At the beginning of 1941 Theodore decided
to become a naturalized Australian. To
do this he had to lodge a notice in the local newspaper stating his intentions
to become a citizen.
In the January 14th edition of
the Adelaide Advertiser there appeared in Public Notices section the
following:-
I, THEODORE WILHELM VETTER, of German Nationality, born near
Magdeburg, Germany and resident 55 years in Australia, and residing at Eden
West, near Adelaide, intend to apply for naturalisation under the Nationality
Act 1920-1930.
Unfortunately Theodore
had forgotten one little thing – Australia was at war with Germany and as he
was still a German citizen by birth, he was an enemy alien and required at the
beginning of the war to register as such.
In the second
week of February a summons was issued for his arrest under the National
Security (Aliens Control) Regulations – a fine of £5, with 10
shillings costs.
As with most
fines issued against him Theodore ignored this and lodged his application for
Naturalization on March 12th.
He had to provide two references and have a Justice of the Peace witness
the document. The references were from Albert
Henry Kruss, who had known Theodore for 40 years, and Garnet Leslie
Goldsworthy, who had known him for approximately 8 years. John Henry Bell was the Justice of Peace who
witnessed Theodore declaration.
On the form
Theodore had claimed that he was a carpenter/gardener residing at Eden West,
that he had come to Australia in December 1886 on board the North German liner
“Preussen”. He had resided in Victoria
for 10 years, then moving to South Australia for 3 years, then Western
Australia for 6, before settling in Adelaide for the last 35 years.
He was the son
of Louis Vetter & Mathilde Peters, and that he was born on the 23rd
of April 1866 at Magdeburg, in the Province of Saxony. He was 5 ft, 7 inches, with grey hair and
blue eyes. He was a widower, with three
children, the eldest two, he had no idea of their whereabouts. The youngest, Joan Margaret, was residing
with a Mrs Press, in Woodville Road, Adelaide, and working at John Martins in
Rundle Street.
But like most
of Theodore’s dealings with the Law, they caught up with him. On April 1 at the Adelaide Police Court,
Theodore found himself facing Justice Muirhead and Police Prosecutor
Crafter. Inspector Crafter advised the
court that “Vetter had come to Australia with his parents in 1886. He had registered his name on January 15.” But despite the fact he had eventually
registered as an alien, it was too late, Justice Muirhead fined Theodore £10, with 10
shillings costs. He was allowed to pay
the fine in instalments, but if he had of paid it back in February when 1st
summonsed he would have received a reduced fine of only £2 10 shillings.
However if he didn’t pay the fine at
all he would end up with a month in gaol.
Theodore paid the fine.
As part of the
Naturalization process a Police check is done on the applicant. Sergeant Trezona of the Police Special Branch
in Adelaide reported that Theodore had had 6 Police records against him, 2 for
breaches of the Master & Servants Act in 1931, 1 for passing a valueless
cheque in 1932, one in 1936 for Larceny, but this had been dismissed. In 1937 he also had an unregistered gun, and
then of course the “fail to register as an alien” in April 1941.
Sergeant
Trezona also stated that Theodore “is
reported to be addicted to drink and is not a good citizen. Said to have made the following statement in
Adelaide streets, “We want our colonies back, we were robbed by the British
bastards. Hitler will rule this country
better than the British.” (He) Is
regarded as irresponsible.”
In June of
1941, S.G. Eyles of the Investigation Branch for National Security, interviewed
Theodore about his application. Theodore
confirmed everything he had stated on the application, as well as confirming
what Sergeant Trezona had reported. When
Mr Eyles asked Theodore why he was now
applying for naturalization after being in Australia for nearly 55 years,
Theodore stated it was so he could get the old-age pension.
When asked
about his first marriage, the details of which he had left off his application,
Theodore stated that he believed his 1st wife was in a Mental
Hospital, and that of three children of that marriage, one had died and the
other two were living somewhere in Western Australia.
Theodore also
confirmed that he had been the President of the German Club in Adelaide prior
to World War One, and that he had not come under any notice or interned during
that period.
Theodore was
asked his opinion of the current war, “he
stated that 7 years ago he was of the opinion that Hitler was a wonderful
man. He considered Hitler a social
reformer, but in 1935 when Hitler annexed the Saar Valley, he thought that he
was too ambitious. He now thinks Hitler
has overstepped the mark and says that he is a “Landgrabber.” He thinks that the Versailles Treaty was a
mistake and that before this war started, England should have given a few
colonies back to Germany.”
On August 8th
the Investigation Branch sent Theodore’s application to the Department of the
Interior in Canberra. They had
previously contacted Military Intelligence, who had advised that they did not
consider Theodore “a proper person” for naturalization. But Mr. S.G. Eyles, who had interviewed
Theodore had the closing argument against his application, “My opinion of this man is that he is a
cunning rascal and is not a fit applicant for naturalization.”
On the 26th
of August, 1941 Theodore received the following letter:-
Dear Sir,
With reference to your application for naturalization
I desire to inform you that this matter has received careful consideration, but
it is regretted that the issue of a certificate of naturalization in your
favour has not been approved.
Yours
faithfully.
We do not know Theodore’s thoughts on receiving this letter, but I can surmise
that if Mr Eyles thought Theodore was a Cunning Rascal, Theodore thought Mr Eyles
was a lot worse!
You can view a copy of Theodore’s application at the National Archives
website under the following reference:-
Series
number
A659 Control symbol
1941/1/4019 Contents date range
1941 - 1941 Access status
OpenLocation
Canberra
A659 Control symbol
1941/1/4019 Contents date range
1941 - 1941 Access status
OpenLocation
Canberra
Barcode
1771085 |
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