Secret Intelligence Australia
Encyclopedia
Secret Intelligence Australia (SIA) was a British
World War II
intelligence unit commanded by Captain Roy Kendall
who reported directly to MI6 in London. SIA was known as Section B of the Allied Intelligence Bureau
but was not accountable in any way to the Australia
ns or the Americans.
SIA had two main functions:
1. Gather information on the enemy and his activities through special means and channels concerning which detailed secret instructions would be issued from time to time.
2. Specifically charged with obtaining information from the Netherlands East Indies through Islamic channels.
SIA was a very specialised unit designed primarily to deal with subversion. As organised, it was better adapted to the needs of industrialised, congested national or metropolitan areas than to conditions in the Pacific. In order to preserve the security of its parent organisation in Britain (SIS or MI6), Allied General Headquarters (GHQ
) in the SWPA agreed that SIA could live a very self contained existence. Records were kept to the minimum.
SIA's initial operations were concerned with the introduction of native religious leaders, whose immediate object was to gain intelligence, and whose incidental object was to maintain Islamic solidarity to offset Japanese racial propaganda. For this purpose, Hajji
s were imported from Mecca. The decision to use Hajjis followed upon the advice of the Rajah of Sarawak,'then in Australia.
The casualty rate was high among Dutch and Australian operatives attempting to penetrate NEI and the islands to the north of Australia. GHQ believed that the use of itinerant Imam
s (priests), whom the natives were not likely to betray, had good possibilities. Great difficulty was experienced in inserting these specialised agents, however, and still more in following up to obtain the results of their activities. Several of them apparently were captured, as nothing was heard of them again. However, later in the war, others managed to obtain useful information before Allied forces occupied the islands in the Halmahera
island group, particularly Morotai
.
The SIA Section assisted in the development of a Celebes
coastwatcher net under a general AIB plan known as "Co-monitor". SIA parties operated in the Banda Sea
area, flashing their signals to the net control stations at Biak
and Darwin
. SIA's communication net was operated in conjunction with the existing Netherlands net.
In 1945, not long before the surrender, SIA succeeded in establishing five excellent information and weather-reporting secret stations in the hostile Java area. One operated off Soerabaja, in the west, while another covered the Sunda Straits, between Java
and Sumatra
; three others were on islands on the perimeter of Java. These stations were in operation at the war's end, and in fact, were continued for a while after the cessation of hostilities in order to check movements of Japanese renegade forces.
Locations
SIA operatives trained at Caboolture, Queensland and at the Z Experimental Station
in Cairns, Far North Queensland
.
The headquarters of SIA was at "Craigroyston" in Bowen Terrace, in the suburb of New Farm
in Brisbane
.
Known Operations (Java Sea)
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
intelligence unit commanded by Captain Roy Kendall
Roy Kendall
Roy Kendall was an English-born Australian politician and intelligence agent . Born in London, he was educated at Bristol Cathedral School before becoming a merchant seaman. After serving in the military 1914–18, he was recruited by Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, in December 1941...
who reported directly to MI6 in London. SIA was known as Section B of the Allied Intelligence Bureau
Allied Intelligence Bureau
The Allied Intelligence Bureau was an joint United States, Australian, Dutch and British intelligence and special operations agency during World War II. It was responsible for operating parties of spies and commandos behind Japanese lines in order to collect intelligence and conduct guerrilla...
but was not accountable in any way to the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
ns or the Americans.
SIA had two main functions:
1. Gather information on the enemy and his activities through special means and channels concerning which detailed secret instructions would be issued from time to time.
2. Specifically charged with obtaining information from the Netherlands East Indies through Islamic channels.
SIA was a very specialised unit designed primarily to deal with subversion. As organised, it was better adapted to the needs of industrialised, congested national or metropolitan areas than to conditions in the Pacific. In order to preserve the security of its parent organisation in Britain (SIS or MI6), Allied General Headquarters (GHQ
GHQ
GHQ from General Headquarters, may refer to:*a high level military command center, see headquarters**GHQ India - headquarters of the British India Army...
) in the SWPA agreed that SIA could live a very self contained existence. Records were kept to the minimum.
SIA's initial operations were concerned with the introduction of native religious leaders, whose immediate object was to gain intelligence, and whose incidental object was to maintain Islamic solidarity to offset Japanese racial propaganda. For this purpose, Hajji
Hajji
Hajji or El-Hajj, is an honorific title given to a Muslim person who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca, and is often used to refer to an elder, since it can take time to accumulate the wealth to fund the travel. The title is placed before a person's name...
s were imported from Mecca. The decision to use Hajjis followed upon the advice of the Rajah of Sarawak,'then in Australia.
The casualty rate was high among Dutch and Australian operatives attempting to penetrate NEI and the islands to the north of Australia. GHQ believed that the use of itinerant Imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
s (priests), whom the natives were not likely to betray, had good possibilities. Great difficulty was experienced in inserting these specialised agents, however, and still more in following up to obtain the results of their activities. Several of them apparently were captured, as nothing was heard of them again. However, later in the war, others managed to obtain useful information before Allied forces occupied the islands in the Halmahera
Halmahera
Halmahera is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia.Halmahera has a land area of 17,780 km² and a population in 1995 of 162,728...
island group, particularly Morotai
Morotai
Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...
.
The SIA Section assisted in the development of a Celebes
Celebes Sea
The Celebes Sea of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east by the Sangihe Islands chain, on the south by Sulawesi, and on the west by Kalimantan in Indonesia...
coastwatcher net under a general AIB plan known as "Co-monitor". SIA parties operated in the Banda Sea
Banda Sea
The Banda Sea is a sea in the Maluku Islands of Indonesia, technically part of the Pacific Ocean but separated from it by hundreds of islands, as well as the Halmahera and Ceram Seas...
area, flashing their signals to the net control stations at Biak
Biak
Biak features a tropical rainforest climate with nearly identical temperatures throughout the course of the year. The average annual temperature in the city is 27 degrees celsius, which is also generally the average temperature of each day in Biak...
and Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
. SIA's communication net was operated in conjunction with the existing Netherlands net.
In 1945, not long before the surrender, SIA succeeded in establishing five excellent information and weather-reporting secret stations in the hostile Java area. One operated off Soerabaja, in the west, while another covered the Sunda Straits, between Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
and Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
; three others were on islands on the perimeter of Java. These stations were in operation at the war's end, and in fact, were continued for a while after the cessation of hostilities in order to check movements of Japanese renegade forces.
Locations
SIA operatives trained at Caboolture, Queensland and at the Z Experimental Station
Z Experimental Station
The Z Experimental Station , Cairns was set up in July 1942, jointly by Secret Intelligence Australia and the Inter-Allied Services Department....
in Cairns, Far North Queensland
Far North Queensland
Far North Queensland, or FNQ, is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. The region, which contains a large section of the Tropical North Queensland area, stretches from the city of Cairns north to the Torres Strait...
.
The headquarters of SIA was at "Craigroyston" in Bowen Terrace, in the suburb of New Farm
New Farm, Queensland
New Farm is an inner suburb of Brisbane, Australia, located 2 km east of the Brisbane CBD on a large bend of the Brisbane River. New Farm is partly surrounded by the Brisbane River, with land access from the north west through Fortitude Valley and from the north through...
in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
.
Known Operations (Java Sea)
- CAEN
- BATH
- LONDON
- CREW
- DOVER
- LEEDS