Robert Bevir and the HMAHS Manunda by Malcolm McInerney

                     

Manunda continued to treat incoming wounded

ROBERT BEVIR 1913-1942

Corporal Robert Bevir in the orderly room, where he died, aboard the 2/1st Australian hospital ship Manunda, Thursday Island, 1940.

Corporal Robert Bevir (NX65289) was born in Timsbury, near Bath in England, on 21 March 1913. He was the son of John and Dora Cecil Bevir of Everton, Hampshire and never married.

Initially a civilian clerk with Head Quarters 1st Division in Sydney, Bevir joined the Australian Army Medical Corp in August 1940 and continued with clerical duties aboard HMAHS Manunda as it travelled to and from the Middle East, returning to Sydney twice in 1941 and then sailing to Darwin in early 1942.

HMAHS Manunda was anchored in Darwin Harbour near the merchant ship Zealandia and the oil tanker British Motorist when it was first hit by shrapnel and then a bomb during the first Japanese air attack on Darwin, 19 February 1942. Twelve members of the crew and hospital staff were killed, including Robert Bevir, and forty-seven others were wounded. The medical and nursing staff quarters were destroyed, B and C decks were severely damaged, and fires started on board. Despite the chaos, Manunda continued to treat incoming wounded and staff manned the lifeboat rescuing injured men from the sea.

Corporal Bevir was killed in the orderly room aboard HMAHS Manunda during the attack. He was twenty-nine years old. In his will, he left his watch, writing case, wallets and enamel sleeve links to his eldest nephew; and Mr Hobdell was to receive two golden sovereigns in appreciation for ‘the influence he had and the kindness shown during his school life’. Corporal Bevir also expressed a desire to be buried in his Mother’s grave in the churchyard of Sway, Hampshire, in England. Unfortunately, this did not happen. His body was initially buried in Darwin then taken to the Adelaide War Cemetery.

 

The story of a brave ship

The Manunda (Aboriginal word meaning "place near water".)

 

TSMV (Twin Screw Motor Vessel) Manunda was an Australian ship, built in 1929 and purchased by the Adelaide Steamship Company as an interstate passenger trip.

The Manunda was 136 metres (446 ft) in length, with a beam of 18 metres (59 ft), with a top speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). Passenger capacity was 176 first class and 136 second class.

 In 1940 at the outbreak of war it was converted into a hospital ship and known as HMAHS Manunda.

During the war Manunda saw service in both the Middle East and Pacific Campaigns, specifically New Guinea. She resumed her passenger duties after the war, before being sold to a Japanese company and finally broken up in 1957.

 

On the morning of 19 February 1942, Manunda was damaged during the Japanese air raids on Darwin, despite her highly prominent red cross markings on a white background. 12 members of the ship's crew and hospital staff were killed, 19 others were seriously wounded and another 40 or so received minor wounds. Manunda was able to act as a casualty clearing station for injured personnel from other ships involved in the attack. She sailed to Fremantle the next day.

The efforts during the attacks resulted in Captain James Garden being awarded the OBE for his bravery and skill, both during the attacks, in leading a fire extinguishing team on the ship and in later navigating it by the stars to Fremantle with no navigation equipment and a jury-rigged steering system. In 1943 Thomas Minto, First Mate on Manunda, was awarded the M.B.E. for gallantry and devotion to duty on the Manunda during air raids at Darwin in February 1942. Matron Clara Shumack was awarded the Royal Red Cross for “calmness and exceptional devotion to duty during the raids - her quiet and confident manner was an inspiration to all her fellow workers".

 

During the Battle of Milne Bay, New Guinea (August- September 1942) her hospital status was respected by the Japanese as she undertook 27 voyages from Milne Bay to Brisbane and Sydney transporting wounded troops. During the war she carried approximately 30,000 casualties to safety.

After the surrender of the Japanese, the Manunda was one of the ships that repatriated thousands of POW’s from Asia.

The Manunda returned to service on 2 April 1948, transporting passengers around the Australian coast.

In September until 1956 when she was sold to the Japanese Okadagumi Line, who renamed the vessel Hakone Maru. The company's plans for the ship did not eventuate, and she was broken up the in 1957 in Japan for scrap metal.