Antioco Pinna in Australia - WordPress.com · Luigi Pinna remembers Antioco talking about an Australian, Jimmy Smith. There is a record of James Edward Smith, assistant forester,

Joanne Tapiolas © Footprints

Antioco Pinna in Australia

Antioco Pinna in South Australia on leftPhoto courtesy of Luigi Pinna Italy


Wolchefit, Wolkefit, Uolchefit

Antioco Pinna was captured 27th September 1941.

27th September 1941 The Wolkefitheadquarters ends. The Italian garrison surrenders to the troops of the 25th East African Brigade.

1941 '4000 SURRENDER AT WOLCHEFIT', Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954), 30 September, p. 1. (LATE NEWS EDITION), viewed 16 Apr 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article52466929

Antioco Pinna [on left] Octobeer 23 1940(photo courtesy of Luigi Pinna

Antioco Pinna Autonomous Detachment Autocentro in Gondar(photo courtesy of Luigi Pinna)

M/E No.=Number given in Egypt and used in India

PWI Number given in Australia

Came to Australia from India on the ship ‘Mariposa’ arriving in Melbourne 5.2.44. 1014 Italian POWs onboard (2 officers and 1012 ordinary ranks)

Taken to Murchison Prisoner of War Camp 13A on 5.2.44

Transferred to Sandy Creek Prisoner of War Camp South Australia 9 – 10 June 1944

Allocated for work at S13 Prisoner of War Control Hostel Mt Gambier South Australia 4.8.44

34 ACH – Hospital at Loveday POW Camp

Left for Naples on the ship ‘Strathmore’ 7 November 1946


Sandy Creek No 17 Prisoner of War Camp was a transit camp. It accommodated 600 Italian POWs from April 1944 to May 1946.

Sleeping arrangements were in tents. The other buildings: mess, kitchen, canteen, ablutions were in permanent buildings.

http://www.barossa.com/jack-bobridge-track-sign-5-sandy-creek/jack-bobridge-track-sign-5-sandy-creek


Mail sent from Sandy Creek PW Camp

S13 Prisoner of War Control Hostel Mt Gambier-Mt Burr-PenolaS13 PWC Hostel

A group of 200 Italian prisoners of war were allocated to work under the Department of Forestry in South Australia. They did forestry work such as logging for timber. The hostel/s operated from August 1944 to April 1946. It appears that there were three sub-camps which was grouped as S13 PWC Hostel.

Antioco was sent to the Mt Burr sub-camp.

1945 'MILLICENT DISTRICT COUNCIL', The South Eastern Times (Millicent, SA : 1906 -1954), 13 February, p. 2. , viewed 16 Apr 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article200106734Joanne Tapiolas © Footprints

Luigi Pinna remembers Antioco talking about an Australian, Jimmy Smith.

There is a record of James Edward Smith, assistant forester, who lived at Tarpeena which is just south of Nangwarry and north of Mt Gambier.

More than likely James Smith assisted in overseeing the Italian POWs and their work in forestry.

Local comments in favour of the Italian prisoners of war

PenolaMount Burr

Mount Gambier


S13 Prisoner of War Control Hostel: Mt Gambier-Mt Burr-Penola

Antioco Pinna aka Jimmy/Jimmie


It was a common practice for employers of the Italian prisoners of war to give them a nickname or an Aussie name eg George, Tommy, Hector, Tony, Jimmy, Raffa

It seems that Antioco was given the name Jimmy and the child John, must have referred to him as “Jimmy Man”

The puzzle however is ‘who is this little boy, John?’

Photo courtesy of Luigi Pinna Italy


Antioco (Jimmy) made friends with South Australian locals who he came in contact with and who gave him photos before he left for repatriation to Italy.

From Queensland research, letters from Italian POWs written after they left Qld farms, ask if they could be sent a photo of the children, so that they had something to remember them by.

The friendships formed with and hospitality of South Australians more than likely contributed to Antioco being ‘desirous of remaining in Australia.’

Photos courtesy of Luigi Pinna

Warren Family at Millicent


Photo courtesy of Luigi Pinna Italy

Answers to Luigi’s Questions


Antioco’s son, Luigi was keen to find out the details of his father’s time in South Australia.

Where was he working?What type of work did he do?Why did he have photos of SA residents?Who were the people in the photos?Why did he go to hospital?What type of man was he when young?

The payment for and purchase of a copy of his father’s other record, provided the answers to some of these questions.

(NAA: A367 C86014 Pinna Antioco)


(NAA: A367 C86014 Pinna Antioco)

Mt Burr


“… and anyhow the army had a whole heap of Italian Prisoners of War from the Middle East who had been in India and they’d, when the Japs looked like taking over India, they stuck them all on a boat and sent them out to Australian and landed… landed them, so we got landed with a camp full of those. But er … they didn’t cut any wood at all, oh they’d cut a few hundredweight that’s all they’d cut a few hundredweight a day and then knock off, it was too hot. It was run by the army, I had no authority over that, that was an army camp. It was our camp and we were to get the wood but er… we got very little wood out of them. See the first week they were there, they put them in this camp and I went out to see the bloke in charge of the camp and I said, “When are we going to get some wood?” he said, “When we get the camp ready,” He had these blokes all painting white stones to make nice pathways round the camp and all this sort of business.”

from Vincent M. (Vin) Healy

J.D. Somerville Oral History Collection State Library of South Australia

1946 'MORE ESCAPES.', The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), 3 April, p. 13. , viewed 16 Apr 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50333967

Alberto Salis and Agostino D’Agostino were allocated to S13 Hostel. Alberto Salis was from San Antioco Cagliari.

Both had been sent to the hostel on 4.8.44 the same day as Antioco.


Prisoner of War Hostel at Wandillo in the south east of

South Australia

From Peter Dunn and Jeff Holly

https://www.ozatwar.com/pow/wandillo.htm

Wandillo near Mt Gambier

Delfino Petrella was also allocated to S13

Hostel

1945 'No Title', The South Eastern Times (Millicent, SA : 1906 - 1954), 29 June, p. 1. , viewed 16 Apr 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article200107548

Mt Burr


Working party of Italian at Nangwarry Wood Camp in

1944. The Army guard can be seen at the left hand

side of the photograph

From Peter Dunn and Jeff Holly

https://www.ozatwar.com/pow/nangwarry.htm

Nangwarry near Penola

Nangwarry POW HostelPhotos courtesy of Nangwarry Forestry and Logging Museum

https://www.mountgambierpoint.com.au/attractions/nangwarry-forestry-and-logging-museum/

Loveday SA

Antioco Pinna spent time at the Mt

Gambier Hospital and the 34th

Australian Camp Hospital (34 ACH)

(Loveday). He was sent to Mt

Gambier Hospital suffering

bronchitis. He underwent urgent

dental treatment at Sandy Creek.

Loveday Prisoner of War Camp No 14 held 400 prisoners of war and internees. There were four compounds each of 1000 men: Compound A, B, C and D. It operated from June 1943 to December 1946.

BARMERA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. 1943-03-11/17. NO. 10 COMPOUND OF THE 14TH AUSTRALIAN PRISONER OF WAR AND INTERNMENT CAMP LOVEDAY GROUP. THIS COMPOUND IS FOR GERMAN AND ITALIAN PRISONERS OF WAR. Australian War Memorial Image 064846


1946 ‘Italian Prisoners Of War Sailing For Home', Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW : 1888 - 1954), 8 November, p. 8. , viewed 16 Apr 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48482478


Going Home on the ‘Strathmore’

Antioco PinnaPhoto courtesy of Luigi Pinna Italy


(photos courtesy of Luigi Pinna)

Antioco Pinna and Family

Giacomina Trincas and Antioco Pinna 1950 Antonio, Antioco, Luigi, Giacomina and Lucia 1956Antioco Pinna 1976

Unit in the Army

Signature

Was at Number 12 Camp India


Documents

Antioco Pinna in Australia - WordPress.com · Luigi Pinna remembers Antioco talking about an Australian, Jimmy Smith. There is a record of James Edward Smith, assistant forester,