Commando News Australia Edition 14 2018

Day 3 - Saw us travelling along the Dili waterfront
where the 2/2nd Ind Coy landed in Dec 1941 and the
Japanese landed in Feb 1942. At the Santa Cruz
cemetery where about 250 Timorese were killed by
Indonesian soldiers in November 1991 after a protest
march to the cemetery. Former cameraman Max Stahl
who videoed the Santa Cruz massacre, concealing two
cans of film in the ground where he lay hidden
between two gravestones. When Stahl later retrieved
his films and the shocking footage went worldwide, the
Indonesian occupation of East Timor became an issue,
finally leading to the independence referendum in
1999. After Santa Cruz we visited the former Balide
Prison, now the Chega (Portuguese for “Enough”)
Museum, hearing horrendous details of the savage
treatment and torture of the resistance fighters, and
meeting some of them. A very sobering morning, but
we enjoyed some tasty if unorthodox food at the Agora
Food Studio – another training institution, presenting
crosses as we left.
Day 4 - We stopped at the Daré memorial and
museum, dedicated to the 2/2 nd and 2/4 th Ind Coys and
the Timorese, that listed the Australian men and their
Timorese ‘Criados’. We presented packages to the
Daré school students – delightful children, as were all
the young Timorese and their elders. We stopped at
the ‘Singapore Tiger’ ambush location, where Mick
Batchelor’s father (one of the TA-7 participants whose
father was a member of 2/2 nd Ind Coy) took part. We
lunched at Aileu, the FALINTIL headquarters from 1975
to 1999. The road conditions were horrendous until we
reached a main road – still very winding and hilly. The
roads were very ‘demanding’ most of the time, in our
dusty 12 – 16 vehicle convoys as we traversed from
North to South, and East to West in ten days. We
ended up overnighting in Maubisse where the 2/2 nd
attacked a Japanese Battalion that were camped in the
markets.
Day 5 - Bumping our way to Samé, where members
of D Coy, 4 Cdo conducted the raid in 2006 to capture
rebel leader Alfredo Reinardo, then on to Betano
where on the night of 23/24 September 1942 where
Ian came ashore on that fateful night, HMAS Voyager
was to insert the 2/4 th Ind Coy and evacuate the 2/2 nd
men, but sadly went aground on Betano Beach. On the
beachfront the local officials welcomed us, with
numerous passionate speeches, and Ian was formally
regaled in traditional Timorese garments, making him
a “family member”, such was their respect for him. Ian
signed a pre-prepared plaque and it was formally
placed on the beach memorial. All that remains of the
Voyager is the engine block and parts of the keel.
Participants also met the children of Timorese veterans
at the town of Same who are being sponsoring at the
newly established Veterans University. It is a very
modest school by Aussie standards, but a humble
attempt by the Veterans to provide higher education to
children unable to study in Dili. They are delighted and
appreciative for being able to undertake courses in
agriculture and humanities. They sang and danced for
us and we were hosted (again) to a fantastic meal. It’s
amazing that a student can be sponsored for a full year
at the university for a mere $150 Aust.
Day 6 & 7 - In company with ‘veterans’ and former
guerrillas of the anti-Indonesian resistance, our convoy,
by now about 16 vehicles, and with police escort,
travelled for many hours: from Samé, to Ainaro, from
where Xanana Gusmao controlled his resistance forces.
Green beret participants. From left: Peter McCaffrey; Luke O’Brien; Rod Hilliker;
Ian Hampel; Barry Higgins & Geoff Woodman.
48 COMMANDO NEWS ~ Edition 14 I 2018