Interview with Amory Vane (When the war came to Australia)

Mr Amory Vane became a doctor after the war. He was a member of the Nackeroos a name adapted by Lieutenant Travers for the top secret North Australian Observation Unit (NAOU). This was a field security unit which liased with police and civilians across northern Australia. The unit's brief was to send out many dummy signal messages about traffic flow, to confuse the Japanese. They were to convince the Japanese that there was the equivalent of two divisions spread out through the north, with 6-10,000 men. In reality there were 300-400 men. Aboriginal trackers were relied on tremendously and their families tended to come along too. Horses had a vital role. The Knackeroos were very self-disciplined, had very little formal discipline. Two episodes of incursions by Japanese and Americans are recounted; isolation and its effect is discussed. The unit was sure the Japanese would bomb the refuelling depot at Drysdale WA, but this didn't eventuate. As a doctor, Amory Vane treated many repatriation patients, many of whom had nervous breakdowns: many of these were from Borneo. The public didn't understand their condition. Most soldiers had some sort of nervous reaction and it could take a decade to resolve their feelings. The battle of Balgowlah is mentioned and Christmas in 1942 at an Aboriginal mission near Wyndam is described.