Whereabouts Unknown

by Margaret Reeson

One day in late June 1942, over a thousand men were taken from an internment camp in Rabaul, New Guinea. They were never seen again. Questions surrounding their fate have continued until the present.

Many decades later, questions are still being asked by bereaved families and their friends. What really happened on that fateful day? How could such a tragedy, with a loss of Australian life twice that of the whole Vietnam War, be left forgotten and unresolved? Was there government incompetence? Is ‘friendly fire’ by a US submarine against the prison ship Montevideo Maru a sufficient explanation?

This is the story of the wives and families who waited, not knowing whether their men were dead or alive – of despair and false hope, of somehow carrying on at home. It is also the story of a handful of Australian nurses who disappeared from New Britain, beyond reach or help – and survived in captivity in Japan. It is based on original wartime records and first-hand memories of those who lived that experience.

511 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1993

Reviews

[Joan Reid]

Excellent, true story, about those who disappeared after the fall of Rabaul in 1942, and the women who waited. Have loaned it to many friends; shared it with Family History Group and they bought about 10 copies. Recently loaned to a new found cousin and she realised that she had a family connection to the author. Very encouraging for Family History Researchers in Australia.

[Pam Ela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sstory of Methodit Missionaries in New Guinea during WW@