This is fairly long, but some might like it.   Simmo.

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Two Lost German Aviators

You may wonder what an aeroplane has to do with shipwrecks. This is such a great story that we deemed it fit to use because the aviators were flying a seaplane. They managed to convert one of the seaplane floats into a canoe which was washed ashore, so thus we had a shipwreck! In 1932 two German aviators, Hans Bertram and Adolf Klausmann, flying from Timor to Darwin were forced down in remote Northern Australia. For 40 days they struggled to survive but were finally found by Aboriginals who kept them alive until the search party arrived.

The loss of the Seaplane Atlantis

Hans Bertram and Adolf Klausmann were flying the Junkers W33 seaplane Atlantis from Cologne, Germany on a goodwill mission to Australia for the aircraft maker, Junkers, when they ran into a severe storm between Timor and Darwin. Flying during the night of May 15, 1932, they became lost in thick cloud. Eventually at dawn, running short of fuel, they spotted the coast and landed in a sheltered bay. After a sleep and a think, they decided to use their remaining fuel to fly further down the coast, closer to where they believed the nearest town was located. In fact, they moved further away from civilisation, finally landing near Rocky Island, about 105 miles NW of Wyndham.

Thinking they were on the northern side of Melville Island, they decided to walk along the coast in a westerly direction, where they assumed they would be able to find rescuers. After a few difficult days of this, and meeting no-one on their travels, they returned to their plane and tried a new plan. Removing one of the seaplane's floats, they converted it into a small boat and tried that. For a few more days they traversed the coastline stumbling ashore looking for food and water. Strong tides and currents carried them back and forth, and eventually, having totally run out of provisions, they decided to give up the makeshift boat and made a final landfall, seeking shelter from the heat in a rock cave. Ironically, they were only a few miles from the aircraft.

The search

When the Junkers had failed to arrive in Darwin, a massive land sea and air search was mounted, but to no avail. Weeks passed with no sign of them, and hopes faded. The German Government requested that the search continue and offered to pay the costs. A month after the airmen had disappeared, an Aboriginal from Forrest Mission found a handkerchief and a cigarette lighter inscribed with the initials H.B. near Elsie Island, about 14 miles south of Rocky Island. The search intensified. Two days later, the abandoned Atlantis was spotted by Captain Sutcliffe, a pilot for West Australian Airways. The news flashed around the world, and a rescue party was organised out of Wyndham, led by Constable Gordon Marshall. It took the party two weeks to reach the area, but still no sign of the airmen was found. Speculation grew that the two men had been murdered by unfriendly Aborigines, and in fact a number of Aborigines confessed to murdering them (or were dobbed in by others) and were taken prisoner and kept in chains with the rescue party.

The rescue

On the 40th day of their ordeal, the aviators, too weak to stand, lay down in the shelter of some rocks to await their fate. They had spent the previous month wandering up and down the coast, looking for signs of life and grubbing for snails and shellfish, and eating gum leaves. Apart from two lizards they had caught earlier, that was the sum of their food. They were ready to die. But early next day, they were found! Two young lads from Drysdale Mission came across them. One immediately ran back to the Mission for help, and the other (Minnijinnimurrie) stayed with them feeding them with honeycomb and a fish he caught and chewed up for them so that they could eat it. Bertram later recalled that he had undoubtedly saved their lives. Other Aboriginals arrived from Drysdale and over the next five days, they caught, cooked and chewed kangaroo meat for them and helped nurse the men back to life. Finally, on June 28, Constable Marshall and the 'official' rescue party arrived.

The run

Next day, Marshall sent two runners to Wyndham via Forrest River with the news that the aviators had been found, and requested that the Wyndham meatworks boat be sent up the coast to bring the men out. Owenba (or Ernest) and a companion set off with the letters. Marshall also freed the prisoners, obviously realising that the confessions of murder were spurious. That night, Klausmann's condition worsened and he went berserk. Even in his weakened condition it took three men to hold him down. Marshall eventually chained him up.

He decided to send a second, more urgent message to the police in Wyndham, not only to hurry, but also to include a straitjacket. Emphasising the urgency of the request, he also wrote a note to the Forrest River officials, asking them to despatch the message to Wyndham via the mission launch. In Marshall's report he wrote: "I chose the two best runners I had. They claimed they could be in Forrest River in two days, in Wyndham in four days. I promised them a new shirt and a new pair of shorts if they could do it and sent them off." Andumeri (Ronald Morgan) and Jalnga (Hector) ran off into the Kimberley heat, following the trail of Owenba.

Two days later they arrived in Forrest River, just after Owenba and his companion who had left a day earlier. But the Mission launch, which was to relay the message to Wyndham, was not there. Ironically, it had gone to Wyndham to report that there was still no news of the missing airmen. So, not knowing when the boat would return, Andumeri decided to keep going. After a brief rest and a reviving cup of sugary tea, he headed off to Wyndham on his own. Taking the most direct route, he crossed the Forrest River and headed in a south-easterly direction between the rugged Milligan Ranges and the tidal reaches of the West Arm of the Cambridge Gulf. He headed for The Gut, the narrowest crossing point in this part of the Gulf, and notorious for the strong currents which surge through its constricted passage. Bundling up his clothes with Marshall's letter securely tied inside, he attached them to a log which he pushed in front of him across the water. About 3am on the morning of July 4, he entered the deserted streets of Wyndham, less than four days after he'd set off. Truly a marathon run.

The outcome

Again the news flashed around the world and, due to the time difference was printed in the European papers that morning. The rescue boat set off and, two days later, 53 days after their forced landing, the pilots were brought ashore at Wyndham to rousing welcome. Klausmann never recovered his sanity and was sent home to Germany. Bertram recovered, reclaimed the plane and carried out a festive tour of Australia. His main aim was to raise funds for the two Aboriginal Missions in gratitude for their help.

When he left Australia in 1933 he said "I hope after I get back to Germany, to returned here as Ambassador to Australia." He did return to Australia, in 1941, as a prisoner of war. He'd joined the Luftwaffe and been shot down and captured in the Libyan desert. He died in Germany in 1993. Andumeri's story was finally published in the West Australian on January 15, 1994 in an excellent article by John Burbridge.

http://simplyaustralia.net/article-strangers3.html

An update on Captain Hans Bertram

German aviators Hans Bertram and his mechanic, Adolph Klausmann, flying a Junkers W33c floatplane named "Atlantis", registered D-1925 across the Timor Sea from Koepang, Netherlands East Indies (now Indonesia) en route to Darwin, encounter a violent storm which pushed them off course. They were flying from Cologne (Germany) to Australia on a goodwill flight on behalf of Junkers Aircraft. They landed near Rocky Island, 160km from Wyndham, 480km west of their destination, with little fuel and water, and no food. They were found on 22 June close to death.

On 18 September, a fully-recovered Hans Bertram and Fred Sexton, a Western Australian Airways mechanic, returned to the aircraft with a replacement float from a De Havilland DH.50. It was smaller than the original but it served the purpose. The aircraft, repaired and with its engine serviced, was then flown to Perth, arriving on 24 September. Despite the odd floats, the aircraft exhibited no unusual flying characteristics, but during take off Bertram had to carefully calculate the direction of the win

A couple of pics from my story.   Simmo.

Great piece of history there, young Simmo, but I reckon the story about the Wreck of the Batavia is the most fascinating I have ever heard. Mutiny, cannabalism, you name it!!!