About this record
This record is an excerpt of the transcript of the trial that reviewed Hideichiro Ide's objection to internment. Hideichiro 'Henry' Ide was a naturalised British subject and prominent silk merchant, importing quality Japanese silk into Australia.
Henry Ide was also an inventor. He submitted a patent application for the invention of an 'Improved method of and apparatus for external application of medicine' with Dr Tsunehiro Kubokawa. This patent application is held in the national archival collection.
Henry Ide was interned, along with over 1,000 other Japanese Australians, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japanese Imperial forces on 7 December 1941. At the time of his internment Henry was 'nearly 80 years', had been living in Australia for 50 years, and had been a naturalised British subject for 40 years.
Naturalisation is the act of granting someone citizenship in a country where they were not born. In this case, Henry was naturalised as a British subject because Australia did not yet offer Australian citizenship. Until 1949, to be an Australian meant being a British subject. Despite Henry's 40 years as a British subject, he was considered a potential security risk due to his Japanese ancestry and interned during the Second World War.
Henry objected to his internment and a trial was conducted to consider his case for release. The pages above show the caution and sometimes hostility with which people of Japanese ancestry were treated during this time. Of note during Henry's trial is the focus on him being respected as an elder in the Japanese-Australian community. At one point he was asked 'are you not one of the leading members of the Japanese community?' to which he replied 'of course, I am the oldest; they all respect me.' This was later used as key evidence of Henry's 'intimate connection with Japan' and therefore grounds against him being released.
Another factor that was discussed were his children, 2 of whom served in the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) during the Second World War. However, the tribunal panel decided that no 'glory or reflected righteousness' should be gained by Henry; that his children serving in the 'Forces' was in no way attributable to Henry, his values or the way he brought up his children.
Henry was released from internment on 1 January 1943 and put under house arrest. Henry Ide's experience is similar to that of many Japanese Australians who were interned during the Second World War.
Food for thought
The presumption of innocence is the idea that a court should assume a person is innocent until they are proven guilty.
Why do you think the presumption of innocence is a key part of a fair trial? Based on this record, does Henry Ide appear to have been presumed innocent or guilty?
