Item 12: Frank W. Bungardy narrative of life in Holsworthy Internment Camp, ca. 1915-March 1919 - Page 15

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and to disregard all the elementary rules of fairness, decency and humanity. We will not speak of chivalry and courtesy, for the treatment meted out to our wives and ourselves and our experience of and contact with the officers of the Defence Department and of the Camp administration compels us to think that many of them, have either never known or have altogether forgotten what those to qualities mean.

We understand that the married enemy subjects in this camp will immediately communicate, through the Swiss and Swedish, Consuls, with their Home Governments and urge them to take drastic counter-measures. The Commonwealth Government is well aware of the fact that we are not in a position to safeguard our interests in a similar manner. Therefore, the attitude adopted towards Australian internees is all the more despicable. However, we would be obliged to you, if you would make it quite clear to our Commonwealth Government that, in spite of all disabilities, we and our families are not prepared to submit to these indecencies and gross violations of our citizens' right any longer.

We demand an immediate and full inquiry to trace the person or persons who ordered this new atrocity. If a Camp official is directly responsible, we demand that he be reprimanded and, if practicable, removed from the Camp. If, however, the culprit is at Head Quarters, Melbourne, as we have every reason to believe, we would thank you for a direct recommendation, addressed to the Minister for Defence personally that that man be relieved of any work in connection with internment matters. We think the Minister's sense of honor and fairness will cause him to admit that it can serve no good purpose and that it is of no credit to the Australian Government to have men in charge of internment affairs who are continually asking in a spirit of panic and vindictivness and are giving vent to their own bitter and antagonistic feelings by submitting us and our families to the most dishonorable, humiliating and savage maltreatment they can think of.