Fresh challenges for the Freames

Harry Freame Jn with his mother 1937. This is the fifteenth in a series on Australia's early intelligence activities, the eleven on the life of Harry Freame.

As the international scene darkened in the late 1930, the Freame family faced a new set of problems.

Things had been going so well. Harry Jnr had won a bursary to study at the technical college in Sydney, working during the day and studying at night.

A 1937 photo of Harry Jnr with his mother from the Sheila Goodyear collection shows her pride in him. Harry Jnr is wearing his Armidale High blazer with its prefect’s badge, while his mother beams at the camera.

Grace, too, was doing well at school with the family planning to send her to secondary school at Arnidale High.

In June 1939, May Freame became ill. On the Wednesday night 23 August 1939, Harry Snr caught the train from Kentucky to Sydney to meet a lady friend and missionary from Japan who had worked with his sister Grace. This is one of the few references we have to Harry’s Japanese family.

May had been unwell, but insisted Harry go because the meeting had already been delayed.

Next morning, Thursday 24 August, May was again ill but got young Grace off to school. Just after Grace left, May had two heart attacks. She was alone, but was finally found by a salesman and taken to St Elmo’s Hospital in Uralla.

 The news reached Harry at his son’s place where he was staying. He rushed home. May was very sick and finally died at St Elmo’s Hospital on 7 September 1939.

Writing home, Harry Jnr said that May had been suffering from severe diabetes. Neither she nor the family knew how ill she was.

The problem was that “she would have nothing to do with doctors and was afraid of having to go to hospital.” Looking at May’s earlier history, we can perhaps understand why.

Harry Jnr then outlined their plans. His father was completely broken up: “next year we plan, overseas circumstances permitting, to live in Sydney and sell our own fruit, having a manager on the orchard and Grace will go away to Armidale High school and the Church of England’s Girls’ Hostel.   

He concluded: “we are having a very lean time at the moment but hope things will improve.”

By December 1939, plans had shifted again. Writing to the English family, Harry Snr said that Grace was still to board so that she could study at Armidale High, but that Harry Jnr had come home to the farm because he, Harry Snr, had accepted a job with the Australian military.

This is the first reference we have to the next and last stage in Harry’s life, one that would be as shrouded in mystery as all those that had gone before.

Note to readers: This post appeared as a column in the Armidale Express Extra on 22 May 2019. I am repeating the columns here with a lag because they are not all on line outside subscription. You can see all the Belshaw World and History Revisited/History Matters columns by clicking here for 2009, here for 2010, here for 2011, here for 2012, here for 2013, here for 2014, here for 2015,  here for 2016, here  2017, here 2018, here 2019   

Nation unprepared for threat of war

War worries: The German invasion of Poland and the resulting war in Europe found Australia poorly equipped to respond at a time when worries about Japan were growing.This is the fourteenth in a series on Australia's early intelligence activities, the tenth on the life of Harry Freame.  

As the 1930s wound to a close, the international scene continued to darken.

In July 1937, full-scale war broke out between Japan and China. The Japanese achieved initial success capturing Shanghai and Nanking, the second with a degree of brutality that still scars Sino-Japanese relations.

In Europe, both Mussolini and Hitler were pursuing expansionist policies.

Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935 although both countries were members of the League of Nations. Later, in April 1939, Italy seized Albania.

In March 1938, Germany annexed Austria then placed pressure on Czechoslovakia to cede the Sudetenland. In September 1938 this was agreed to under the Munich Agreement on the basis that Germany would make no more territorial claims.

It quickly became clear that Hitler had further territorial ambitions. Now greatly alarmed, the United Kingdom and France guaranteed their support for Polish independence. When Germany invaded Poland, Britain declared war on 1 September 1939. Australia followed suit.

The country was ill equipped to fight a war, less prepared than it had been in August 1914. The poorly equipped Army had a small permanent cadre of 3,000 men plus 80,000 part time militiamen. The Air Force had 246 aircraft, few of them modern. The Navy was in a better position, but was still small.

These problems had been foreseen by, among others, David Drummond, then NSW Minister for Education as well as Member for Armidale. 

In the second half of 1936, Drummond had been on a ministerial tour of Europe and North America. This included a visit to Germany where he visited technical institutions and watched them training glider pilots.

Already convinced of the importance of airpower, Drummond argued for urgent action on his return.  His trip report painted a frightening picture,

Quoting T.W. Leech of Sydney University, it suggested that for defence purposes Australia needed a minimum of 400 first line aircraft with a further 100 training machines. To construct and maintain such a fleet would require 4,000 mechanics and forty aeronautical engineers.

However, as at 31 December 1935 there were only 333 aircraft registered in Australia, there were only 1099 pilots and only 956 aircraft mechanics. Even if aeronautical training was expanded immediately, it would take some years to train the necessary staff.

Rearmament had finally begun, but to a Commonwealth Government worried about Japan as well as Germany, there was considerable reluctance to commit limited resources to Europe.

Here the Government had another problem, one that would bring Harry Freame back into the frame. There were very few Japanese speakers available. 

Note to readers: This post appeared as a column in the Armidale Express Extra on 15 May 2019. I am repeating the columns here with a lag because they are not all on line outside subscription. You can see all the Belshaw World and History Revisited/History Matters columns by clicking here for 2009, here for 2010, here for 2011, here for 2012, here for 2013, here for 2014, here for 2015,  here for 2016, here  2017, here 2018, here 2019   

Japan's Empire a threat

Shanghai 1932: Chinese 19th Route Army defends against Japanese invasion. This is the thirteenth in a series on Australia's early intelligence activities, the ninth on the life of Harry Freame.  

While the Freame family was absorbed in the day-to-day rhythms of life in the Kentucky of the 1930s, the world was changing in ways that would bring Harry back to his old life and have tragic consequences for them all. 

Japan had entered the First World War with a clear objective, the creation of an empire to rival that of the European powers and the US.

Prior to the War, Japan had added Taiwan (1895) and Korea (1910) to its Empire. The War gave it the German holdings in China and the Marianas, Caroline and Marshall Islands in the Pacific that had been part of German New Guinea.

Japan had not finished. In 1931, it invaded and conquered Northeast China (Manchuria), establishing a puppet state, Manchukuo, with the last Manchu Emperor of China, Puyi, as official head of state.

On 28 January 1932 came what is called the 28 January or first Shanghai incident.

Anti-Japanese feeling had been rising. On January 18, five Japanese Buddhist monks, members of an ardently nationalist sect in Shanghai, were severely beaten. The police response caused anti-Japanese rioting.

On 28 January Japan responded with military force. After heavy fighting against Chinese forces, the Japanese imposed their will. In a League of Nations brokered truce, the Chinese Government was forced to withdraw all Chinese troops, making Shanghai a demilitarised zone.

This Japanese victory sent shock waves around the world.

It was the first time that carrier aircraft had been used to bomb a city. An inferior force measured by numbers had been able to triumph. And in so doing, an entire international naval fleet based at Shanghai had been bottled up by Japanese blockade.

In January 1934, an Imperial Naval conference was held in Singapore to consider the growing Japanese threat. Australia was represented.

There were at least  two ironies about this conference.

The first was that Japanese intelligence had improved to the point that two of their spies were able to send every detail to Tokyo. The second was that British signal intelligence had also improved to the point that they were able to decode the spies’ reports!

Some action would follow, although it was too slow. Again, the Australian Government dragged its heels.

Australia saw a threat, but it wanted the British and the other Dominions and colonies to pay for the intelligence activities required to monitor the threat. That would prove a costly error. 

Note to readers: This post appeared as a column in the Armidale Express Extra on 8 May 2019. I am repeating the columns here with a lag because they are not all on line outside subscription. You can see all the Belshaw World and History Revisited/History Matters columns by clicking here for 2009, here for 2010, here for 2011, here for 2012, here for 2013, here for 2014, here for 2015,  here for 2016, here  2017, here 2018, here 2019   

A brief period of stability and success for the Freame family as the clouds gather

Boarders at St Johns Hostel, Armidale, 1937.Back row: F R Allen (Warden), W (Bill) Peters, - McGlauchlan, I Thompson, H Conway, R (Bob) McLean, R (Bob) Jack, J S Keogh, B (Barry) Cook, K (Ken) Bowman, C (Colvin) Churches, D (David) Marr, - Morrison, L (Laurie) Barnes, B (Bruce) McKenzie, - McRae, S (Stauby) Baker Third row: D Spencer, J B Ivor, Bruce-Smith, W (Wal) Sabine, - Godfrey, J (Jim) Munro, D Hall, J (Canary) Woodhouse, H (Harry) Freame Jnr, I (Ian) Ferris, R Crawford, J (Jack) Thompson, C (Charlie) Sourri, J (Jim) Morrison, D Ferris, C (Chicka) Henderson. Second row: E (Edward) King, M (Max) Virtue, A (Austin) Kimball, B (Basil) Virtue, K (Ken) Wall, J (John) Millett, F Kerr, - Roper, Canon Dickens, Matron, Dr Drummond, R (Bob) Gray, R L Waugh, R (Ross) Clark, P (Peter) Capel, W (Wal) Samuels, R (Rex) Hobden, - McGee. Front row: R (Ron) Green, M (Malcolm) Hawke, I A (Ian) Clarke, A (Allan) Gray, J (John) Hays, A G Thomas, N (Norm) Melick, D Hays, J Rolands, A J Jameson, D Dowe, J E (Jas) Barnes, A R Keohan, C R (Clinga) Gibson, R (Ron) Gray.

This is the twelfth in a series on Australia's early intelligence activities, the eight on the life of Harry Freame.  

Following May Freame’s return to Kentucky, she seems to have settled back into local life. Initially Josephine remained with the family, but in 1934 she made the decision to leave the Freame household to live in Sydney.

This was a brief period of stability for Harry and his family.

May was much better. Writing to her family just before Christmas 1938, she said that had been able to manage in the house without help with a little assistance from Henry (the family always called Harry Henry) when he was not too busy. “I much prefer having my home again”, she wrote.

Harry Jnr had been doing well at Armidale High School, boarding at St John’s Hostel.

Today, we forget how difficult transport was with rough roads and few private cars. Kentucky is only 39 kilometers from Armidale, but that made daily attendance at High impossible without boarding.

To assist country children who could not afford to pay the fees at one of the city’s boarding schools, the Anglican Church maintained boys’ and girls’ hostels in Armidale where country children could board while attending Armidale High.

It is clear that Harry Jnr enjoyed his time boarding and at Armidale High. Writing to the English family at the end of 1937 to thank them for their Christmas presents, his letter is full of successes in sport, of being a prefect, of how much he had enjoyed his time at school.

The family hoped that he would get a bursary for further study. He did, one of three NSW bursaries for further study at the Technical College in Sydney.

 Grace was also doing well at school. The brief reports in the Uralla Times record some of her primary school successes. There was hope that she could board at the Girls’ Memorial Hostel to study at Armidale High.

Grace and Harry Jnr clearly got on. In his letter home, Harry Jnr records how she had insisted on polishing one of his silver trophies!

Reflecting on this period in Harry’s life, I was glad for the family successes but also greatly saddened. Clouds were now gathering that would take Harry back into his past and, in the end, destroy the things he had worked so hard achieve.

The early intelligence assessments that had led to the creation of Australian’s first intelligence operations after the First World War had focused on the Pacific and especially Japan.

Japan was seen, correctly, as a strategic threat to Australia and the Empire.  Prime Minister Hughes had dismantled the effort. Now that decision would come home to haunt Australia.

Note to readers: This post appeared as a column in the Armidale Express Extra on 1 May 2019. I am repeating the columns here with a lag because they are not all on line outside subscription. You can see all the Belshaw World and History Revisited/History Matters columns by clicking here for 2009, here for 2010, here for 2011, here for 2012, here for 2013, here for 2014, here for 2015,  here for 2016, here  2017, here 2018, here 2019   

Who were the first occupants of Sahul?

A largely complete, roughly 300,000-year-old skull from southeastern China appears to be the latest evidence challenging the dominant model of human evolution. The Hualongdong skull’s unique combination of features make the fossil a tantalizing clue to East Asia’s diverse hominin history. 

Researchers excavating a collapsed cave site unearthed the skull, formally known as Hualongdong 6 (HLD 6), along with additional partial fossils of archaic humans and animals, plus assorted stone tools, over the last decade or so. Using the ages of surrounding mineral deposits and other material in the cave, the team determined the skull and other remains were about 300,000 years old.

My regular commenter JohnB pointed me to this story. I will leave you to read it: Hualongdong Skull Is Latest Challenge To Dominant Human Evolution Model.

I think that there are several key points to note.

The first is that the simple out of Africa for the emergence of modern humans is, as John had argued, becoming increasingly uncertain. There may well have been multiple regional streams.This brings me into arguments that I lack the knowledge on which to comment.

The second point is that the Aborigines on their travels to Australia may well have travelled through a populated landscape. We do not know by whom or how many, but it was populated as measured by Denisovan genetic traces in Aborigines and Papuans. 

 All this raises the question of the who were the first settlers on Sahul, the name given to the ancient continent. We know, or seem to know, that early hominids arrived in the Philippines before Aboriginal settlement of Sahul. This was a longish sea journey suggesting that early hominids could travel by sea to new areas. So did they reach Sahul?

Because of the loss of skeletal remains and limitations on analysis in Australia, we may never get results here. But as more Asian results emerge, we may get a better precursor picture.

None of this detracts from the saga of the Aboriginal occupation of Sahul. It just indicates the need for care in the conclusions we draw, the arguments we mount based on those conclusions. 
 

The Growers' Co-operative debate

 Harry Freame pictured with Grace on Anzac Day in Sydney. This is the eleventh in a series on Australia's early intelligence activities, the seventh on the life of Harry Freame.  

In June 1924, a meeting was held at Kentucky to consider the formation of a growers’ cooperative. In addition to the soldier settlers, the meeting was attended by Mr A A Watson, Director of Soldier Settlement, and Mick Bruxner, one of two Progressive Party members for the state Northern Tablelands seat.

Harry Freame had been an active supporter of the move to develop a grower’s cooperative. Now he expressed reservations.

“Why should I put in a board of directors to run my business, and I pay them to do my work?”, he asked.“I can buy my materials as cheap as they can, and get as good a return.” This was a substantial challenge, for Harry had considerable influence.

Reading the newspaper report of the meeting, there were two problems that worried the settlers.

The first was membership. Should this be limited to soldier settlers or should other growers be allowed to join? The second was one of scope and costs, the extent to which the cooperative might limit the freedom of growers to run their own businesses.

Both Watson and Bruxner argued strongly in favour of the cooperative.

Bruxner put the matter bluntly. There were six equivalent settlements into NSW alone coming into full production at the same time. Cooperation was needed. On the question of a broader membership, put the rum and milk together was his advice.

The meeting decided to proceed with the cooperative.

While Harry was concerned with farm and settler activities, May Freame’shealth was deteriorating. She had not recovered from depression and towards the end of 1924 she disappeared from the scene, not returning until 1930. While the exact circumstances are unclear, Tait suggests that she had been admitted to a psychiatric institution.

Josephine had remained a member of the Freame household, joined in 1923 by her son John (Chappie).

Josephine Collins nee Clarke was born at Tenterfield in 1886. She had married a Brisbane surveyor, Walter Collins, with son John born in 1914. That marriage had broken up before she became May’s companion and then housekeeper.

While May was away, Harry continued his community involvements. Josephine, too, was active within the community.

A relationship developed between the two. The result was a daughter, Josephine Grace Freame, born in October 1927.

Grace was always recognized as a Freame family member. She was close to her half-brother and father. Later, she accompanied Harry on his annual Anzac day visit to Sydney.

Note to readers: This post appeared as a column in the Armidale Express Extra on 24 April 2019. I am repeating the columns here with a lag because they are not all on line outside subscription. You can see all the Belshaw World and History Revisited/History Matters columns by clicking here for 2009, here for 2010, here for 2011, here for 2012, here for 2013, here for 2014, here for 2015,  here for 2016, here  2017, here 2018, here 2019