Another Piece of the Puzzle

Up until their arrival in Australia, what paperwork had the Dunera Italians received or been shown with regards to their internment?

Upon arrest, were they shown an 'arrest warrant'?

At the point of reception at their transit internment camp, where they given an 'Order for Detention'?

Before embarking the Arandora Star then the Dunera, were the men given official written notification of their deportation?

If you have the answers, it would be interesting to know them.

Australian Army Captain Heighway wrote on the 2nd September 1940: Myself and staff immediately checked up with the nominal roll which had been prepared during the [Dunera] voyage and the rolls sent to me from A.H.Q.: the discrepancies were so numberous that I had to discard the rolls sent out from England and work on the ship's set. Even these rolls were found to be inaccurate when the BI's were prepared. I feel confident however that accurate nominal rolls will be available on disembarkation... The 249 Germans and 200 Italians ex Arandora Star have no baggage whatever. (NAA:3844, 1)

For each Dunera internee, an Order for Detention of Enemy Aliens was completed. For those who disembarked at Melbourne, like Willi Mertes, the document was an official detention order issued by the Commonwealth of Australia. It is a mystery why these detention orders for the Dunera Italians have been elusive. Maybe they were returned to the United Kingdom with the Italians.

By the time the Dunera disembarked the majority of its 'passengers' in Sydney on the 6th September 1940, a more formal detention order was issued.