"Over There" with the AustraliansKnyvett, R. Hugh (Reginald Hugh)
History
"Over There" with the Australians
Knyvett, R. Hugh (Reginald Hugh)
World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, English
Australia has now added the late German colony Hermanlohe, or German
New Guinea, to the southern portion, making an Australian crown colony
of about two hundred and fifty thousand square miles. This was taken
by a force of Australian troops conveyed in Australian ships. I was
not fortunate enough to be a member of the expedition, but the
ultimatum issued to the German commandant resulted in the Australian
flag flying over the governor's residence at Rabaul within a few hours
of the appearance of the Australian ships.
It was soon evident to the Australians that this was intended to be a
German naval station and military post of great importance. Enough
munition, and accommodation for troops were there to show that it was
to be the jumping-off place for an attack on Australia. Such armament
could never have been meant merely to impel _Kultur_ on the poor,
harmless blacks with their blowpipes and bows and arrows.
Every Australian is determined that these of nature's children shall
not come again within reach of German brutality, but that they shall
know fair play and good government such as the British race everywhere
gives to the "nigger," having a sense of responsibility toward him that
the men of this breed cannot escape. It would almost seem that the
Almighty has laid the black man's burden on the shoulders of the
Briton, as he was the first to abolish slavery, and no other people
govern colored peoples for the sole benefit of the governed.
In every British colony other nations can trade on equal terms, and
millions of pounds sterling are squeezed from the British public every
year to provide for the well-being of native peoples, worshipping
strange deities and jabbering a gibberish that would sound to an
American like a gramophone-shop gone crazy! While other nations make
their colonies _pay_ for the protection they give them, the British
people pay very heavily for the privilege (?) of sheltering and
civilizing these far-flung, strange peoples. No true friend of the
black man can consider the possibility of handing him back to the
cruelty of Teutonic "forced Kultur."
The most heartless of Japanese gardeners could never twist and torture
a plant into freak beauty more surely than the German system of
government would compress the governed into a sham civilization.
Australia would fight again sooner than that a German establishment
should offend our sense of justice and menace our peace near our
northern shores.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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