The Jim Osborne memoirs - Tough pair earned respect

Prior to the war Denny Love was a vet with the Department of Agriculture at Ulverstone and had also toured, while a university student, with the Australian rugby team known as the Wallabies, to South Africa. 

Denny, sometimes affectionately known as the “Scrub Bull”, would have a go at anything – his courage was legendary. 

Unfortunately, he was one of the 2/40th Battalion taken prisoner by the Japanese on Timor. He would never have been, never could have been, one to take orders from those he despised and was subjected to far more abuse and beatings than others of his battalion, even though their deprivation, starvation and beatings were bad enough. 

Denny came through and I admired him immensely. Unfortunately, but due largely to his treatments as a POW (prisoner of war), he became blind a year or so before his death, but he never lost his dignity or his sense of humour. His son, Tony, now runs the property Chintah – and runs it very well.

Jim Hood was another mate who served in the Airforce and is the strongest man I have known. 

Jim had the most remarkable history. 

His family were engineers (Russel Alport). He was a pupil at Hutchins school and on his way home one day he noticed a Norwegian whaling ship in port by the name of “The Neilson Alonso”. 

His sense of adventure was too much – he went on board, they were a crew man short, so he signed on. His headmaster at Hutchins told Jim that” boys from our school, do not do that type of thing” but he went and returned after some adventure stuck in ice in the Ross Sea all while accompanied by six chase boats. 

After one season whaling Jim returned and spent some time as an amateur wrestler, three years undefeated as well as competing at the Empire games. He also made his name as a rower and was member of a winning Head of the River crew as well as a part of a Tasmanian King’s Cup crew. 

He later joined the Airforce in which he served in crash boats picking up survivors around New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. 

After the war Jim purchased the property Swanwick near Coles Bay. 

I remember seeing him arrive at the fuel depot there and, on his own, load 12 44-gallon drums of fuel into the back of his lorry. A hoist to get one hand beneath, a lift, and straight into the truck. Then he rolled them on and stood them up. Then three more, and so on. I offered to help, but Jim told me he found it easier on his own. All I could do was watch wide-eyed in amazement. 

Later I was to lie in the bed next to him. Yes, he eventually overdid things and had to have surgery on his spine, but there was never a less complaining patient or one with a better sense of humour. 

Soon after this Jim sold Swanwick and moved to a soldier settlement farm on Flinders Island, but after 12 years there he sold out and purchased the farm formerly occupied by ‘Dido’ McGee.