SIR,—Whatever the merits.of Mr. Erskine Childers's attack on Zionism, he
shows no 'flash of frankness' in his statement about Zionism deliberately 'sabotag- ing specific Western schemes to admit Jewish DPs (i.e., Rdosevelt's and the Kimberley project).' Zion- ism may have 'deliberately arranged' many things— other forces, too, at that time were 'deliberately arranging' trouble.
The 'Kimberley project' was, brought to Australia in the late Thirties by a Russian of some standing in the USSR, who wanted (he said) the Australian
Government to grant him or his backers a consider- able area of territory on the sparsely inhabited north-west coast of Australia—incidentally, the embryo port nearest in distance to Europe, nicely isolated (then) from the rest of Australia, and a most handy location for a submarine or other warlike base. The obstinacy with which this Russian emissary pushed his request succeeded only in making it look like a demand, an appearance heightened by his quite remarkable contempt for the Australian Gov- ernment's reply, politely but firmly expressed to him, that it was not giving away land for another Jewish national home, especially under such auspices, and that it had plans of its own for Kimberley develop- ment, including oil research.—Yours faithfully, F. M. CUTLACK (Late Assoc. Editor, Sydney Morning Herald) Meadow Cottage, Barwash
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