Hunter Living Histories

The Donation

The papers of Alison Douglas Adam, of the Newcastle Naval Brigade, and Writer of the Royal Australian Naval Reserve (R.A.N.R) were donated by Mr David H. Dial OAM to the University of Newcastle’s Cultural Collections (now Special Collections) on 15 October 2014.

The donation was inspired by the launch of the Rodoni glass negatives depicting sailors and troops of the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (ANMEF) in German New Guinea in September 1914.

Alison Douglas Adam, of Wickham (N.S.W.), was a clerk at a Newcastle shipping agent at the time of enlistment in the ANMEF. His rank in the ANMEF was ‘Writer.,’ and, as such, was responsible for most of the ‘written’ information connected with the ANMEF in New Guinea.

 

DAVID DIAL OAM COLLECTION: Newcastle Naval Brigade
[Conduit: Mr David Dial; Donated 15 October, 2014]

The papers of Alison Douglas Adam,
of the Newcastle Naval Brigade, and Writer, R.A.N.R.

 

A9052(i) Small notebook; 48 pages, 80mm x 125mm.

Contents:-

• Hand drawn and coloured “International Code of Flags;”
• “Tide and Bar Signals Newcastle;”
• Hand drawn diagrams of “Tide and Bar Signals at the Port of Newcastle;”
• List of “Ports represented by Numeral Flags;”
• “Morse Signalling Alphabetical Code;”
• Hand drawn diagrams of “Descriptive Flags – ships and barques;”
• List of Huddart Parker Limited fleet of ships;
• One two-page coloured charts, “Flags and Pennants to be Used in The International Code” and “House Flags and Funnels of The Associated Lines;”
• List of:
  • “New Zealand Shipping Coy Ltd Fleet” ships;
  • “Aberdeen White Star Line Fleet” ships;
  • “Liverpool White Star Line Fleet” ships;
  • “P & O Fleet” ships; list of “Steam Tenders & Tugs;”
  • “A.U.S.N. Coy Fleet” ships;
  • “J. Fenwick’s Fleet of Steam Tugs;”
  • “Melbourne S. S. Co. Ltd. Fleet;”
  • “J.  & A. Brow’s Fleet of Steam Tugs;”
• Tipped-in printed list of “Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand Limited” Fleet ships.

[DOWNLOAD 10.9MB PDF]

 

 

PRIVATE DIARY

A9052(ii) Small notebook, 120 pages, 80mm x 125mm. Contents entirely in shorthand; flyleaf label reads “A.D. Adam, R.A.N.R. / Official No. 1 / Rifle No. 50 / Company No. 2”. Private Diary of ALISON DOUGLAS ADAM from 15 August 1914 – 12 March 1915. Labelled ‘Official No.1’ Royal Australian Naval Reserve, Reserve ‘C’, Rifle No. 50, Company no. 2. [Shorthand of complete diary kindly translated by Margaret Fryer, April 2015.] [DOWNLOAD 17.8MB PDF]

 

ADAM’S NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION

A9052(iii) Notebook: flyleaf inscription reads ““A.D. Adam, writer, R.A.N.R. / Australian Naval and Military Expedition to New Guinea, 1914”. Contains a narrative of the Expedition from the author’s perspective, including transcripts of official documents, covering the period from August, 1914 to March, 1915. [With Transcription by David Dial, OAM] [DOWNLOAD 32.1MB PDF]

 

CONFIDENTIAL REPORTS

A9052(iv) Reports on the operations at Kabakaul, 11^th-12^th September, 1914; labelled “Confidential.” Ts, carbons. Reports by Commander Beresford, Lieutenant Bowen, Midshipman Buller, P.O. Palmer, Lieutenant O.W. Gillam, Sergeant Dispenser Wray and Sub-Lieutenant Webber. Alison Douglas Adam (1894-1959) Compiler(?) [DOWNLOAD 21.7 MB PDF]

 

GOVERNMENT GAZETTES

A9052(v) Government Gazette, British Administration – German New Guinea. Volume 1, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4. Volume 2, No. 1. Paper covers; inside front cover bears inscription “A.D. Adam (R.A.N.R.) / Herbertshöhe – New Britain / 11^th September, 1914 to / 10^th February, 1915”. Individual numbers also bear Adam’s signature. [DOWNLOAD 46.5MB PDF]

 

“AUSTRALIA AT WAR”.
HER FIRST GREAT ACHIEVEMENT
THE CAPTURE OF GERMAN NEW GUINEA

A9052(vi) “Australia at War”. Her First Great Achievement. The Capture of German New Guinea. 2+19pp ts (carbons). [DOWNLOAD 36.3MB PDF]

A9052(vii) Second copy of the above; some differences in pagination. Ts, carbons.

 

CLIPPINGS

A9052(viii) Government Gazette, British Administration – German New Guinea. Volume 1, No. 1, pp. 3-10; Certificate of Discharge of Alison Douglas Adam from the Royal Australian Navy, 8 May, 1915 (photostat copy); Newcastle Morning Herald, 16 August, 1945, pp. 1-2, reporting on the Japanese surrender. [DOWNLOAD 29.8MB PDF]

PUBLICATIONS

A9052(ix) Murdoch, Keith: “The Home Coming of the Fleet Unit,” The Lone Hand, September 1, 1913, pp. 411-426. [DOWNLOAD 12.4MB PDF]

A9052(x) Burnell, F.S. How Australia Took German New Guinea. Sydney: Gordon and Gotch [n.d.]

A9052(xi) Second copy of the above. [DOWNLOAD 25.3MB PDF] [DOWNLOAD Transcription by David Dial, OAM]

OATH OF NEUTRALITY

 

A9052(xii) Pass issued to Otto Wortmann, manager of Kabakaul Plantation, Herbertshöhe, upon his taking the Oath of Neutrality. Multiple endorsements, variously dated 1914-1915.

PHOTOGRAPHS NAVAL CAMP, TOMAGO N.S.W. 1914

A9052(xiii) Photograph: Naval Camp, Tomago, 25 February to 13 March, 1914.

 

A9052(xiv) Photograph: Officers attending Naval Camp, Tomago, 25 February 1914 to 13 March 1914. Lieuts. Bracegirdle and Gillam, CPOs Harman and Nye, POs Madams and Moran, Gunner Leaver.

A9052(xv) Photograph: Officers and Men attending Naval Camp, Tomago, 25 February 1914 to 13 March 1914.

COMMONWEALTH RIFLE CLUBS

A9052(xvi) Photograph: Commonwealth Naval Reserves Rifle Clubs, 27 June 1914. Photograph by Brand, 178 Castlereagh St, Sydney.

 

PHOTOGRAPHS OF FIELD-MARSHALS AND ADMIRAL

 

 

A9052(xvii) – (xix) Photographs of Field-Marshall Earl Kitchener, Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, Field-Marshall Sir John D.P. French. (These photographs appear to be prints manufactured early in the Great War, however, the original of the photograph of Admiral Jellicoe might date from some years earlier, as he appears in a Captain’s uniform.)

 

ADAM’S PHOTO ALBUM

A9052(xx) Photograph album containing original photographs and printed postcards of German New Guinea. Inside front cover bears the inscription stating  “A.D. Adam, / (1^st Australian Naval & Military Expeditionary Force, / German New Guinea. / 19^th August, 1914 – 19^th February, 1915.)”

 

MAPS OF HERBERTSHOHE

A9052(xxi) Cardboard tube, labelled “A.D. Adam / Writer R.A.N.R. / (Staff)”; originally containing hand-drawn map of Herbertshöhe, now at M6979.

M6979  Hand-drawn map of Herbertshöhe, originally in cardboard tube labelled “A.D. Adam / Writer R.A.N.R. / (Staff)” (tube now A9052(xxi)).

M6980 Űbersichtskarte von Nördlichen Teil der Gazelle-Halbinsel. Angefertigt vom Vermessungsamt des Kaiserlichen Gouvernements von Deutsch-Neu-Guinea im Jahre 1913. [Overview Map of the Northern Portion of the Gazelle Peninsula. Prepared by the Survey Office of the Imperial Government of German New Guinea in the year 1913]. Scale 1:100,000.

 

RELATED RESOURCES

HMAS AE1 Disappearance on 14 September 1914. Located: 21 December 2017
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_AE1
https://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-ae1

 

This post was compiled with the generous assistance of Mr David Dial, OAM, Dr Ken Thornton, Emeritus Professor John Fryer, Mrs Margaret Fryer, Ms Karen Moller and Ms Natasha Schroder.

Gionni Di Gravio, OAM
University Archivist, Chair, Hunter Living Histories
February 2022