Key Takeaways
- The Northern Territory Special Reconnaissance Unit (NTSRU) was a World War II irregular force formed to defend Australia’s north against a possible Japanese invasion.
- Six Solomon Islander men were hand‑picked to crew the unit’s patrol boat and served alongside senior Yolngu (Aboriginal) warriors for two years.
- The unit operated without uniforms or firearms, relying on traditional weapons, spears, and deep knowledge of the land to conduct stealth patrols.
- After disbanding in mid‑1943, the Solomon Islanders were quietly repatriated and received no veteran’s benefits or official recognition.
- Recent research by Major Samuel White, Major Michael Jones, and Yolngu elder Tommy Munyarryun, aided by media outreach in the Solomon Islands, identified five of the six men and located family members, including grandchildren who possessed photographs and personal mementos.
- The sixth soldier, listed as Private Tausia, remains unidentified; his photograph is missing from military archives.
- Descendants now seek acknowledgment, memorialisation, and possible redress for the historical oversight and wartime underpayment of Indigenous and Pacific Islander servicemen.
Origins of the Northern Territory Special Reconnaissance Unit
In early 1942, Japanese air raids on Darwin and Broome heightened fears of an imminent land invasion across Australia’s northern coastline. In response, the Australian military created the Northern Territory Special Reconnaissance Unit (NTSRU), a highly irregular force tasked with patrolling the rugged Arnhem Land coast and repelling any enemy troops that managed to come ashore. Anthropologist Donald Thomson, who later recounted his experiences to the BBC, was placed in charge. He prioritised recruiting senior Yolngu warriors, whose expertise in ambush tactics and guerrilla warfare had been honed over generations of inter‑clan conflict.
Composition and Training of the NTSRU
The unit’s core consisted of experienced Yolngu men who traditionally fought with spears, woomeras, and nulla nullas, relying on intimate knowledge of the terrain rather than conventional weapons or uniforms. Training involved learning to move silently between remote bush camps, subsisting off the land, and distinguishing friendly from enemy aircraft—a skill demonstrated aboard the patrol boat Aroetta. Despite their disparate backgrounds, the Yolngu fighters soon found common cause with a second group of recruits: six Solomon Islander sailors.
Recruitment of the Solomon Islanders
Amid the upheaval of World II, labour and manpower flowed relatively freely across the British Empire, allowing the Australian military to draw men from distant territories. Six Solomon Islanders were selected specifically to crew the NTSRU’s patrol vessel. Solomon Islands High Commissioner Robert Sisilo later recalled that, for these young men, the posting represented both an adventure and an eye‑opening encounter with a vastly larger continent. Their enlistment added a maritime capability to a unit otherwise focused on coastal reconnaissance and irregular combat.
Life on Patrol with the Yolngu Warriors
Once integrated, the Solomon Islanders joined Yolngu comrades in a gruelling routine of patrols, bush‑craft, and subsistence living. Tommy Munyarryun, a Yolngu elder and later a NORFORCE warrant officer, noted that while the two groups possessed different cultural practices—particularly in food procurement and social customs—they quickly developed mutual respect. The combined unit became known for its cohesion, moving stealthily along the Arnhem Land coastline, scanning for signs of Japanese incursions, and ready to strike with spears if enemy troops landed.
Personal Stories: Private Keangia Makau
Among the Solomon Islanders was Private Keangia Makau, born in 1916 on Palau Island (then part of the German‑administered Pacific). A surviving photograph shows him aboard the Aroetta, relaxed and strumming a ukulele under the tropical sun. His grandson, Junior Patrick Makau, recounted that the family knew Keangia had enlisted in the Australian Army but lacked details until recent research surfaced. The family now treasures a war medal, a newspaper clipping, and several personal mementoes, proud of his service and eager to understand why it remained unacknowledged for so long.
Disbandment and the Return Home
By May 1943, the tide of war had shifted; Japanese thrusts toward Australia had blunted, and the perceived threat of invasion receded. Consequently, the NTSRU was disbanded, and its members were ordered to return to their homes. The six Solomon Islanders received no formal discharge ceremony, no veteran’s benefits, and were not included in any post‑war commemorations of the unit. Major Samuel White observed that their reintegration into civilian life was likely marked by isolation, lacking the camaraderie that typically accompanies the demobilisation of regular military units.
Historical Injustices: Pay and Recognition
During the war, Australian military pay scales were racially stratified, resulting in lower compensation for Indigenous and Pacific Islander servicemen compared with their European counterparts. In the 1990s, the Aboriginal members of the NTSRU were granted retrospective medals and back‑pay to redress this inequity. No comparable settlement has been extended to the Solomon Six, a point highlighted by Solomon Islands High Commissioner Robert Sisilo, who urged both governments to revisit the issue of underpayment and overdue recognition.
The Search for the Sixth Soldier
While five of the six Solomon Islanders have been positively identified—Edwin Richardson, Papai Lakapali, Kelauia Makau, Keangia Makau, and two others whose names appear in service records—the sixth soldier, listed only as Private Tausia, remains elusive. His photograph is absent from the military archives, and no definitive personal details have surfaced despite extensive outreach. Researchers continue to hope that additional family contacts or undiscovered documents may finally reveal his identity and story.
Family Efforts to Preserve Memory
Descendants such as Hilda Rade Kamatarena, granddaughter of Edwin Richardson, have taken active steps to honour their forebears. Hilda recently visited a suspected gravesite at Kola Ridge cemetery in Honiara, where she hopes to erect a modest memorial. She expressed gratitude for the Australian research that brought her grandfather’s service to light, but also frustration at the decades of silence that followed his return. Like many relatives, she now wishes to travel to Arnhem Land to meet Yolngu elders who served alongside her grandfather and to see the terrain he once patrolled.
Legacy and Ongoing Dialogue
The rediscovery of the Solomons Six has sparked broader conversations about the inclusion of Pacific Islanders and Indigenous peoples in Australia’s wartime narrative. Yolngu elder Tommy Munyarryun has extended an open invitation to the Solomon Islander families, emphasizing the mutual respect forged during those difficult years. Meanwhile, the photographs of the NTSRU—showing warriors in traditional dress, Solomon Islanders aboard patrol boats, and joint intimate moments—remain housed at the Donald Thomson Collection at the University of Melbourne, largely unseen by the public. As families, historians, and military officials continue to collaborate, there is growing hope that the service of these six men will finally receive the recognition, commemoration, and, if justified, reparative measures they deserve.