YAMADA Etsujiro
Born: 1865 – Died: 8 July 1942
Particulars:
Etsujiro was born in Aichi Prefecture, Japan in 1865. He immigrated to Australia in 1933 aboard the Minderoo. He worked as a laundryman in Western Australia, in Rubibi / Broome on Weld Street, and later became a domestic servant. When arrested at the outbreak of the Pacific War, he was retired and stated he had no property or valuables. He was interned at Loveday Internment Camp in South Australia. He died suddenly of a cerebral haemorrhage on 8 July 1942. He was 77 years old. Etsujiro now rests in the Japanese Cemetery in Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
–Jo Anne Shiosaki
More info:
Michael Jalaru Torres, Jo Anne Shiosaki, and Gary Hamaguchi
Artist/s Statement:
My maternal grandfather was also interned at Loveday Internment Camp. There was no shield from the injustice of incarceration during World War II. Etsujiro was 77 years old when he was arrested. I think the elderly would have suffered the most, burdened by physical limitations, illness, language barriers, perhaps mental decline, and the deep emotional wound at being wrongfully cast as the enemy. You can’t help but feel compassion for their situation.
–Gary Hamaguchi (photographed)
Artist Bio:
Michael Jalaru Torres is an Indigenous fine art photographer and poet, born in 1976, in Broome, Western Australia. He is a Djugun-Yawuru man with tribal connections to the Gooniyandi / Jabbir Jabbir / Ngarluma peoples. He draws inspiration from the unique landscapes and people of the Kimberley region, which feature prominently in his work.
Jo Anne Shiosaki is a fourth-generation Nikkei who lives in Rubibi / Broome, Western Australia. Jo’s great-grandparents were one of the earliest Japanese families to migrate to Broome in the late 1800s. Her great-grandfather served as the President of the Japan Club in Broome before the war. She acknowledges the Nikkei community of Broome for helping to create these photographic images, and their willingness to share deeply personal experiences in order to preserve the memories of those who endured internment.
Gary Hamaguchi resides in Broome, Western Australia and is the eldest son of Pearl and Hiroshi Hamaguchi, a well respected local family, who operated a pearl farm south of Broome. Growing up as the eldest of six sons in a family tied to the ebb and flow of the pearling industry have shaped him deeply, and responsibility, resilience, and a strong connection to the sea are words that describe Gary.