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gentlemen about their voyage to Australia. They set sail in Hong Kong on January 17,
1916 aboard the “Empire”. For the short trip from the camp to the ship the German internees were escorted by the Hong Kong Volunteers, some of them erstwhile friends and acquaintances of the Germans. Even these people, who would have to be considered educated human beings, now gave free rein to their hatred of Germans, urging on their erstwhile pals with words like baby killer, bastard, dirty dog, etc.
The accommodation on board was extremely lousy and no doubt the worst of all the contingents brought to Australia. My acquaintance ascribes this to the fact that rumours of a mutiny aboard the “Montoro” unnerved English authorities and drove them to a much harsher and more cruel treatment [of internees]. All of the roughly 300 men were housed in the hold between decks. The only access was via a steep ladder through the loading hatch, and it was further separated from the main deck by strong iron bars. They had to sleep in hammocks strung 18 inches apart, so 300 people would have been badly squeezed together