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Heroes before Gallipoli : Bita Paka and that one day in September
Seven months before troops landed at Gallipoli, a sailor from Melbourne became Australia's first casualty of WWI. He was shot on a narrow dirt road in the dense jungle of east New Britain in what was then known as German New Guinea.
138 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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May 12, 2014
At a recent ANZAC memorial service the events detailed in this book were spoken of and I was intrigued enough to follow up on it.
A brief history lesson: WWI was declared between Great Britain & Germany on August 4, 1914. On August 6, 1914 Great Britain requested that Australia put together a force to remove German wireless stations situated in German New Guinea (this consisted of the north-eastern part of New Guinea and several nearby island groups. The mainland part of German New Guinea and the nearby islands of the Bismarck Archipelago and the North Solomon Islands are now part of Papua New Guinea).
The Australian Navel and Military Expeditionary Force (ANMEF), made up entirely of 2000 volunteers, landed at Rabaul on September 11, 1914 and immediately engaged with German forces and disabled the wireless station. Three Australians died that first day and are the first Australian casualties of WWI. Over the next few days as other wireless stations were also attacked a total of six men died. The overall result of this campaign was the succession of German New Guinea to Australia.
While these casualties do not compare to the sheer scale of losses experienced at Gallipoli, "Heroes Before Gallipoli" presents a very human tale. I think that's what I liked best about this book. Modern History was never something that engaged my interest yet this book goes far to share the personal stories of the two men first wounded (and who later died) in that first engagement - Able Seaman Billy Williams and Captain Brian Pockley (surgeon).
There were a number of interesting tidbits which this book shared - the fact that in early (failed) attempts to settle Port Breton in German New Guinea a group of Italian emigrants appealed to Australia for assistance and were later settled near Woodburn on the NSW north coast at what is now known as "New Italy" (the cafe there serves fabulous food and coffee and the museum is quite interesting).
I came away from reading this book knowing more about Australia's involvement in WWI than I ever learned at school (or since). Given that most of Australia's focus of WWI is on the events of Gallipoli and the ANZACs and later the events along the Western Front in France and Belgium, it is worthy to remember this very first engagement and consider the gains and losses made so early on in the campaign.
August 4, 2014 sees the world commemorate 100 years since World War I. April 25, 2015 will commemorate 100 years since Gallipoli. In the midst of this it is worthwhile to commemorate also the events of September 11, 1914.
A brief history lesson: WWI was declared between Great Britain & Germany on August 4, 1914. On August 6, 1914 Great Britain requested that Australia put together a force to remove German wireless stations situated in German New Guinea (this consisted of the north-eastern part of New Guinea and several nearby island groups. The mainland part of German New Guinea and the nearby islands of the Bismarck Archipelago and the North Solomon Islands are now part of Papua New Guinea).
The Australian Navel and Military Expeditionary Force (ANMEF), made up entirely of 2000 volunteers, landed at Rabaul on September 11, 1914 and immediately engaged with German forces and disabled the wireless station. Three Australians died that first day and are the first Australian casualties of WWI. Over the next few days as other wireless stations were also attacked a total of six men died. The overall result of this campaign was the succession of German New Guinea to Australia.
While these casualties do not compare to the sheer scale of losses experienced at Gallipoli, "Heroes Before Gallipoli" presents a very human tale. I think that's what I liked best about this book. Modern History was never something that engaged my interest yet this book goes far to share the personal stories of the two men first wounded (and who later died) in that first engagement - Able Seaman Billy Williams and Captain Brian Pockley (surgeon).
There were a number of interesting tidbits which this book shared - the fact that in early (failed) attempts to settle Port Breton in German New Guinea a group of Italian emigrants appealed to Australia for assistance and were later settled near Woodburn on the NSW north coast at what is now known as "New Italy" (the cafe there serves fabulous food and coffee and the museum is quite interesting).
I came away from reading this book knowing more about Australia's involvement in WWI than I ever learned at school (or since). Given that most of Australia's focus of WWI is on the events of Gallipoli and the ANZACs and later the events along the Western Front in France and Belgium, it is worthy to remember this very first engagement and consider the gains and losses made so early on in the campaign.
August 4, 2014 sees the world commemorate 100 years since World War I. April 25, 2015 will commemorate 100 years since Gallipoli. In the midst of this it is worthwhile to commemorate also the events of September 11, 1914.
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