenant-Colonel
Wake?’
The officer rose to his feet. ‘As you
gentlemen are all aware, as Deputy Director of Military
Intelligence, I was asked to lead a delegation to the Northern
Territory recently to look into national security matters there.’
Wake paused and looked somberly at the faces of the men around the
table. ‘Gentlemen,’ he continued. ‘I’m afraid what we found in the
Top End is to say the least, alarming. We gathered a great deal of
evidence which points to large scale pre-war espionage operations
by the Japanese. It became obvious to us that the enemy has
penetrated deep into the hearts and minds of the Aborigines,
promising to drive the white race out of their country and restore
to them their rightful ownership of the land. I have no need to
tell anyone in this room of the enormous benefits an alliance with
Aborigines would bring to an invading enemy, especially with regard
to local knowledge, scouting and tracking, to say nothing of the
possibility of arming the blacks to fight against us.’
‘Something like that couldn’t be done
overnight,’ one officer interjected. ‘How long has this kind of
thing been going on?’
‘For a long time it seems,’ Wake replied. ‘We
believe the enemy has recently dropped agents by parachute in
Arnhem Land and elsewhere in the north to make contact with
militant Aborigines who have been under the influence of Japanese
infiltrators for months, perhaps even years. From our inquiries we
are convinced that Japanese commercial fishing vessels visiting our
northern shores in the past, were manned by Japanese naval
personnel and spies who, over a period of time, have won over many
of the native people. At the same time they have probably produced
better charts of our northern waters and rivers than we have
ourselves.’
There was a murmur of surprise from around
the table and raised eyebrows from the Naval Chief of Staff.
‘British Admiralty charts are generally
accepted as the best in the world,’ Wake continued, ‘but many of
the charts we use today were prepared by Matthew Flinders, nearly a
hundred and fifty years ago. Many areas have never been charted at
all. In the event of an invasion, we must assume the Japanese would
expect to move large concentrations of troops overland and on
entourage off to the Menzies Hotel.
‘My Chief of Staff and senior officers have
briefed me on the situation here in Australia, Deputy Prime
Minister,’ MacArthur said later in informal discussions with Forde.
‘In the very near future, naval vessels and airplanes, fighting men
and weapons of war will be arriving in Australian waters and soon
we’ll be pushing the Japanese back, island by island, from your
country’s doorstep. Just how soon we get our hands on the necessary
will depend on how loudly we make ourselves heard in Washington. It
will be vital in the days, weeks and months ahead that your
government and my command work in complete unison.’
The words were music to Forde’s ears. ‘You
can expect every cooperation from the Australian government, sir,’
he said quickly. ‘As soon as you get settled into your headquarters
here in Melbourne, I’d like to make arrangements for you to travel
to Canberra to meet the Prime Minister and address the war
cabinet.’
‘I’ll be ready whenever you are,’
MacArthur said. ‘ We have no time to waste.’
‘Excellent, General. I’ll get things
organized.’
*
After his discussion with MacArthur, Forde
was driven to the offices of the Australian chiefs of staff. As
soon as he arrived, one of his personal assistants, Professor Bill
Stanner, took his arm and escorted him to a third floor meeting
room. Inside the room, the Australian chiefs of staff were gathered
around a conference table.
‘My apologies for being late, gentlemen,’
Forde said as he took his seat at the head of the table. He nodded
to an officer at the other end. ‘Shall we begin, Lieutenant-Colonel
Wake?’
The officer rose to his feet. ‘As you
gentlemen are all aware, as Deputy Director of Military
Intelligence, I was asked to lead a delegation to the Northern
Territory recently to look into national security matters there.’
Wake paused and looked somberly at the faces of the men around the
table. ‘Gentlemen,’ he continued. ‘I’m afraid what we found in the
Top End is to say the least, alarming. We gathered a great deal of
evidence which points to large scale pre-war espionage operations
by the Japanese. It became obvious to us that the enemy has
penetrated deep into the hearts and minds of the Aborigines,
promising to drive the white race out of their country and restore
to them their rightful ownership of the land. I have no need to
tell anyone in this room of the enormous benefits an alliance with
Aborigines would bring to an invading enemy, especially with regard
to local knowledge, scouting and tracking, to say nothing of the
possibility of arming the blacks to fight against us.’
‘Something like that couldn’t be done
overnight,’ one officer interjected. ‘How long has this kind of
thing been going on?’
‘For a long time it seems,’ Wake replied. ‘We
believe the enemy has recently dropped agents by parachute in
Arnhem Land and elsewhere in the north to make contact with
militant Aborigines who have been under the influence of Japanese
infiltrators for months, perhaps even years. From our inquiries we
are convinced that Japanese commercial fishing vessels visiting our
northern shores in the past, were manned by Japanese naval
personnel and spies who, over a period of time, have won over many
of the native people. At the same time they have probably produced
better charts of our northern waters and rivers than we have
ourselves.’
There was a murmur of surprise from around
the table and raised eyebrows from the Naval Chief of Staff.
‘British Admiralty charts are generally
accepted as the best in the world,’ Wake continued, ‘but many of
the charts we use today were prepared by Matthew Flinders, nearly a
hundred and fifty years ago. Many areas have never been charted at
all. In the event of an invasion, we must assume the Japanese would
expect to move large concentrations of troops overland and on
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