Hikotaro Wada
Caption: The first page of Hikotaro Wada’s application for appeal in November 1944 at the age of 59. NAA: D1901 W3214, WADA Hikotaro
Hikotaro Wada, a laundryman, was born in Kushimato in Japan in 1885 and arrived in Western Australia in 1891. He was arrested in Kalgoorlie on 17 December 1941, shortly after Japan’s entry into the war. He had visited Japan for a time at the age of 55, but at the time of his arrest his only link with Japan was via a brother.
Desperate to leave Loveday, he lodged an appeal against his internment in November 1944, by which time he had been in the camp for well over two years. The appeal was rejected, with the result that he remained in Loveday until his repatriation on 27 February 1946.
Sources:
NAA: MP1103/1 WJ17805, Prisoner of War/Internee: Wada, Hikotaro; Date of birth - 1876; Nationality – Japanese
NAA: D1901 W3214, WADA Hikotaro