Borneo: Secret Histories
Services Reconnaissance Department, 1 March 1945. Carter and Harrisson helped to produce this map.
The work of members of Z Special Unit in Borneo was to remain hidden under secrecy legislation for 30 years after the war; the men did not march on Anzac Day and rarely spoke of the events or met with members of their unit. The Secrecy Act was lifted in 1975, and in 1981 the Unit Association commissioned an official history which, however, was never published. Harrisson’s 1959 book, World within: a Borneo story, at the time was a rare source of information on the experiences of Australia’s Z Special Unit. Today there are several manuscripts, diaries and official documents publicly available – but the Secrecy Act had long-term implications for the collecting of records related to Z Special Unit. Few made their way into public collections, and little was published.
The Australian War Memorial is seeking donations of personal papers related to Australians who served in Z Special Unit. The Memorial has now published its collections of personal papers related to the Operation Semut reconnaissance party, which are available on our website. They include over 10,000 pages of Major Tom Harrisson’s personal papers; an account of operation Semut III by William Sochon; the memoir of Keith Barrie; and original maps that Jack Tredrea ”jumped with” on 25 March 1945. Harrisson also served during the Indonesian Confrontation, rallying 2,000 Dayaks to fight, and served as the curator of the Sarawak Museum.