November 2022
PATRON: Major General B. W. (Hori) Howard AO MC ESM (Ret’d.)
All Association members are encouraged to attend Remembrance Day Services in their nearest location. The Brisbane ceremony will be followed by a presentation to Kevin Smith of Honorary Life Membership to recognise his sterling service to our Association as Web Meister and Membership Officer.
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KOKODA 80 YEARS COMMEMORATED IN PERTH
Graeme Johnson, our WA representative, has sent an excellent report on the commemoration in Perth of the 80th Anniversary of the Kokoda Campaign. Graeme writes: The predominantly WA-raised 2/16 Battalion AIF fought in the Kokoda Campaign. A series of events were held to commemorate the 80th anniversary of this campaign by the very active 2/16 Battalion Association. The annual Brigadier Arnold Potts Oration held on Friday 16th September was given by the Commander of the 13 Brigade, Brigadier Brett Chaloner CSC. He spoke of the critical importance of stemming the Japanese southern advance on Port Moresby during that Campaign. The Oration and Dinner was conducted at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre and proved a very successful evening. A number of Perth residents originally from Port Moresby were present as guests. The program included the singing of the PNG and Australian National Anthems.
A Memorial Service and wreath laying was conducted on Sunday 18th September at the State War Memorial-Flame of Remembrance in Kings Park. Various floral tributes were laid by Service Chiefs, politicians, ex-service Association representatives and other distinguished guests.
Graeme laid the wreath (below) on behalf of the PIB-NGIB-HQ-PIR Association.
RAAF Chief visits PNG
Enhancing Defence Aviation in PNG
Australia is lending a helping hand in getting the air arm of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) back on its feet after many years out of the skies. Retiring Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Chief of PNGDF in Port Moresby as part of ongoing efforts to assist in building up Papua New Guinea’s air capability through measures including plane maintenance and staff training. The MoU between the Royal Australian Air Force and the Papua New Guinea Defence Aviation Authority aims to enhance and improve the aviation safety and capability of the PNGDF.
Air Marshal Hupfeld said it was an effective way of providing support to our close neighbour at a particularly important time for the region. “The Australian government has made it very clear it’s important that we recognise the significance and the security of our region,” Air Marshal Hupfeld said. “What’s important though is that PNG makes its own choices about their security and their sovereignty. “What I’d like to do as the Chief of Air Force is to be in a position to assist, as we are doing through this program, and support the PNGDF aviation arm.”
Air Marshal Hupfeld was in Papua New Guinea at the end of April leading a RAAF delegation attending a number of events commemorating Anzac Day. This year marks the 80th anniversary of a critical year of World War II for Papua New Guinea, many sacrifices on the battlefields and the remarkable adversity faced during the Kokoda campaign. The month of April 1942 was a time of particularly bitter fighting in the skies above Papua New Guinea as Japanese aircraft flew down from Rabaul and Lae to attack Port Moresby and surrounding areas.
To commemorate the historic events of 80 years ago, Air Marshal Hupfeld and the delegation attended a dawn service at Bomana War Cemetery to honour the almost 3500 fallen Australians and other Commonwealth troops, and at least 32 PNG soldiers buried there. The delegation also took the opportunity to visit the Isurava Memorial, which was the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the Kokoda campaign, before heading to Efogi near Mission Ridge and Brigade Hill, where another fearsome battle occurred in 1942.
[Source: Contact, courtesy of Tribute – newsletter of MHSA (Qld)]
Owers Corner Milestones
A Kokoda Campaign plaque
This plaque was written and made by the well-known Dr Ross Bastiaan. His text is very worthy (although sadly there are minor errors). Modern hikers of the Kokoda Track pass this plaque positioned on a triple Arch at the Kokoda plateau, symbolising the beginning (or the end) of their arduous journey.
‘The Digger of Kokoda’ by author Daniel Lane comes with a recommendation from Association member, John Morris from Bowral. Owing to the book’s controversy, we invite John to send us a review of this book about Digger Reg Chard, if he finds time.
A Few PNG Book Suggestions
by Gregory J. Ivey
1. R. Paul, Retreat from Kokoda (London: Panther Books, 1969) paperback, 302 pages (first published 1958)
The author writes a dramatic account of the epic battles fought during the Kokoda Campaign in 1942. First published before the official history, the book draws on private sources (combatants’ documents and war correspondents, particularly Chester Wilmot) and books released shortly after the War ended. We read about the significant battles, incidents and accidents. While the book includes footnotes, sketch maps and tables, there is no index or separate bibliography. Extracts from the diaries of Japanese Servicemen present the enemy perspective on the campaign – an approach used also in later books about Kokoda.
The valuable role of the Papuan Infantry Battalion is mentioned in several of these Battles although the report of the historic Awala ambush on 23 July 1942 is unfortunately faulty. Nevertheless, this book is a good primer on the Kokoda Campaign.
2. A. Powell, The Third Force: ANGAU’s New Guinea War, 1942-46 (South Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 2003) Australian Army History Series, hard cover, ISBN 0195516397, illustrations, bibliography, index, 290 pages
The support role played by ANGAU during the War was vital, sometimes controversial, yet very comprehensive. This well-researched book covers ANGAU’s strengths, weaknesses, and legacies.
The author takes the reader away from specific campaigns, specific battalions, or specific servicemen of the War in New Guinea. He presents the role played by the indigenous people during that War – be they labourers or Police or Soldiers. Because ANGAU controlled the people in the War-affected areas, the ANGAU records show us the impact on the people of ANGAU and the competing military forces.
Powell quotes extensively from the Allied sources and draws rational if surprising conclusions. His approach is thorough, and his scope is wide. It would not be possible to summarise his many determinations in a short review. This book is unexpectedly informative about ANGAU, the broad New Guinea circumstances, and PNG’s hard-labouring, courageous people who deserved more recognition and reward from Australia.
Powell appears ambivalent about the indigenous soldiers. On the one hand, he opines, “It is probably fair to say that most of ANGAU’s senior officers would have preferred that the PIB, NGIB, and PIR had never existed.” Yet, at the end of his too-short account of those soldiers, he states, “And they were indispensable…a truth that remained throughout the whole New Guinea war.”
(This book is now out-of-print, but copies are available in some Public libraries.)
3. B.W. McFarlane, We Band of Brothers: A true Australian adventure story (self-published, 2000) hard cover, ISBN 0646388495, maps, B&W and colour photos, bibliography, index, 450 pages
This autobiography covers Brian’s early years and his Army Officer career of about 24 years including Malaya, Papua New Guinea and Vietnam. Only four of the twenty-five chapters deal with his service in PNG in the early to mid-1960s.
The settings, people, and even conversations are well described thanks to Brian’s collection of documents, photos, and movie film. Our readers may be interested in the separate chapters on Port Moresby (Taurama Barracks), Wewak (Moem Barracks), and Vanimo Outstation. Brian provides frank yet discreet assessments of the senior and junior officers he knew, and he admits to using some licence in re-telling incidents and conversations.
(This weighty book is probably out of print, but copies are available in some Public libraries.)
4. Christina Dodwell, In Papua New Guinea (Somerset UK: Oxford Illustrated Press, 1983) hard cover, ISBN 0902280988, colour photos, 255 pages
The author recounts her solo journey through Asia to West Papua and her arrival in PNG at Vanimo prior to her adventures crossing the Highlands solo on horseback in 1980, using out-of-date maps. Dodwell kept a daily diary and took rare, colour photos of PNG villagers. She is not an anthropologist but her acquired insights about the villagers are detailed and reliable (mostly). Readers with experience in PNG will still learn much here about the customs of the Highlands and Sepik villages.
After climbing Mt Wilhelm, Dodwell paddled a small canoe solo along the Upper and Middle Sepik River over four months, finishing her courageous adventure at Angoram (Lower Sepik) in 1982.
Your search for a copy of this book will be worthwhile.
5. J. Hooper, Lest We Forget: Recollections of the 1942 Papuan Battle (self-published, 2021) ISBN: 9780645283716, paperback, colour photos, references
This booklet contains the recollections and perspectives of the son of an Australian Army Officer who fought in the PIB against the Japanese Army during the Kokoda Campaign. The text represents the elaboration of a presentation about the roles of some Kokoda Veterans, delivered in 2021 to the relatives and friends of the Servicemen involved. The author approaches his task in a humble way, aiming to portray the Kokoda Servicemen he knew and a few of their War exploits.
The first part of the book deals with the 2007 Isurava Memorial Trek commemorating the 65th anniversary of the 1942 Battle of Isurava. Six veterans from the PIB, 39th Bn, and 2/14th Bn, then aged in their late 80’s, were accompanied by family carers, kinsfolk, and trekkers. Some relatives recollect fathers who died at Isurava. Two of the veterans had since published their recollections from this Papuan battle. This chapter preserves some of the recollections.
The second part deals with recollections prompted by a group of 6 relatives on a 2015 non-trekking tour of the 1942 Papuan battle fields, in particular, the beach-head sites at Buna, Gona and Sanananda. They were relatives of veterans from 49th Bn, PIB, ANGAU, 2/6th Bn, 39th Bn, 2/14th Bn, 2/31st Bn and HMAS Shropshire.
The third section includes a poem written by an unidentified soldier of the 49th Bn (circa 1940). The poem laments and highlights the desire of the “choco” militia, who were then being used as a garrison force, to join the fighting. The booklet concludes by identifying how these veterans are being remembered in different ways such as the naming of a major bridge in Caboolture, awarding of a CBE, and a State Funeral. The booklet is interspersed with high-quality photographs of the mateship, empathy and comradeship that has endured. This 66-page booklet offers a modern, family perspective on some known and relatively unknown Servicemen whose stories need to be told. Here, also, are glimpses of the attitudes of the indigenous descendants of PNG Servicemen and Carriers in that War.
This book is available from the author jayh@bigpond.net.au or the eBook is at Booktopia.
by General ‘Hori’ Howard
1. Having in the old days (1961) spent the obligatory six months at Vanimo in the wet season, travelling from Taurama to Wewak by C130, and Wewak to Vanimo via Landing Ship Heavy, I can smile at the modern, 2022 terminal now at Vanimo.
The airstrip then was grass and actually in the base area. The Engineers arrived to commence work on the new and much larger strip while we were there. The old strip only catered for the weekly Norseman from Wewak, except when the strip was too wet, which was much of the time. When this was the case, they would fly “low and slow” over the strip and throw out the mail.
2. One of the priests from the Catholic Mission on the far side of the bay used to come over every Sunday to say Mass. Lots of non – Catholics attended which made him very happy. But he was even happier when he went up to the mess for the biggest breakfast you have ever seen. It turned out that the cook was a Catholic and the Mission folk seldom had meals as good as ours.
Eventually the subalterns were invited to the Mission for a thank you drink. The Mission made its own home brew which they called Seraphini. It was a devil’s brew of coconut milk, lime juice, paw-paw juice and goodness-knows what else. It tasted very much like soft drink but was highly alcoholic, unbeknown to the subalterns. One of their number needed to urinate during the drinking session, so he went into the bush. After doing his business he thought it would be fun to hide. He did so and promptly fell asleep. The others went looking for him without success, so it was decided to go home less one as they assumed that he had decided to walk home along the beach. The CSM had been added to the group by the OC to ensure that everyone behaved, and he was not happy that one had been left behind. About half-way back one of the group, who happened to be driving the small boat decided that it would be fun to go around in circles. This he did until the CSM managed to wrest the tiller from him. He then proceeded to give the subalterns a lecture on behaviour. However, the CSM, who was himself quite drunk, stepped off the boat into the water before it had quite reached the small wharf. He further ruined his credibility by putting his expensive camera in the Mess oven and then forgetting it. The OC dished out extra duty officers for “leaving a comrade behind” and of course the missing one did walk home along the beach.
Such was the entertainment at Vanimo at that time.
Help wanted!
Aussie Rules Team, Murray Barracks, 1966
Do you recognise any of these Servicemen below? If so, please contact the Editors by Email.
Do you know about the use of this PIR Badge? If so, please contact the Editors by Email.
Editors: Ian Ogston (ozoggies2@gmail.com)
Greg Ivey (iveygj@gmail.com)
