There is a very interesting record that provides a different view of life on Christmas Island during WW2. More correctly, rather than a record of life, it is a record of death. In the Death Register there are 43 entries, ranging from 5 April 1942 to 1st December 1945. It can be viewed further down on this page. The ages of death range from stillborn to 67 years. There are three suicides.
According to Ken Tuang, who was a young boy on the Island at that time, the mutineering Indian soldiers had destroyed all the records prior to the 31st March 1942 Japanese invasion of Christmas Island.
Upon their arrival, the Japanese asked Walter Oorloff, the Island’s hospital dresser since 1905, to keep a birth and death register. As a hospital dresser, Oorloff would have cleaned and dressed wounds and cuts, applied antiseptics and ointments, bandaged wounds and given first aid etc. under direction from the doctor; much like a nurse today.
In the Death Register we see the entries written in his meticulous hand and from it some observations can be made.
A section of the Death Register for Christmas Island during WW2.During the first three days of the Japanese occupation, the Japanese soldiers were given free reign with the population. This meant the Islanders were bullied or had stolen from them anything that the Japanese soldiers fancied. One Chinese lady, sick and bedridden was raped.1 She died a few days later. The very first entry in the Death Register occurs on day 6 of the Japanese occupation. It shows 28 year old housewife Loh Ah Mui. She was ill for 12 days with beri-beri before passing away. As her place of death was listed as “Settlement, X.I.” it would seem she was at home rather than the Settlement hospital. Could she be the same unfortunate rape victim?
From the entries we learn that the Island had a “T.B. Hospital” in Settlement. According to the Death Register, it appears the tuberculosis hospital was separate and distinct from the Settlement Hospital.
Beri-beri, which was a scourge during the earliest mining years (at one stage wiping out nearly half the coolie workforce) was still around in 1942 indicating a limited diet for a few individuals at least.
A young Walter Oorloff (1878-1948) aged about 30.A year after WW2 a photo shows him to be a portly, white bearded gentleman as can be seen in the book “Christmas Island – The Early years”, page 23.
Interestingly, the deaths of three Malay stevedores who were killed when the Nissa Maru was torpedoed on the 17th November 1942, are not listed in the Register even though it appears Oorloff kept a careful record of deaths. Japanese deaths from the torpedoing and from an accident with a snapping cable are also not recorded.
Another interesting point about the Death Register is that in 11 entries the cause of death has been written in Romaji” (Japanese written phonetically in romanised form). Oorloff noted most of those entries with “(Jap.)” As most of these occurred in hospital could it be that a Japanese doctor gave the cause of death? If so, no name was supplied in the “Remarks” column of the medical man certifying the death.
Following, is a list of the Romaji words. Translation into English was helped by a Japanese English medical dictionary authored by the Allies in 1945 to aid in their translations. Even with the use of this book, the translations may not be wholly accurate but they do convey the general meaning.
Senzo Mashu = Heart disease
Fukusui = Build up of fluid in abdomen
Hai-en = Pneumonia, inflammation of the lungs
Kikanshi = bronchial tube, bronchitis
Shinzo = heart, degeneration of the heart
Hai Kikaku = tuberculosis
Fukusui = Ascites, abdominal dropsy
Sikijuiro = ?
Below is the Death Register. Note: Question marks are those of Oorloff. An asterisk * before a part of a name indicates that it could not be read accurately. By way of explanation, British Cantonese, British Hokkien, British Khek (Hakka) means those people are Straits Chinese having being born in the Straits Settlements of which Christmas Island was a part; as opposed to those Chinese who were born in China.
On a pc or laptop you can scroll across the Register using the horizontal bar just below the table. On a mobile, use your finger to scroll across. The register may be easier to read if your mobile is held horizontally.
| wdt_ID | No. | Name | Age | Sex | Residence at Death | Nationality | Occupation | Period of Continuous Residence in Settlement | Last Place of Residence before arrival in Settlement | Date of Death | Cause of Death | Duration of Illness | Date of Registration | Name of Informant | Remarks - Name and qualification of Medical man certifying |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1942 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | Loh Ah Mui | 28 | F | Settlement, X.I. | Chinese | Housewife | 5 mos | Singapore | 05/04/1942 | Beri-beri | 12 days | 05/04/1942 | Yew Ah Tee | |
| 3 | 2 | Yow Wah | 62 | M | Hospital, Settlement | Chinese | Labourer | 30 yrs | ? | 21/04/1942 | Beri-beri | 26 days | 21/04/1942 | W.F. Oorloff | |
| 4 | 3 | Fong Kam Yuk | 33 | F | Settlement, X.I. | Chinese | Housewife | 8 yrs | ? | 23/05/1942 | Beri-beri Epilepsy | 3 weeks | 23/05/1942 | Long Lee Poh | |
| 5 | 4 | Abdul Gaffoor | 63 | M | Hospital, Settlement | Burmese | Crane Driver | not known | ? | 17/09/1942 | ? | ? | 17/09/1942 | W.F. Oorloff | |
| 6 | 5 | Arthur Wu Kim Swee | 5 | M | Drumsite, X.I. | British Hokkien | NIL | 2 yrs | Singapore | 17/09/1942 | ? | 2 days | 17/09/1942 | Wee Bit Chay | |
| 7 | 6 | Kow Yuen | 64 | M | Settlement, X.I. | Chinese | Coolie | 35 yrs | ? | 21/09/1942 | ? | ? | 21/09/1942 | ? | |
| 8 | 7 | Ong Tong Chuan | 61 | M | Settlement, X.I. | British Hokkien | Ex Manager, O.B.T. & Co | ? yrs (previously) 10 mos (recently) | Singapore | 05/12/1942 | Diabetes Mellitus *Car… | 12 days | 06/12/1942 | Ong King Wee | |
| 9 | 8 | Soh Yee | 67 | M | South Point, X.I. | Chinese | Coolie | 36 yrs | ? | 22/12/1942 | Strangulation by hanging | - | 22/12/1942 | ? | |
| 10 | 1943 |
1. John Hunt “Suffering through strength”.
Explore Further
- Read more historic Christmas Island WW2 newspaper articles and stories.
- To discover WW2 and Japanese artefacts and other historical finds from Christmas Island, visit the Christmas Island Virtual Museum.