Beer bottle, atomic blast Hiroshima: William Patrick O'Keefe, Merchant Navy, HMAS Duntroon

A brown glass bottle most probably used for beer that has been fused and flattened towards the neck. It has raised Japanese characters around the top and the base of bottle as well as a symbol of a "K" overlapping a "B".

This beer bottle was collected in Hiroshima by William Patrick O’Keefe while serving in the Merchant Navy aboard MV Duntroon (HMAS Duntroon), a ship charted by the Royal Australian Navy from 1946 to 1949 for transport duties. O’Keefe had served in the Merchant Navy in the Second World War as a cook’s attendant.

The symbol of the ‘K’ overlapping the ‘B’ at the base of the bottle indicates that the bottle contained product of the Kirin Beer Company. The damage to this item was caused by the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945.

In the Allied occupation which followed the Second World War, Australians served as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) from February 1946 until the treaty in 1951 to assist with the demilitarisation and democratisation of Japan. Australian forces worked within the Hiroshima prefecture and day trips to the site were a common occurrence. With no understanding of the dangers of radiation in the area, Australians collected or purchased damaged items from the site as souvenirs to take home.

• Glass bottle, atomic blast Hiroshima: William Patrick O'Keefe, Merchant Navy, HMAS Duntroon