Paul Edward Allen Mason (30 April 1901 – 31 December 1972) was an Australian planter who spent most of his life in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he became a

coastwatcher The Coastwatchers, also known as the Coast Watch Organisation, Combined Field Intelligence Service or Section C, Allied Intelligence Bureau, were Allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific islands during World War II t ...

, playing a significant role in the Allied fightback in the Pacific Theatre by providing intelligence on Japanese operations around Bougainville. He later served as a member of the Legislative Council in the early 1960s.

Biography

Mason was born in North Sydney in 1901 to Frederick Mason and Margaret Robinson; his father was a Danish-born master mariner who changed his surname from

Mikkelsen Mikkelsen is a Danish-Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Mikkel" (equivalent of Michael). People with the name Mikkelsen include: People *Andreas Mikkelsen - Norwegian rally driver * Bård Mikkelsen - Norwegian businessperson *Brian Mik ...

.Mason, Paul Edward (1901–1972)
Australian Dictionary of Biography He attended

Fort Street High School Fort Street High School (FSHS) is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Mixed-sex school, co-educational Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective secondary school, secondary day school, located in Petersh ...

, but moved overseas in January 1916 at the age of 14 to work with his half-brother Tommy, becoming a plantation and trade store manager in the Shortland Islands when he was only 15.Mr Paul Mason
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', February 1973, p129 He returned to Australia in 1919, purchasing an orchard in Penrith. In 1923 he went back to the Shortland Islands to work for Associated Plantations. He subsequently transferred to Inus Plantations in Bougainville in 1925, taking over a plantation whose previous manager had been hacked to death by employees. He also briefly owned his own trading boat named ''Neui''. During

Mason was one of the few Australians to remain in the territory during the Japanese invasion of 1942, becoming part of Eric Feldt's coastwatchers team. To prevent him being harmed if captured by the Japanese, he was made a petty officer in the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve. Setting up observation camps at

Kieta Kieta is a port town located on the eastern coast of the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, near the township of Arawa. After extensive destruction during the 1990 Civil Uprising on Bougainville, Kieta has few inhabitants now, and is kno ...

and later Buin, he provided vital assistance on the first day of the

Guadalcanal campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in th ...

in August 1942, informing the allies that Japanese bombers were heading towards their forces, with the Americans subsequently destroying all but one of the Japanese planes. He was promoted to sub-lieutenant in November, and was awarded the American Distinguished Service Cross. Once the Japanese realised where the information was coming from, a unit was sent to stop the Europeans on Bougainville. Mason and others fled northwards through the jungle to avoid capture, travelling shoeless, wearing just shorts and a singlet and carrying only a small rucksack and pistol. After meeting up with fellow coastwatcher Jack Read, he was asked to set up another watching station in the south of the island. Following an ambush in June 1943, he was forced to flee through the Keriaka plateau, before being evacuated in July. Although Mason returned to Bougainville in November 1943, he was forced back to Australia the following March due to contracting

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

during an unsuccessful mission to

Treasury Island Mono Island is the largest island of the Treasury Islands, Solomon Islands, at . Geography Mono island is a volcanic island in the northwest of the Solomon Islands. It is separated by the Blanche Harbour from Stirling Island and the other cora ...

, after which the Japanese began spreading rumours they had killed him. He returned to Bougainville again in November 1944, this time organising a guerrilla force that killed nearly 2,300 Japanese soldiers. He was subsequently also awarded the British Distinguished Service Cross and promoted to lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve (Special Branch) in December 1951. The

Catalina Catalina may refer to: Arts and media * ''The Catalina'', a 2012 American reality television show * ''Catalina'' (novel), a 1948 novel by W. Somerset Maugham * Catalina (''My Name Is Earl''), character from the NBC sitcom ''My Name Is Earl'' ...

pilots that kept him supplied while he was underground described him as representing "the upper limit of continuous bravery" and stated he was "their No 1 hero of World War II". Following the war, Mason returned to Inus Plantations, where he was rewarded for his wartime efforts with shares. He married Noelle Taylor in November 1947 and the couple went on to open Buka Store and Chimbu Lodge. Now a celebrity figure, he also began writing for '' Pacific Islands Monthly''. In the 1961 elections Mason contested the European New Guinea Islands seat, defeating the United Progress Party candidate W. Meehan to become a member of the Legislative Council. He did not run for re-election in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

.300 Candidates for P-NG's First All-In Election
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', February 1964, pp9–10 In late 1971 Mason was admitted to hospital in Bougainville. He was transferred to a hospital in Brisbane, but died in December. He was survived by his wife and two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Paul 1901 births Politicians from Sydney People educated at Fort Street High School Australian expatriates in the Solomon Islands Australian expatriates in Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinean farmers Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Members of the Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea 1972 deaths Royal Australian Navy officers Australian people of Danish descent