Anzac John ‘Barney’ Hines famed for stealing from Germans during World War I

It was rumoured Anzac ‘Wild Eye’, aka, John “Barney” Hines’ light-fingered antics drew the ire of the monarch of Germany himself.

John Hines with his trophies obtained during the Third Battle of Ypres. Source: Australian War Memorial

Private John “Barney” Hines was famed as “The Souvenir King” for looting jewellery, cigarette boxes and battlefield gear from captured German soldiers in World War I.

It was even rumoured this photo reached the desk of Kaiser Wilhelm II, who put a bounty on Hines’s head and used it as propaganda portraying the Anzacs as thieves and animals.

The story is told in the new episode of the free In Black and White podcast on Australia’s forgotten characters, with battlefield historian Mat McLachlan.

Born to German parents in Liverpool, Hines lived for some time in New Zealand, where he committed serious crimes including assault and theft, and served two long prison stints.

“One of the police during one of his court cases described him as one of the worst men in town,” says McLachlan, the founder of Mat McLachlan Battlefield Tours and host of the Living History podcast.

After moving to Australia, Hines enlisted to fight in World War I, and demonstrated unquestionable bravery while fighting on the Western Front.

“There’s a rumour that he single-handedly, at Messines in 1917, captured a German pillbox and 60 German soldiers,” McLachlan says.

“I don’t believe that’s true, because there’s no record of that in the battalion diary, he did not receive a bravery award. But it does speak of the myth and the bravery of the man.”

But Hines, nicknamed “Wild Eye”, found himself in more than his fair share of trouble.

Plaque at Rookwood Cemetery in Sydney. Picture: Craig Wilson

Plaque Dedication Service for John 'Barney' Hines. Picture: Craig Wilson

“His commanding officer described him as a tower of strength in the battalion ‘while he was in the line’,” McLachlan says.

“So I think there’s a subtle suggestion there that he often wasn’t in the line.

“But then again, another officer described him as being not just one pain in the neck, but two pains in the neck.”

This famous photo, captioned “The Souvenir King!”, shows Hines surrounded by souvenirs including a German helmet, rifle, ammunition, knapsacks full of jewellery, a bag full of Iron Crosses, wads of cash and a photo of the German Crown Prince.

“It did, for a lot of people, speak to them about the Anzacs on the Western Front and this insatiable need to pilfer from the Germans,” McLachlan says.

“And there’s a rumour, which I suspect is untrue but a great story, that it even reached the desk of the Kaiser in Germany and that he put a bounty on Barney Hines’s head because, you know, the Australian barbarians stealing all these things from German soldiers.

“But it was a characteristic of Australians, and one German officer was quoted as saying, ‘You Australians are strange soldiers, you steal even as you fight.’ ”

To find out more, listen to the interview in the free In Black and White podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or web.

See In Black & White in the Herald Sun newspaper every Friday for more stories and photos from Victoria’s past.