YAMASHITA Masao
Born: 22 October 1889 – Died: 4 December 1942
Particulars:
Masao was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. He arrived in Australia aboard the Minderoo in 1933. Masao was married to Chiyo, also from Yokohama. In official documents, his trade or occupation was listed as ‘engine boy’, or a mechanical engineer for Louis Goldie’s pearling business in Rubibi / Broome, Western Australia. When the Pacific War began, all Japanese had to give up their property and possessions. When Masao was arrested, he handed over his property – engineering tools valued at 20 pounds. The tools were left at the Broome Japanese Club, which was also under the charge of the authorities. He was interned at Loveday Internment Camp in South Australia. He died of cancer in the camp hospital in December 1942. He was 53 years old. He was eventually laid to rest in the Japanese Cemetery in Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
–Jo Anne Shiosaki
More info:
Michael Jalaru Torres, Jo Anne Shiosaki, and Bruce Dann
Artist/s Statement:
My great-grandfather Noboru was among those interned during the war and was eventually deported back to Japan. Sadly, I never had the chance to meet him. Masao Yamashita was at the same internment camp as my great-grandfather. Masao’s occupation was registered as an ‘engine boy’, meaning he was a mechanical engineer, which is the same career I have chosen. I often think about the role Masao played in maintaining the pearling lugger engines, especially out at sea, where his mechanical skills could mean the difference between a safe return and a vessel lost at sea. It’s bittersweet to imagine that, had he lived in today’s world with access to modern medicine, he might have survived cancer, or at least been given more time.
– Bruce Dann (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.
Bruce Dann lives with his young family in Broome, Western Australia and takes great pride in his Japanese heritage. Recently, he supported his eldest daughter in travelling to Wakayama Prefecture in Japan through the St Mary’s College – Taiji Elementary and High School student exchange program, a meaningful opportunity for the family to reconnect, with their ancestral roots after so long. Bruce’s great-grandfather came from Wakayama Prefecture in the early 1900s to work in the pearling industry. During the war, he was interned and later deported back to Japan, never to return. The family holds fond memories of a man who deeply loved and cared for his Australian family, only to be cut off and displaced by the devastation of war.