War and Beach

By Ken Gray

World War II as it happened in a tiny Queensland coastal town. The book is researched carefully using detailed war records and recollections of those who were here.

 

Much of this has been hidden from the world until now. Events at the breathtakingly beautiful tropical village of Mission Beach and on its nearby islands are quite surprising and somewhat appalling when viewed through a 2020 lens.

 

Dunk Island was a vital naval training ground for the US and Australian naval fleets and its secret airforce radar station was also a vital cog in the war. The district's beaches, islands, and rainforests were used for testing hideous chemical warfare weapons. This reveals harsh realities that would be familiar to many small towns that were prepared to do what it takes to help the allied forces win and what it was really like being so near to the action in the brutal Pacific War.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ken Gray
• Release date: Sep 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393312314

Ken Gray

This is Ken Gray's first book. He lives in the small town of Mission Beach in far north Queensland, Australia in a beautiful rainforest overlooking the Coral Sea. Having read every history written about the district he noted that the 1940s were entirely missing. Much of what happened in this district was hidden from view by censorship at one time but with dogged determination and skilled guidance from veteran war researcher, Peter Dunn, who created the fabulous Australia@War web pages, Ken uncovered the naked truth and unraveled our war mysteries. There are many small Queensland towns that made important contributions to the Allied war effort and most of their stories remain untold. It takes an enormous amount of research to discover the truth but now one more town has its war records accessible to future generations.

Book preview

Preface

This is the story of how a tiny town in North Queensland, Australia, stood alongside all the towns of USA and Australia and did everything possible and made a difference. Liberty was retained thanks to America’s intervention and to our fabulous Australian Defence Forces.

Every fleck of history counts, especially for a small town that has existed for little over a hundred years.

Among those who have decided that gods do not figure at all in their lives, many sustain a full and fearless love of life through the awe of nature and through a deeper understanding of our past and where we came from. To these people and others, capturing human and other histories has much value.

Personal bias and subconscious views and beliefs are difficult to avoid from the discourse. I have tried to be neutral yet will not avoid the influence of all of my accumulated opinions and mindsets.

John Henry Newman, in his fable, The Man and the Lion, cleverly shows how we inadvertently put a personal spin on events when we write history. The Man invited the Lion into his mansion and showed him his fine artworks depicting men and lions in heroic combat. The lions featured as an important tribe yet men created the art and the lions were always overcome. When the Lion finished his tour, the Man, or entertainer as described by Newman, asked him what he thought of the art. The Lion said, ‘Lions would have fared better, had lions been the artists.’

That story, in abbreviated form, is from the magical history by Thomas Cahill,¹ ‘How the Irish Saved Civilization’. Thomas eloquently describes the dilemma faced when writing a history: "In the course of this history, we shall meet many entertainers, persons of substance who have their story to tell, some of whom may believe that their story is all there is to tell. We shall be gracious and give them a hearing without disparagement. We shall even try to see things from their point of view. But every once in a while we shall find ourselves entertaining lions. At which moments, it will be every reader for himself."

History in the hands of a creative author with the silky skills of a Thomas Cahill, is both informative and entertaining. However, there are few authors with that level of ability. Histories can simply be a list or compendium of facts and events, as in the CD,² "Diary of World War II North Queensland." That is a useful source of information and makes no attempt to entertain the reader. At the other end of the spectrum, are works such as those by Thomas Cahill, which are informative and entertaining; even funny at times.

That is way beyond my basic writing skills, yet I have tried to make this history a little interesting and more than merely a list of events. The outcome is no thriller, yet the hope is that it provides a fair reflection of what happened in Mission Beach during the Pacific War and shows typically what so many small towns in Australia and USA did to contribute during the Pacific War.

Chapter 1|Enigma

This was incongruous.

Who could imagine a war reaching Mission Beach? One of the most peaceful places on the planet, nestled in ancient rainforests and cradled safely by the pristine Great Barrier Reef. Could battleships and bombers merely step in and take over these beautiful beaches, islands and forests? Yes. They did.

Cassowaries have the occasional quarrel and our residents enjoy their liberty and make an art form of fierce debates at times, but this is where you would expect to find naturalists, pacifists and artists rather than coldly analytical rear admirals and colonels with their war machines. Invited or not, they were here in numbers during the Pacific War. This war was highly visible and utterly real for Mission Beach.

During WWII, no battles were fought here or elsewhere in Australia, apart from the Japanese bombings at Darwin, Townsville, Broome and Horn Island, yet all three forces had a considerable presence here: Navy, Army and Air Force. Three military deaths occurred here and several injuries, some resulting in hospitalisation: mainly due to mustard gas testing.

Tropical rainforest recovers quickly. We’ve seen it heal in a flash after recent cyclones. Hence, the environmental wounds of war healed rapidly and events were soon blurred. That made our search for war evidence more difficult than expected.

The iridescent-blue Ulysses butterfly is a symbol of this part of the Cassowary Coast. Around 200 butterfly species live here or regularly visit: including the emerald green (male) or red and black (female) Cairns Birdwing. A similar diversity of birds enjoys the lush tropical rainforests. All sorts of critters make this rainforest and beach haven their own unique home.

The rainforests of Far North Queensland are estimated to be up to 150 million years old; surprising as it may seem, they are far older than the Amazon forests (55 million years old). This is a special place.

Within a 50 km radius of South Mission Beach, there are 29 forest-clad islands with more than 60 sandy beaches on these islands and the mainland. Some are pocket sized, merely metres long and some stretch for kilometres. Mission Beach itself is a 14 km long, broad reach of fine soft sand from Clump Point in the north to South Mission Beach, just short of the North Hull River.

The beach, forest and reef and island paradise we enjoy today is a growing tourist destination, offering visitors amazing natural beauty, rare peacefulness, stunning reef and rainforest experiences and authentic environmental and cultural interactions. Few residents or visitors would realise that this area played a small, yet critical part in helping the Allies win the Pacific War. The history, however short, needs to be dusted off, rediscovered and revealed as it should do in all towns involved so we never forget.

Chapter 2|Dad and Dave

Dave and his dad Ralph started this story.

Dave Nissen. Not the Snake Gully Dad and Dave, Mission Beach or El Arish’s own Dad and Dave.

Dave Nissen: has evidence.

If you are one of the few alive who can remember the popular war-time Aussie radio soapie, ‘Dad and Dave’ (1937-1953), then you probably know more about what happened in the war than most.

Dave’s a legend; in Mission Beach and right up to the tip of Cape York. There is a street here named after him in Wongaling. That is where he built a monster boat over many years; at the mouth of Wheatley Creek, beachside where he was watched closely by the resident croc.

He was born in Tully 4 September 1939 and has lived here for most of his nearly 80 years. Dave has endless exciting and funny tales to tell. We’ve heard many of them and we always wondered how many of these incredible stories were true. Most had to be true. I hoped so and decided to look into his war recollections and observations first. It would take years to relate the other unbelievable adventures and episodes in this man’s highly active and ever enquiring life. Few have lived their life so boldly.

I did not meet Dave’s dad, Ralph, yet expect he was, like his son, a larger-than-life character and an astute observer of people and nature who entertained all those around him. These guys are not at all similar to the struggling Snake Gully Dad and Dave characters from the Australian depression, even though Ralph lived through that tough period. Our Dad and Dave were self-made men who could turn their hand to almost any task or situation and thrive. Bold and brazen, not a hint of shyness or lack of confidence.

Ralph was incredibly handy and made a living by fixing bikes, radios and any old or broken gadgets. Dave can do anything hands-on too: electrical, diesel motors, stainless steel welding, reef diving. You name it; Dave can do it. He built a 65-foot boat on his own and nearly killed himself on the epoxy fumes. Undeterred, he then explored every inch of Cape York’s waterways and islands until he lost his boat in a fire. That did not faze Dave or stop the Cape excursions which continue today.

He is a highly experienced electrician and for many years ran the hydro-electric power station up the Tully River at Kareeya. Dave was Senior Operator Training and at one stage he was running all four of North Queensland’s power stations for the Northern Electric Authority of Queensland.

Dave was an infant in Brisbane with his mother during the war.³ They were among the evacuees and returned immediately after the war. Ralph was a member of the Volunteer Defence Corps (Q116018) acting as a coast-watcher at Mission Beach for the duration, so had seen everything there was to see. He acquainted his son David with events and showed him the evidence of what happened and where.

Dave was diving extensively, even before 1950 while at primary school, and was out on the ocean every spare minute with mates, island hopping and spearing fish. There he made many interesting discoveries of his own. Hence, between the memories shared by his father and his self-discoveries immediately after the war, Dave accumulated much knowledge of war events in the district.

While Dave is a legend, if it’s possible, his wife Noela is an even bigger legend in this district. Not that Noela could be described as ‘big.’ These days she is lucky to be more than 40 kg weight after many brave years of struggle with a serious illness that would have killed anyone else. Noela Nissen (nee Ronan) is not only very different to the Dad and Dave character, Mabel, who was dad’s choice of bride for Dave, but she is very different from Dave Nissen. Noela strictly adheres to the name, David, when referring to her husband and turns a blind eye to all the larrikin stuff going on around her, yet hears it all, nonetheless.

Noela Nissen qualified as a schoolteacher in Brisbane and went on to become a highly respected Principal at St Clare’s Catholic Primary School in Tully. Here we have an amazingly brave and accomplished woman with an Irish twinkle in her eye, much needed by the wife of David.

Noela Nissen, right, with her sister Marcia Courtice

Noela Nissen, right, with her sister Marcia Courtice.

One cannot help wondering what sort of reception a young Dave would have received if he had met Noela’s father. Unfortunately, the two did not meet as Mr Ronan died early in life. Apparently in those days, Dave was a man of few words and not the cheeky fellow of today. This was a highly successful union with two generations, all born in Tully, now making their unique and positive mark on this world.

Dave’s father was born in Sydney, ‘Rolph Boysen Nissen’. Dave’s mother, Ruby, was born in England and came to Australia when she was just 16 years old. Rolph’s parents emigrated to Australia from Denmark. He became a rabbit shooter in NSW and changed his name to an Aussie version, ‘Ralph’, to fit in with the locals. He came to North Queensland in 1936 with his brother to Lower Tully and ended up in El Arish.

Sometimes Dave speaks of Odin, the Norse god of wisdom, poetry, war, death and magic. He named his boat, ‘Odin’ and is quite proud of his Viking ancestry and can probably see himself in some of the exciting action of the Viking world where most of us would be glad we are not part of such scary events.

My wife, Thelma Gray is no big talker and, before coming to live in Mission Beach in 1993, I doubt that she had ever uttered a hard core curse. Meeting electrician Dave, who would wire her new house, was a cultural shock for Thelma. We went solar before the rest of the world started. Dave could do solar. Dave likes to make the girls blush with his risqué yarns. He explained, with delight, that there was a 10-point test to determine if you were a real North Queenslander. Among the ten commandments or qualifiers was one’s ability to use some words that were not in Thelma’s delicate lexicon.

As an owner-builder in NQ, Thelma soon passed that element of Dave’s, ‘Are You a Dinkum North Queenslander?’ test by adding a few short words to her vocab. Workers on-site seemed to understand that language well.

First impressions gave us little inclination of what an intelligent and deeply humane man Dave Nissen is. He has strong views on today’s world of political correctness and people rorting systems or misinforming debates such as reef conservation and the politics of power generation. Dave always stood by us in any travails and, when I was traipsing off interstate to work, he often fixed our solar power system and chatted to our schizophrenic diesel generator to restore power and keep Thelma sane.

Increasingly, we came to see that much of what Dave and Noela know of our history, after living in the region for more than 70 years, should be recorded. As my research into the district’s history deepened the lesson I quickly learned was not to dismiss any of the Nissen anecdotes lightly. Invariably, while at first glance some events seemed unlikely or were refuted by some war experts, Dave’s observations and recollections were found to be true.

Chapter 3|Mission Beach, Queensland

Our Quirky History

This Far North Queensland town, of just over 4,000