Hugo Michael Walter Saari

Alias Walter; Hugo Walter; Hugo Walter Michael (naturalisation); nickname: Pappinburra Bill

Born 23.02.1897     Place Mariehamn, Aland, Finland     Ethnic origin Finn     Religion Lutheran

Father Saari, Augustus     Mother -

Arrived at Australia

            from      on 1914     per Cumberland     disembarked at Sydney

Residence before enlistment Sydney

Occupation 1917 labourer, 1949 seaman

Service

service number 22318     enlisted 30.10.1917     POE Sydney

unit 15th Field Company Engineers, 1st Motor Transport Section       rank Private, Sapper, Driver

place France 1919

final fate RTA 3.09.1919       discharged 16.11.1919

Naturalisation applied 1949

Residence after the war Sydney, 1928-49 Adelaide, Whyalla, 1949 Semaphore, SA

Materials digitised naturalisation (NAA)

digitised service records (NAA)

digitised Investigation Branch file (NAA)

From Russian Anzacs in Australian History:

Sometimes this Australianness comes clad in a vagabond’s clothes rather than in hero’s attire. So, to the gallery of Russian swagmen already mentioned earlier (Ankudinow, Orloff, Abrahamovitch, Mannerman) I could add another colourful figure — ‘Pappinburra Bill’, formerly a Finnish seaman named Hugo Michael Walter Saari. According to the police, he had a long criminal record across the country in every State, from ‘stealing a dog’ to ‘supply liquor to abo’ — at least the police couldn’t reproach him for ‘fraternising with Russians’.

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