Wes Olson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wesley John Olson (born 1960),[1] known as Wes Olson, is an independent researcher and author based in Perth, the capital of Western Australia. His work has concentrated on Australian military history during both World Wars.
Olson researched the loss of HMAS Sydney in World War II for nearly a decade before publication of his first book in 2000 by UWA Publishing,[2][failed verification] after which he became recognised[by whom?] as an independent authority on the ship and its lost crew. His research proved of great importance[citation needed] in the eventual location of the wreck and that of its adversary the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran in 2008. One of Olson's most notable[according to whom?] works about World War I is his history of Western Australian involvement in the Gallipoli campaign of the first world war.[3][4][5] This work was followed in 2018 by Olson's account of the cruise of the German raider SMS Emden in 1914.
A feature of Olson's works is his use of contemporary diaries (from friend and foe alike), leading to a sense of 'being there' in and around the action, bringing both the heroism and horrors of war from the perspective of both sides in the conflict into stark and immediate focus.[citation needed]
In May 1977, Olson commenced work with the Western Australian Government Railways as a junior station assistant. At age 18 he transferred to the locomotive branch and after commencing training to become a locomotive driver was appointed driver in 1988. Olson is currently[as of?] employed in that capacity by Pacific National.
Olson joined the Australian Army Reserve in 1978 and served a total of eight years as an infantryman, before marrying Dale Williamson in 1988 with whom he has three adult children. He became[when?] an honorary associate, at the time equivalent to curator, at the Western Australian Museum because of his contribution to HMAS Sydney work throughout the 1990s. In 2004 Olson was made a life member of the Fremantle Mosman Park Cricket Club.
Research and museological activities
With a boyhood interest in World War II British warship design, Olson learned of the Western Australian Maritime Museum's 50th anniversary international forum seeking to resolve the mysteries surrounding the loss of HMAS Sydney with all hands in November 1941 and to commence or facilitate a search. After contacting staff for a copy of the papers from the forum, it was learned that Olson also had a background in incident investigation with the railways and he was invited to join the museum's Department of Maritime Archaeology as a volunteer researcher assisting in its HMAS Sydney studies. Olson's first research task was to compile a comparative study examining all World War II vessels that had sunk in a similar manner or been severely damaged. After completing that database and producing an internal report, his next task was to examine whether a carley float with human remains onboard that was found at Christmas Island in 1942 could have come from HMAS Sydney. Olson's research not only disproved the then widespread belief the float was not of Australian naval origin, but it showed where it was stowed onboard the ship. From then he continued his research related to HMAS Sydney both independently and as an adviser to the museum. In 2021, DNA analysis helped identify the remains as those of Thomas Welsby Clark, Able Seaman of HMAS Sydney.
In 1997 Olson became a volunteer at the Army Museum of Western Australia. Initially given the role of researcher, he was subsequently appointed firearms keeper within the curatorial section. He then joined the gallery development committee and was involved in the development, construction and display of mannequins and weapons in the World War I, World War II and post-1945 galleries.
Olson left the Army Museum of Western Australia in 2013 and began assisting the Western Australian Museum with various military projects, including its plans to revisit the wreck of HMAS Sydney in association with Curtin University. Olson also assisted with the National Anzac Centre at Albany, and with exhibitions being developed for Boola Bardip, the museum's new facility in Perth. He also assisted Charles and Joan Walsh-Smith with the HMAS Sydney memorial at Geraldton, the HMAS Sydney memorial at Denham, the HMAS Perth memorial at East Fremantle, and the Battle of Crete memorial in Kings Park. In 2023 Olson assisted James Parkinson, Director of ROV Services Australia, to produce an information graphic of the wreck of SMS Emden at North Keeling Island.
