Walter Rowling by Emily McPherson

 

Walter Robert Lewis Rowling

Born on the 21st of June, 1905, Walter Robert Lewis Rowling was only 37 years old when he died. Walter was born in Adelaide and only arrived in Darwin two weeks prior to the attack. He was married to Alma Lettie Morris and had a daughter called Cynthia Elaine who was only 7 at the time of his death.

Walter was a foreman mechanic for the Postmaster’s General Department (PMG) and had come to Darwin to install new telephone facilities. On the day of the bombing, Walter was with his friend Reginald Rattley. They are believed to have been walking through the door of the Technicians office when they first heard the Japanese bombs.

From the Technicians office, the men separated and ended up in different trenches for safety. Whilst sheltering in his trench, Walter received serious head injuries. Once the bombing had passed, he was offered beer from his mates to help with the groggy state he was in. He was then taken to the Berriman Hospital but was later transferred to the HMAS Manunda Hospital Ship where he died of his head wounds. He was buried at sea at 11am on the 21st of February 1942.


What I have found interesting about Walter’s story is about the boat he died on; the HMAS Manunda, continued to operate after it had been bombed. The ship first had shrapnel sprayed across it, putting over 70 holes in the deck, before another bomb hit it and completely destroyed the medical and nursing staff quarters. As a result, many small fires then started on board. Sources say that Walter died on the 21st of February, but these bombs were dropped on the 19th. This means that the Manunda and her staff continued to work and look after patients for at least another 2 days with limited and damaged resources.

I chose Walter because my grandfather also worked for Australia Post or the Postmasters General Department from age 15 to his retirement at age 65. Some of his final work, involved managing the human resources department for South Australian and Northern Territory employees. This was an automatic connection when I found out Walter’s employment situation.

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