Hermann Detzner

The Australians lifted this protection, stoking a lucrative trade in feathers and skins.

[gentle music] Our final story from New Guinea is the curious tale of Captain Hermann Philipp Detzner.

Born in 1882, he died in 1970, aged 88.

He was a German engineer and surveyor, an ex-officer of the German Colonial Security Force in Cameroon, a German colony in West Africa, and German New Guinea.

When the war broke out, he was deep in the jungle without communication.

He became aware of the Australian occupation and refused to surrender, hiding his support team, described as 20 soldiers, but more likely Melanes militiamen.

With his men, Detzner marched through the bush singing Watch on the Rhine and flying the German imperial flag.

According to his account, the next four years were spent roaming the New Guinea jungle, hiding from the Australian occupiers.