Operation Copper – Z Special Unit Mission to Muschu Island

Tony Rowlands, Dunoon and District Gazette

A large part of a documentary honouring this mission by Australian Z Force commandos was recently reenacted and filmed in an area of remnant big scrub rain forest at Numulgi. The documentary release will be on FOXTEL DOCUMENTARY channel at 8.30pm on Anzac Day 25 April 2026. The documentary is produced by John Schindler of Schindler Entertainment based in Brisbane.

Overview

On 11 April 1945, eight commandos from the Australian Z Special Unit embarked from Aitape Harbour aboard HMAS HDML 1321 to carry out a covert reconnaissance mission on Japanese-occupied Muschu Island, off the coast of New Guinea. Their objectives included locating concealed naval guns, assessing potential landing beaches, gathering intelligence on enemy defences, and capturing a Japanese soldier for interrogation.

The landing

Travelling by boat under cover of darkness, the team encountered strong currents that capsized some of their craft and swept them off course. Despite losing equipment, the commandos reached shore near Som Point and established a concealed camp before beginning their reconnaissance.

Compromise of the mission

On 12 April, the patrol successfully captured a Japanese soldier. While returning to their camp, they became disoriented and inadvertently encountered a Japanese patrol. Their prisoner managed to alert the enemy, forcing the Australians to scatter and attempt escape.

A later attempt to flee the island on a makeshift raft failed, resulting in further loss of weapons and equipment.

Fates of the commandos

Four men – Lt. Alan Gubbay, Lt. Thomas Barnes, L/Cpl Spencer Walklate, and Pte Ronald Eagleton – attempted to reach Allied forces by putting to sea on logs. They were never seen again.

The remaining four – Sgt Malcolm Weber, Sig Michael Hagger, Sig John Chandler, and Spr Edgar “Mick” Dennis – stayed on the island.

On 14 April, while searching bomb craters for fresh water, they encountered a Japanese patrol. Weber, Hagger, and Chandler were killed in the ensuing engagement.

Spr Mick Dennis escaped, evading enemy forces before swimming approximately 10 miles to the New Guinea mainland. He then trekked roughly 20 miles through hostile territory before being found by an Australian patrol ten days after the initial landing.

For his courage and resourcefulness, Dennis was later awarded the Military Medal.

Recovery and commemoration

Decades later, the Australian Army’s Unrecovered War Casualties Unit, led by Major Jack Thurgar, located and recovered the remains of Walklate and Eagleton.

Both men were laid to rest on 12 June 2014 at the Port Moresby War Cemetery (Bomana). The ceremony included personnel from the Special Air Service Regiment and the 1st and 2nd Commando Regiments, and was attended by Mick Dennis, the sole survivor of Operation Copper.

Lest we forget.

This article appeared in Dunoon and District Gazette, April-May 2026.