Itaro Nakashima
Itaro Nakashima was born in Kumamoto Ken in Japan on 20 October 1875 and entered Australia at the age of 21 in 1897, that is, before Federation. For several months in 1924 he returned to Japan to visit his mother. Before his arrest and internment – at the age of 66 – he worked as a laundryman in Maryborough, Queensland. His record states that he had a ‘half caste’ wife (Ellen, nee Ah Foo) and three daughters.
Itaro Nakashima was arrested on 8 December 1941 and was interned in the facility at Gaythorne in Brisbane until he was transferred to the camp at Hay in New South Wales in January 1942. While in the Hay camp in March 1942 he made his first application for release from internment, citing the need to support his wife and youngest daughter.
The application for release was dismissed, and in March the following year he was transferred to Loveday, from where he was finally released in October 1944, four days after his 70th birthday. He died in his Brisbane home two months later.
Sources:
NAA BP242/1, Q31914 Nakashima, Itaro - Queensland investigation case file
NAA: MP1103/1, QJ16100 Prisoner of War/Internee: Nakashima, Itaro; Date of birth - 20 October 1874; Nationality – Japanese
NAA: D1901 N3366 NAKASHIMA Itaro