How the Papua New Guinea health system failed an old soldier

Jack Osi with bagpipes

Jack Osi and family a few weeks before his death

By AARON HAYES

Jack Osi was a familiar face in the Defence Force over the past thirty years.

He was one of the bagpipe players in the Royal Pacific Islands Regiment pipe band and he was often right in the front row of marchers at parades, ceremonies and other special occasions.

He travelled the country performing for dignitaries and the general public alike.

Even after his retirement he was recalled many times to play and march in parades because the new generation of the Defence Force now has only a handful of bagpipe players left.Last year he gave his last two public performances.

One was in front of a camera for a film crew from Ireland shooting a travel show called No Frontiers.

They were doing a jungle trek up the Lakekamu River near Jack's home and when they heard that there was a bagpipe player nearby they insisted on getting him to play for them.

Ireland and Scotland are the two countries where bagpipes originated so the Irish film crew was astonished to hear their national instrument played so expertly out in the middle of the PNG jungle.

Well-known Irish TV personality Kathryn Thomas appeared with Jack in the segment.

The film crew's visit was coordinated by local tour company Ecotourism Melanesia and they also visited Simbai and Mt Wilhelm.

If you have broadband internet access you can watch footage of the show at this internet link: http://www.rte.ie/travel/nofrontiers/20080323_papuanewguinea.html (rte.ie/travel/nofrontiers/20080323_papuanewguinea.html)Jack Osi's final gig was the Independence Day celebrations in Western Province in September last year.

He and some other retired army bandsmen were flown out to Balimo and Kiunga on a charter flight to play at the Independence ceremonies.

Balimo seems like just as strange a place to hear bagpipes as the Lakekamu River.

Sadly, Jack Osi passed away on Easter Saturday night, and his bagpipes now sit quietly in their case, never to be blown by Jack's lips again.

* * * * *

Jack was a fit and healthy 55-year-old but started to experience paralysis on one side of his body just before Christmas.

A CT-scan showed that he had some kind of tumour growing on his brain.

Maybe tuberculoma. Maybe cancer.

Doctors put him in the hospital and said to try treatment for TB first and if that doesn't work, assume it's cancer and try to surgically remove it.

He was in hospital for many weeks but during the nurses strike earlier this year the wards were understaffed and he was discharged.

When the strike was over it took four weeks to get him re-admitted because there weren't any beds.

By this time he was almost completely paralysed and another CT-scan showed the tumour was getting bigger.

Probably cancer because it wasn't responding to TB drugs.

Poor old Jack found it difficult to eat the solid food provided by his family and lost weight rapidly but for some reason the hospital did not put him on a drip.

They don't even seem to have bleach to mop the floors these days so it wouldn't be surprising if they didn't have an IV drip for an old soldier either.

Doctors said to operate but dithered and delayed and then it was too late - he was gone.

Weak from lack of nutrition, he just ran out of life energy well before the tumour could deliver its fatal coup.

But even after death the health system dealt poor old Jack a final body blow.

When he died at midnight, the morgue was closed and the family was told to take his body home for the night and bring him back at 8am in the morning.

His grieving widow and four proud sons had to wheel his still-warm corpse down to the carpark, manhandle him into a sitting position in the back seat of the car and drive him to the house for overnight.

By morning when it was time to drive him back to the hospital, rigor mortis had already set in and the four sons, by now distressed and traumatised by the ordeal, struggled to get the stiffening corpse into the car.

What a humiliating experience for the family of this proud soldier, to have to unload his corpse from the back seat of a car and carry him into the morgue.

But how is Jack Osi's experience any different from any other public health care patient in the city?

The wards are overflowing and waiting lists for beds are very long.

The corridors, toilets and other public areas of the hospital are filthy.

Even in the wards, flywires are ripped and clogged with dirt and many overhead fans, lights, taps and toilets don't work.

The morgue seems to be always full, or closed, or both.

Different doctors do ward rounds each day and patient care seems inconsistent.

One doctor says one thing, another doctor says something else, if you're lucky to get any information at all.

Most of the time doctors are rushing and don't stop to explain properly about the patient's diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.

Nurses too never seem to have time to stop and explain what's going on.

Probably shortage of staff, equipment and supplies is the reason for all these problems, and maybe it all boils down to not enough money or not enough prudent use of money.

All Jack Osi's family know is that their father served his country with distinction but when it was time for the national health system to look after the old soldier, it failed miserably.

Donations for Jack Osi's widow Mrs Haro Osi can be deposited to Ecotourism Melanesia Ltd Tour Trust Account ANZ 12024994.

Papua New Guinea’s building boom in pictures

Reef Apartments – Stage 111

Construction to commence in August, 2009.
Reef Apartments are set to reach a new bench mark of excellence in quality, style and finish.
The 18 luxury apartments all have stunning views over Fairfax Harbour, with two of the three bedrooms all with views to the harbour.
Each unit has two spacious undercover car parks.
A separate car wash bay is also provided on site.
The complex will contain a complete entertainment area with all facilities readily available.

IPI Building Lae

The Building consists of a secure semi-basement car parking for all tenants plus separate
off street visitor parking.
It is anticipated that there will be over 1000 square metres ground floor retail area with four floors of commercial space at 750 square metres per level of net lettable Area.
The remaining top two penthouse floors contain a mixture of two and three bedroom boutique apartments totalling 10 that have unsurpassed views to the Huon Gulf and Salamaua.
The entire building has been carefully designed to latest technology while being
Environmentally- friendly and robust to meet the harsh and diverse climate conditions
experienced in Lae.
The building will be a landmark building for Lae and Nambawan Super Limited.

CBD development

Nambawan Super Limited is leading the building boom currently under construction.
Fletcher Morobe Constructions are up to the fifth level of the nine-Level tower when completed.
The building is a boutique commercial and residential development offering an attractive street scape retail facility at ground level.
Two levels of car parking with one level below ground and the other suspended above ground, followed by four levels of commercial office space, each level containing private ablutions for each individual office.
The top two floors will contain six spacious penthouse units that will have stunning views to both Fairfax Harbour and the ocean.
The building has been designed to the highest international environmental standards.

Armit Place

Currently selling individual floors and units ‘off the plan’ through Century 21.
Three levels of secure underground parking
Additional car parking spaces are also available to privately purchase.
Five levels of commercial office space.
Five levels of luxury penthouse-style apartments.

By GARY G. HALLARDAssociate Director/Senior Project Manager
Pacific Architects Consortium (PNG) Limited

Building and construction boom in Papua New Guinea

By GEORGE TIPPING
Commercial Director of K G Contractors Ltd and
Past President of the PNG Institute of Builders

The question on everyone’s lips must be “will the Global Economic Crisis (GEC) affect the PNG construction boom”?
The simple answer is YES, but the real question that should be asked, is “how much will it affect the PNG building and property industry”?
There have been a number of articles written by eminent persons and institutions on the subject of the GEC and its affect on PNG economic activities.
The article that follows concentrates solely on the building and property industry but my reasons for my conclusions relate to the economic forces in play affecting PNG.
Whilst there is a financial crisis in most countries around the World, PNG is certainly the exception.
The main reason is that PNG banks and financial institutions (with minor exceptions) have not participated in overseas lending and share purchases.
The banks have been flush with funds and have been able to lower then maintain interest rates at historically-low levels.
That situation changed recently.
Almost every central bank around the world has been lowering interest rates because of the GEC, but PNG has recently been increasing them.
Deposit and lending rates are up by as much as 2% and the banks are now lending with more caution and requiring greater equity in the project from borrowers.
This will have an effect on new building and property activities being financed within PNG, particularly on the smaller and more marginal projects.
We can visually see the projects underway forming the current building boom.
The boom has come about because of past shortages in all types of accommodation projects including hotel rooms, housing, apartments, commercial office space (both private and government), factories, and shopping centres.
All new building projects require vacant land and this shortage has been particularly severe on residential land for housing.

National residential housing

This sector has been a major disappointment due to the severe shortage of serviced land and the extraordinary high prices now being obtained in the current property market.
I have been warning in the PNG Year Book for the last three years that there was an urgent need to get this sector actively working due to the fact that the “limited window of opportunity” was starting to close.
The sad fact now is that with interest rate increases and market prices in excess of K300,000 for a standard three-bedroom new house / land package, house prices have gone way beyond the capacity of even senior national employees.
Whilst building cost increases have taken place in the vicinity of K20,000, the real increase is being charged by those owning the serviced land.
The window of opportunity has definitely now closed on national residential housing and all the newly-developed policies, reports and public announcements by the National Housing Corporation and others will not revive the situation.
What is needed is a very radical increase in serviced land being made available at affordable and realistic prices but I cannot see that happening in the next few years.
To provide an example of what is happening, a standard residential block of vacant land at 9-Mile was recently advertised for K150,000.
Many of you would all be aware that this same land could have been purchased at 10% of that price only a few years ago.

Hotels

The first-tier major hotels in the NCD have had a very good income during the past few years because the demand has far outstripped supply.
They have been able to increase their tariffs and still the demand has been there, so they have increased the tariffs again and again to the point where they have suddenly met stiff tariff resistance and room occupancies have dropped.
This is whilst everybody else around the world is reducing tariffs.
This overseas tariff reduction will continue because of the GEC but PNG is not immune to those economic forces and we can expect to see less business visitors than in the past. However, on the other hand, the middle-tier of accommodation have improved their occupancy levels because of more-affordable tariffs.
Despite this, there is still a shortage of short and long-term hotel accommodation in the NCD and it is my belief that development of new hotels will continue but with more emphasis on the 3 to 3.5 star level.
Within the last year The Airways (67 rooms), Gateway Hotel and Ela Beach Hotel (44 rooms) have commenced expanding their room numbers and improving their premises. We have not yet seen any physical building activities at the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn.
However, the Holiday Inn is expected to have a major new building programme commencing in 2009.
It is interesting to note that the foreign-based new hotel developers such as the Korean CMSS Casino Hotel and Vision City Hotels upon their completion will compete directly with the established hotels in the NCD.

The current building boom

We can now see four-tower cranes on the NCD skyline, something that could never have been imagined in 2004.
In Hunter Street is Nambawan Super’s nine-storey mixed commercial and residential building (Fletcher Morobe) .
On the rear of the old Papuan Hotel site we can see the major high rise project for Steamships Properties (Fletcher Morobe) and we have seen the activities on the former Hornibrook site also for Steamships (HG Constructions).
We can all see the activity in Harbour City being developed by Curtain Brothers for Nasfund.
The first building is nearing completion (Fletcher Morobe) with the ANZ Bank as tenant, the second building being built by Curtain Bros themselves with a third Nasfund commercial building still to come.
These are the higher-profile projects and as usual it is in the NCD and Lae that we see the larger projects in the PNG building boom.
Lae has a six-storey 18 luxury apartment complex under construction (Lae Builders & Contractors) and a Nambawan Super mixed commercial / residential 8 storey building expected to commence soon.
But there are also a very large number of smaller projects in these cities as well as Madang, Alotau and Mt Hagen all continuing the boom in most urban centres around the whole of PNG.

The Exxon Mobil LNG project

Early visual works are expected to commence in 2010 and part of these comprise the building of two training colleges at Idubada (within the grounds of Port Moresby Technical College) and at Hides.
These are temporary construction colleges which are intended to run for five years then be handed over to PNG.
A permanent training college will be built later for LNG operations at the main plant 20km outside Port Moresby in the Boera district.
The main construction activities are subject to the final decision on proceeding with the world size project which everyone is working positively towards achieving.
A positive decision to proceed will bring another construction and property boom to Port Moresby and many other areas of PNG.


Investors from overseas

Where in the world can you now receive a good interest rate or invest / develop property and still receive an attractive return on investment?
Investors need a country with a relatively stable political and economic environment, a currency that will not devalue and where commercial business law can be understood? The obvious answer must be PNG.
With the GEC severely affecting their home based operations, I believe that the overseas investors who are still cashed up will consider PNG for their new projects.
One of these type of investors already here is Vision City which is being built at a remarkable pace and which now has a recently-erected heavy duty tower crane for all to see.
I expect that we will see more of this type of major investor visiting PNG in the near future to assess the prospects for their property investments.

In summary

What does the future hold for the building and property industry in PNG?
The following prediction excludes the impact of both Exxon Mobil and Interoil LNG plants and is based on supply and demand and other influences that are occurring now as well as known planned projects.
Despite the internal impediments of higher interest rates, inflation, hesitation by some PNG investors due to the GEC, slow NCDC and utility service providers approvals, it is my prediction that the current building and property boom will continue at a high level of activity, particularly for large projects.
How long will this boom last? That is the hard question to answer.
My crystal ball suggests we have another three to four years before the boom slows to more-manageable levels.
However, if the Exxon Mobil LNG project is confirmed, then we will have a scenario of a much larger building and property boom making the current boom seem small by comparison.

A word of caution

Despite the boom, building companies and property developers can still experience financial problems due to many factors and “go broke”.
This boom has shown that there are some inexperienced people in the industry and some medium-sized companies who are taking on projects of significantly greater complexity and size than their experience and working capital will allow.
Late project completions are occurring and these can be devastating on both the builders and property investors’ cash flow.
Errors in tender calculations do occur, increased numbers of tenders and pressures on staff to perform tasks for which they may not be sufficiently experienced is occurring. We have seen a great deal of new and costly equipment coming into the industry.
This is a good sign providing the contractor has a continuing income producing role for that equipment.
The GEC has shown that banks and commercial companies must follow sound commercial practice and not discard the basic rules of business.
Greed has certainly been a factor in the GEC.
The profit factor and human nature being what it is, advantage has been taken of the unsatisfied demand in accommodation in the NCD to dramatically increase rentals and sales prices.
There is always a limit.

Papua New Guinea’s Western province has a lot to offer

A fun-loving girl swings into a river, Western province

Sunset along a river, Western province

Looking at Awaba, Western province

Another look at Awaba, Western province

Along a river in the Western province

A canoe taking part in the annual Gogodala Canoe Festival, Western province

By ZARA KANU

WESTERN Province has a lot to offer in terms of tourism and it would no doubt be a potential tourist destination because of its unique cultures which it can expose to the rest of the world.
The Middle Fly District is made up of three local level governments comprising of Suki, Lake Murray and Balimo.
There are more than 27 villages along the river leading out from Balimo towards the Suki and Lake Murray area and this is where you get to find the real fun -loving character of the local people.
The view along the Aramure River going towards Awaba is about five hours by dinghy and is spectacularly beautiful for those who intend to go bird watching or going fishing.
The bird life will never stop to amaze tourists as you travel along this most-captivating river and find that there is more bird life than one could imagine.
Night hunting is a norm for the locals but can be a good experience for those who love excitement and adventure.
Balimo is renowned for its beauty in the abundance of wildlife and rich culture and the staging of the sixth Gogodala Canoe festival in May was no exception.
“We must look at development from a different perspective because it will bring development and other major benefits,” said Western Province Governor Dr Bob Danaya.
“The Middle Fly is far expanding and there is great potential in promoting tourism here in the province.”
The town is currently under construction to upgrade most of the facilities for the locals and as well as those intending to go for holiday or sightseeing.
Tourists or visitors can check into the Biyama family house where 10 rooms are available for rent if going in a group or as an individual.
The town area is very peaceful and there is a health centre, a few shops and a main market housed in the centre of the town.
Transportation on dinghy along the river can be arranged upon consultation with the district administration and the town committee, or otherwise, a walk around the town can take only half a day.
The Gogodala Canoe Festival is an enriching way to truly appreciate what these people have to offer in terms of natural wildlife and the culture.
This festival is held annually in April and those who are interested can collect more detailed information from the National Cultural Commission website.

Mother's Day 2009

Today is ANZAC Day, however, lest we forget, Mother’s Day is just around the corner…

 

Mother’s Day falls on Sunday, May 10, 2009.

Mother's Day is celebrated to honor all mothers and express gratitude for the hardships they bear in bringing up a child.

 Most countries including Papua New Guinea celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May.

People take the day as an opportunity to pay tribute to their mothers and thank them for all their love and support.

The day has become hugely popular and in Papua New Guinea, as is the case in several countries around the world, phone lines operated by Telikom and Digicel witness maximum traffic.

There is also a tradition of gifting flowers, cards and others gift to mothers on the Mothers Day.

The festival has become commercialised to a great extent.

Florists, card manufacturers and gift sellers see huge business potential in the day and make good money through a rigorous advertising campaign.

Think of your Mothers on the day!

 

Wallabies

Captions: 1. Mum and Bub 2. Wallaby doe 3. Young wallaby

 

By PAUL OATES in Queensland, Australia

 

Our back lawn has become a Wallaby haven.

Every mooring a small mob descends on the newly-mown grass.

If only they would only leave our passionfruit vines alone I wouldn’t mind so much.

Gogodala Canoe Festival on again

Scene from a previous Gogodala Canoe Festival. Picture courtesy of National Cultural Commission

Gogodala masks. Picture courtesy of National Cultural Commission

Gogodala headdress. Picture courtesy of National Cultural Commission

Gogodala child. Picture courtesy of National Cultural Commission

One of the spectacular war canoes of the Gogodala people. Picture courtesy of National Cultural Commission

By TRAVERTZ MABONE

THE annual Gogodala canoe festival in Balimo, Western province, scheduled for next week, will prove to be bigger and better than previous fetes, The National reports.
At least, this is the hope for organisers of the festival on April 30 and May 1.
The festival came about as part of Balimo district’s agriculture and cultural show five years ago, which is now a major event in the Middle Fly district with annual support from the National Cultural Commission (NCC) and the Rimbunan Hijau PNG Group.
The festival will showcase Gogodala war canoes, the 40m craft renowned for their decorations and artworks depicting animal figures representing various clans.
The war canoes of Gogodala play important roles for the many communities located near the sea and waterways, according to the organisers.
To the NCC, the loss of canoes from the lifestyles of Papua New Guineans will be a loss of an important cultural identity.
The Middle Fly administration thanked the RH Group for this year’s sponsorship.
It also thanked the NCC for the continuous support.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE?

And as we mark ANZAC Day today, I leave you with the words of Pete Seeger's 1961 classic, 'Where Have all the flowers gone?', which was song so beautifully and poignantly by children of Ela Murray International School at the Bomana War Cemetery outside Port Moresby this morning.Thank you so much, particularly to the people of Australia and New Zealand, for your faithful readership of the ANZAC Day articles I have posted this week. God's Blessings from Papua New Guinea...Malum

Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the flowers gone?
Girls have picked them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young girls gone?
Taken husbands every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young men gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young men gone?
Gone for soldiers every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Covered with flowers every one
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?

 

Hundreds attend ANZAC Day Dawn Service in Port Moresby

Hundreds of people attended the traditional ANZAC Day Dawn Service at Bomana War Cemtery outside Port Moresby today.

The ceremony started at 5am with the Mounting of the Guard by the First Royal Pacific Islands Regiment of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force.

This was followed by the Cafalque Party moving into position, welcome by Master of Ceremonies Mick Pye, singing of hym Abide With Me, Requiem by Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea Chris Moraitis, Prayer by Major Kelvin Alley of the Salvation Army, First Reading by Papua New Guinea Governor General Sir Paulias Matane, Second Reading by Australian Defence Adviser Colonel Luke Foster, saying of the Lord’s Prayer, Address by New Zealand High Commissioner Neils Holm, Wreath Laying, Reading by Papua New Guinea Defence Force Commander Commodore Peter Ilau, The Ode by Ms Christine Coulthard of the Gungahlin RSL Sub-Branch and Mr Joe Filippi of the Port Moresby RSL, The Last Post, Two Minutes Silence, Lament, Reveille, National Anthem of Papua New Guinea, National Anthem of Australia and National Anthem of New Zealand.

Those who attended included members of the diplomatic corps and hundreds of trekkers who had walked the Kokoda Trail.

The Emden to Sydney story

An ANZAC Day contribution by PAUL OATES

 

I thought I might relate to you a little bit of history. War often brings out the good and the bad in people but leaves very little in between except the waiting. 

 I saw a few years ago in the news that HMAS Anzac was about leave Albany in WA and to 're enact' the 90th anniversary of the original 1915 voyage of the ANZAC force to the Middle East.

 A little known part of that convoy's voyage concerns Australia's first naval battle and a very interesting anecdote. I found part of this story when I was stationed on Cocos (Keeling) Islands and the rest a bit later in a magazine article. Both parts of the story put together, make a very illuminating insight into the 'norms' of nearly 100 years ago.

 As the convoy steamed westward away from Australia, it travelled close to Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Cocos Islands had a cable station, located on Direction Island for many years, and this was the only link connecting Australia with Britain. The Direction Island cable station was manned by unarmed civilian telegraphers. The cable travelled across the bed of the Indian Ocean from Australia, rose up the eastern side of the island, was connected to the repeater station and then disappeared down into the depths on the western side of the lagoon. The cable is still there today and can be seen when snorkelling on Direction Island.

 A German ship and raider, the SMS Emden, had been sinking shipping in the Indian Ocean since the start of the war and the ANZAC convoy was heavily protected by a number of warships including HMAS Sydney, HMAS Melbourne and the Japanese cruiser Ibuki.

 Early on 9 Nov 15 the Cocos Islands cable station radioed a message "S O S Emden here" and this was picked up by the Australian convoy.

 Now comes the interesting part.

 Knowing that the Emden would monitor radio transmissions, the radio operator in the HMAS Sydney responded with an acknowledgement but intentionally turned his radio down to a quarter strength. This acknowledgement was indeed picked up and interpreted by the Emden's radio operator who believed the Sydney was actually 200 miles away, when in fact she was only 50 miles away. (The beginning of electronic warfare?).

 The Emden then launched a raiding party that occupied the cable station and laughing, cut the cable into 18" lengths to take away as trophies. Unfortunately for the Germans, this was a false cable and the real cable was buried under the sand at their feet.

 Suddenly the Sydney hove into sight and the landing party was urgently recalled. But the Sydney started firing at the Emden and the Emden had to respond and steam away, leaving the landing party stranded.

 Eventually the Sydney, having been struck by Emden shells, hauled off and in a running battle and having larger guns, disabled the Emden to the extent that her captain had to run her aground on North Keeling Island to stop her from sinking and so the crew could abandon ship. What is left of the Emden is still there today although it has slid under the water. It is a designated 'war grave' although some divers have obtained permission to inspect her. I remember seeing her outline and two propeller shafts, still visible from the surface. There also used to be an iron boiler on the beach (in 1990) although the Japanese cut most of her up for scrap between the wars.

 Now comes the really interesting part.

 Those German sailors, left stranded on Direction Island, commandeered the Clunies Ross' work boat, the Ayesha. They then sailed the Ayesha all the way across the Indian Ocean to the Persian Gulf and travelled overland up into the area that is now Syria. There they finally got in touch with the German advisors attached to the Turkish forces and re-entered the war. A feat almost as good as the whale boat trip to Batavia (now Java) of Captain Bligh when he was marooned in the middle of the Pacific Ocean by some of the Bounty's mutinous crew.

 Now comes the part that as an Australian, always gives me a lump in my throat.

 While all the action was taking place, the ANZAC convoy kept steaming on to Colombo (then capital of Ceylon - now Sri Lanka). The Sydney, having won the battle, collected the German wounded and steamed off after the convoy that had by that time tied up at Colombo harbour.

 Here was Australia's first victory as a nation and apart from the attack on the German Headquarters at Rabaul, its first recognisable naval victory. As the Sydney closed on Colombo harbour, preparations were made for a tumultuous welcome and victory celebration. Over 7,500 ANZAC troops and many allied sailors lined the ships and docks and made ready to enthusiastically greet the Sydney as it steamed into the harbour.

 But the Sydney (who had been damaged by the Emden's shell fire) radioed ahead that she had German wounded on board and that any noise or cheering might disturb them. This news was disseminated around the ships.

 As the damaged Sydney steamed past all the ships, the thousands of waiting ANZAC troops and Navy sailors, according to an eye witness, all stood to attention and no one made a sound.

 

 

 

 

 

The Second World War in Papua

Former Papua New Guinea-based kiap (patrol officer) JOHN FOWKE writes of WW11 in Papua…

 

In 1958, at the age of 19, I was sent from Port Moresby to Kikori to work for the TP&NG Administration there. At the time, Kikori was the Admin. Headquarters for the Gulf District.The move to Kerema came two or three years later. At Kikori the District Commissioner, the late Dick White, ruled from an office built of pit-sawn "melila" timber - (kwila) - built in 1928 at a time when the famous Champion brothers and Jack Hides were exploring the hinterland of Gulf and Western Districts, crossing the country from the Fly to the Sepik, discovering for the outside world what are now the Southern Highlands and the Enga Provinces. 

At Kikori I worked side by side with men who had fought the Japanese invaders, beginning in 1942 with the invasion of New Britain, spreading from Rabaul to Buna, Gona, Sananada and later to Milne Bay. Our senior RPNGC man at Kikori was Sgt. Udiga from Tufi in the then Northern District; he was ably assisted by the energetic Corporal Segera of Daru and Corporal Gelai of Balimo. All were pre-war policemen who delighted in showing me the intricacies of the old R.P.C. issue rifle from early days, the Martini-Henry, of which there was an example still in store at Kikori. My boss at Kikori, the late Allan Jefferies, A.D.O., and the DC, Mr White, had both been active in ANGAU in the Sepik and in Manus, respectively.

The Japanese nation, the first Asian nation to industrialise and to build a modern, mechanised military capability, believing in its own superiority and in its destiny to dominate, rule and gain access to all the raw-material resources it wanted, conceived of a vast, militaristic, neo-colonial operation which it named as “THE GREATER EAST ASIAN CO-PROSPERITY SPHERE.” The aim was to invade and take over all of SE Asia, as well as the islands of Melanesia and the Australian continent which lay to the south.The Japanese had already invaded and taken possession of the Korean Peninsula, and had also conquered and possessed the Manchurian provinces of  mainland China. The Japanese believed that as they advanced into SE Asia from these bases, any threat from America, at that time neutral in the European conflict begun by Hitler's Nazis, would be minimised if they attacked and sank the USA’s Pacific Fleet, normally at anchor at its huge base at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii.

Thus the East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere campaign was launched in a dawn attack upon the Pearl Harbour base on December 7th, 1941. It was a surprise attack, and was devastating.Eight weeks later, in January of 1942 a Japanese invasion of what is now Papua New Guinea commenced and soon New Britain, New Ireland, Manus and parts of the mainland were occupied. On the 21st of July, Anglican missionaries near the then Government station of Buna were surprised to see very large ships approaching the coast. Thus began the invasion of what was the Northern Division of the Territory of Papua. The aim was to press through to Port Moresby.  From here the Japanese believed that air and sea attacks upon Australia would be launched with ease.

Australia’s reaction was one of panic. As a loyal member of the British Empire Australia had committed almost all its military resources to fight with the British against the Germans in North Africa, in Europe, and in the defence of Singapore aginst the Japanese. In Australia there remained, at best, a “Dad’s Army” of elderly and unfit men whose service in the First World War was considered experience enough to allow them to man the coastal defences of Australia. The plan of action was for civilian populations of Queensland and the Northern Territory to withdraw to the south to a position below what planners called “The Brisbane Line,” drawn across the continent from north-east to south-west. From here a defensive land-battle would be initiated. Lands to the north and the island territories governed by Australia were too big and too difficult to man and supply, let alone to defend.This fall-back position behind the Brisbane Line was the place where the opposing forces would engage when the Japanese landed in northern Australia.

Unfortunately for the Japanese, but most fortunately for the rest of us, Papua New Guineans and Australians alike, the Americans, impelled by the unheralded and massive attack at Pearl Harbour, came into the war with a huge impact. The US Pacific Command was created, and in due deference to his experience and to the huge resources at his command, the American, General Douglas MacArthur was given command of all of Australia’s forces at home and in the Pacific. MacArthur immediately dismantled the “Brisbane Line” preparations and requested the Prime Minister of Australia to assemble a military force for the defence of Port Moresby, correctly anticipating Japan’s plans in this regard.

The force which was dispatched to defend Port Moresby was almost entirely composed of young and unwilling conscripts to the Australian Militia, which was by law, prevented from operating outside Australia. Relying upon Papua’s status as an Australian-protected Territory as his justification, the Prime Minister authorised the despatch of this force to Port Moresby. Older soldiers named these youths “The Chocolate Soldiers,” predicting that they would melt once they faced the heat and discomforts of service in Papua. Their officers were for the most part older men who had been judged as unfit for service in other theatres of war. On arrival at Port Moresby, the “Chocolate Soldiers” showed their resentment by disobeying orders and by systematically looting and vandalizing the stores, warehouses and private residences of the town. Even churches were vandalised and despoiled, as recounted to this writer by the daughter of the then Anglican Rector of Port Moresby, the Reverend Mathews.

Despite the complaints of the remaining white residents of Port Moresby, little was done to restrain these youths in uniform by their largely ineffectual officers. At the same time, civilian officers of the Papuan Administration were sent on patrol in all the coastal districts with instructions to conscript all healthy males within a certain age-band for service with the Australian Army as carriers and labourers. This was done, and men from the West, from the Gulf, from all parts of Central and Milne Bay and Kokoda in the then Northern Division were brought to Port Moresby. Here they faced a frightening, dangerous and low-paid existence for an unknown period. In the beginning, naturally, there were many desertions. Then with the landing of the Japanese invading force at Buna matters began to change. An advance party of experienced men of Australia’s Seventh Division, called back from service with the British forces in Egypt prepared for movement to Port Moresby soon after their arrival in Australia.

These experienced soldiers, together with the young militiamen, a great many of whom were teenagers, referred to contemptuously as “Chockos,” were deployed to the Sogeri Plateau and beyond to meet the Japanese advance. Marching with them as carriers and stretcher-bearers were the Papuan conscripts who would become known as the “Fuzzy-Wuzzy Angels.” These two groups had a lot in common, being for the most part young, bewildered, badly-paid, and apprehensive of the immediate future. In the extreme adversity in which they found themselves the two groups of men formed a bond of a kind which neither side had ever known or expected to be a part of. The young Australians initially viewed the Papuans, with whom they could not converse, as strange and unpredictable savages, whilst the Papuans began to recognise that they had much in common with the young white-men, a race which they had been accustomed to view with a degree of awe and even fear; a race with which they had never imagined that they would share a cigarette, let alone a cup of tea and a hardman biscuit. This however, was what happened. From shaky beginnings both groups steadied and became resolved to carry the fight forward to the Japanese, buoyed by growing comradeship and admiration for each other, a regard forged in the raging crucible of extreme danger, death and discomfort. Ultimately, victory was achieved through this spirit of one-ness and the bravery which grew with it. This is the true story of the “Chockos” and the “Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels” and the campaign which, together, they fought.They freed Papua from the planned domination of the Japanese Empire, and in so doing they helped to ensure the freedom not only of Australia, but also of New Guinea to the north, and the islands of Manus, New Britain, New Ireland and Bougainville.

The Australian soldiers of the Kokoda and allied campaigns were paid six shillings a day, the equivalent today of roughly K 9.00 per fortnight, with rations, blankets, shorts, shirts and boots. The “Angels” were paid the equivalent of K1.50 per fortnight, plus rations, “ramis” - (laplaps) - a leather belt and a kitbag. All were provided with a waterproof cape, a blanket and a mosquito-net. Medical attention was available, with evacuation to a field-hospital for the badly-injured. A stick of tobacco with newspaper cost roughly 5 toea in today’s money at the Army labourers’ canteen in Port Moresby. A box of matches was 1 toea.

In recent years it has been stated that the PNG campaigns fought by the Allies and their Papuan and New Guinean fellow-soldiers was something which had nothing to do with the people of this country. It has been intimated that the local people were caught up in fighting which had nothing to do with them.

This theory is quite incorrect as we have seen. Papua New Guinea was an object of the Japanese desire for conquest and domination and exploitation just as much as Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Burma were. Such expressions of opinion constitute an insult to the many Papuans and New Guineans who fought and who died to make their native land safe from the occupation of a merciless and brutal foe. This is to say nothing of the more-than-9000 Australian servicemen who lie buried in War Cemeteries and in as-yet undiscovered and lonely graves throughout Papua New Guinea today. All, brown and white alike, fought and died so that together we could remain free of the rule of the Japanese Empire.

In addition to the older policemen and NCOs of the Kikori detatchment of the R.P. &N.G.C. at Kikori, I also knew local ex-servicemen such as ex-Sergeant- Major Katui, MM, late of the Papuan Infantry Battalion, of the Goaribari tribe, and ex-Sergeant Major Samai of the Kairi tribe, upriver from Kikori. Both served in the Kokoda- Popondetta-Buna-Gona-Sanananda campaigns, both with great distinction. 

Of all these veteran Papuan soldiers and policemen, Katui’s picture stays clearly in my mind today, more than fifty years later. Katui, even when approaching old age was a particularly impressive figure of a man, standing some six feet in height, broad-shouldered and big-boned without being heavy. A man with the unmistakeable look of a warrior. Katui, who worked together with the late Tom Grahamslaw in ANGAU, was renowned for his practice, when encamped within known distance of a Japanese outpost, of going out at night clad only in the skimpy garment known as “sihi,” and equipped only with a large, sharp sheath-knife of the type in those days issued to Papuan Village Policemen. Katui would quietly work his way close to the Japanese camp in the early hours of the morning. With patience and skill this big man would slowly inch forward, ever closer to the cold and sleepy Japanese sentry. Then suddenly and in silence, Katui would rise and cover the Japanese man’s mouth, slit his throat, pierce his heart, cut his ears off, and withdraw. Katui’s grisly collection of dried Japanese ears became a legend throughout the Allied forces in the country, and in his own Kikori district he was regarded with awe and great respect up until the day of his passing.

ANZAC Day Message from His Excellency Mr David Dunn, British High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea

His Excellency Mr David Dunn, British High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea

"At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them" part of the ode repeated all over the world on ANZAC Day and other memorial services throughout the year. As we gather for the ANZAC Day Dawn Service this year, young and old together witness the first rays of sunlight illuminating the row upon row of the immaculately maintained Commonwealth War graves, let us reflect upon the huge debt of thanks we owe those lying at peace in Papua New Guinea.
These young men from Australia, New Zealand, the USA, India, Papua New Guinea, and the UK fought and died together in the defence of common values, democracy and friendship. They died fighting for each other but also fighting for us. For without their sacrifice we would not enjoy the freedoms and lifestyle that we have today.
As I walk around the war graves in PNG I am struck by the young age of the men at rest and I am filled with a sense of humble gratitude, sadness and an overwhelming feeling of what might have been? How many future fathers, husbands, sportsmen, scientists, inventors and even perhaps Prime Ministers lie shoulder to shoulder in PNG? So many young lives, hopes and dreams cut short before they had really begun. This is the real cost of war.
So at the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them. We will remember their courage and valour; we will remember their sacrifice and the families and loved ones they left behind; we will remember the folly and tragedy of war and all those who have lost their lives and been injured in past and current conflicts.
But above all else we must remember that they did it for us.
After the ANZAC Day Service the British High Commission will be informally laying individual flowers on the 463 un-named UK graves at the Bomana Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery. Anyone attending the dawn service on Saturday is most welcome to join us.

ANZAC Day message from Hon John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand

Hon John Key New Zealand Prime Minister

The men who landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 could not have foreseen how that date would become embedded in the consciousness of future generations. Year after year, New Zealanders reflect on the sacrifice of our servicemen and try to make sense of that piece of history.
ANZAC Day has become an opportunity to honour all New Zealanders who have served in times of war. It is a day to mark our proud history of sacrifice and heroism, to remember those men and women who put their lives on the line for our country, and who fought for a better world.
And it is a day to reflect on our ties to each other and our shared nationhood.
When I attend ANZAC Day ceremonies I am inspired to see the large numbers of young New Zealanders who stand shoulder to shoulder with proud veterans. ANZAC Day has become a day that unites generations of New Zealanders and that binds us to our history as a country.
This year, there is a special significance as we mark the 70th anniversary of the beginning of World War Two.
It is sobering to remember that the First World War – “the war to end all wars” – sowed the seeds of a new catastrophe for the next generation. Some New Zealanders remember World War Two. By listening to their stories, we learn about a period of history that should never be forgotten.
We no longer have that opportunity in relation to the First World War, but there is much that can still be done.
New Zealand has signed a “Shared Memories Arrangement” with the Flanders and Belgian governments. In reflection of this, an exhibition from the Memorial Museum Passchendaele is currently touring New Zealand. It is called, “The Belgians have not Forgotten” and includes images and artefacts from the Western Front.
War memorials and cenotaphs nationwide are a permanent reminder of the toll of the Great War. The Western Front claimed the most lives. But it was in the trenches at Gallipoli that the terrible nature of this war first became clear.
Our servicemen met adversity with courage and honour. In the words of Governor-General Sir Charles Ferguson on ANZAC Day 1928:
They showed us how it is possible for men and women like ourselves – not heroes, but commonplace people – to rise to heights of sacrifice which had never been known to be possible. They raised to a higher plane the standard of life of every one of us. The inspiration they have given will last and will be handed down to generations yet unborn.

ANZAC Day message from Hon Sir Anand Satyanand PCNZM, QSO, Governor-General of New Zealand

NZ Governor-General Hon Sir Anand Satyanand

Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni.
25 April 1915 has great significance for New Zealanders as the day the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed at Gallipoli, beginning one of the most gruelling campaigns in modern history.
It has been estimated that some 13,977 New Zealanders served at Gallipoli, more than half were injured, and about one fifth died. The losses experienced by both sides of the conflict have had repercussions to this day.
But the Gallipoli experience has other meanings for us too. It has been described as a “coming of age” for New Zealand, a trial by fire in which a small Dominion of Great Britain discovered its own mettle, sowing the seeds of a distinct national identity.
It was there, too, that a new respect developed between Australian and New Zealand troops, and the ANZAC spirit was born. In the words of Australia’s renowned historian Charles Bean, referring to the first few days of the campaign: “Three days of genuine trial had established a friendship which centuries will not destroy.”
New Zealand and Australia have a long history of working together for a positive cause. Our joint efforts to promote good governance and stability in the Pacific are one example; joining forces to provide relief in Indonesia and Thailand after the tsunami is another.
New Zealand’s offer of assistance during the devastating Victorian bushfires, too, reflects the certainty that when help is needed we can depend on each other.
The landing at ANZAC Cove captured the imagination of the nation. More than 90 years later, increasing numbers of New Zealanders commemorate ANZAC Day. It has become a time of reflection on the sacrifice of those who have fought in many different arenas of war over the past century.
We honour, too, the veterans still among us, and today’s armed services who continue to do us proud working in pursuit of peace.
No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tena koutou katoa

ANZAC Day message from His Excellency Mr Niels Holm, New Zealand High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea

New Zealand High Commissioner H.E. Niels Holm

On the occasion of ANZAC Day 2009, we again pay tribute to the past bravery and sacrifice of the servicemen and women of New Zealand and Australia, and mark a proud ANZAC tradition of gallantry and camaraderie that has continued for over ninety years. The messages on this page from New Zealand’s Governor-General Hon Sir Anand Satyanand PCNZM QSO, and Prime Minister Hon John Key convey the feelings of New Zealand and New Zealanders as we contemplate once more the meaning of this special occasion.

Although the ANZAC spirit was first forged at Gallipoli in 1915, it has continued to inspire acts of bravery and sacrifice during many campaigns on many battlefields in the ensuing 90 years, not least in the Pacific campaign during World War Two. We take this opportunity to acknowledge with the greatest respect the contributions of the people of Papua New Guinea to the successful outcome of the bitter conflict that was waged in this country.

It is also fitting today to acknowledge our ongoing defence cooperation relationship with Papua New Guinea. New Zealand's armed forces have enjoyed a long and close association with those of PNG ever since independence, and the longstanding personal and professional relationships that exist between many of the officers of our respective services have made our defence links one of the most valuable and enduring strands of the bilateral relationship.

Papua New Guinea and New Zealand also continue a warm spirit of cooperation in other areas. Our leaders maintain a cordial and frank dialogue on issues of mutual interest and importance, including in the Pacific Islands Forum. Our bilateral development assistance to PNG, delivered through NZAID, now totals over 35 million Kina per annum and continues to expand. A significant number of Papua New Guineans travel to New Zealand each year to study, and many New Zealanders also call PNG home. Trade continues to grow, and we hope the eventual development of a new PACER regional trade agreement will see this aspect of the relationship further expanded in future.

Today the Pacific is at peace. But many other challenges – political, economic and social – continue to confront us. New Zealand will continue to stand with Papua New Guinea and our other regional neighbours to defend and advance regional interests.

On this ANZAC Day 2009, New Zealand again pays tribute to the ANZAC tradition, and remembers the great sacrifices made on the battlefield to secure the future for generations to come.

Lest we forget.

The Ode

This is the verse of the ode that is said during the minutes of silence on Anzac Day:

They shall grow not old,
As we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them,
Nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun,
And in the morning
We will remember them.

Beginnings of ANZAC Day

Information supplied by Wikepedia

 

Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.

 The acronym ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, whose soldiers were known as Anzacs.

The pride they took in that name endures to this day, and Anzac Day remains one of the most important national occasions of both Australia and New Zealand.

When war broke out in 1914, Australia had been a Federal Commonwealth for only thirteen years.

In 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of an Allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula to open the way to the Black Sea for the Allied navies.

The plan was to capture Istanbul, capital of the Ottoman Empire and an ally of Germany.

The ANZAC force landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Turkish defenders.

 What had been planned as a bold strike to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stale-mate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months.

At the end of 1915, the Allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships.

Over 8,000 Australian and 2,700 New Zealand soldiers died. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians and New Zealanders at home and 25 April quickly became the day on which they remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in war.

Though the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives of capturing Istanbul and knocking Turkey out of the war, the Australian and New Zealand troops' actions during the campaign bequeathed an intangible but powerful legacy.

 The creation of what became known as an "Anzac legend" became an important part of the national identity in both countries. This shaped the ways they viewed both their past and their future.

On 30 April 1915, when the first news of the landing reached New Zealand, a half-day holiday was declared and impromptu services were held.

The following year a public holiday was gazetted on 5 April and services to commemorate were organised by the returned servicemen.

The date, 25 April, was officially named Anzac Day in 1916; in that year it was marked by a wide variety of ceremonies and services in Australia and New Zealand, a march through London, and a sports day for the Australian and New Zealand soldiers in Egypt.

The tiny New Zealand community of Tinui, near Masterton in the Wairarapa was apparently the first place in New Zealand to have an Anzac Day service, when the then vicar led an expedition to place a large wooden cross on the Tinui Taipos (a 1200ft high large hill/mountain, behind the village) in April 1916 to commemorate the dead.

A service was held on the 25th of April of that year.

In 2006 the 90th Anniversary of the event was celebrated with a full twenty-one gun salute fired at the service by soldiers from the Waiouru Army Camp.

 In London, over 2,000 Australian and New Zealand troops marched through the streets of the city.

A London newspaper headline dubbed them "The Knights of Gallipoli".

Marches were held all over Australia in 1916; wounded soldiers from Gallipoli attended the Sydney march in convoys of cars, accompanied by nurses.

Over 2,000 people attended the service in Rotorua.

 For the remaining years of the war, Anzac Day was used as an occasion for patriotic rallies and recruiting campaigns, and parades of serving members of the AIF were held in most cities.

 From 1916 onwards, in both Australia and New Zealand, Anzac services were held on or about 25 April, mainly organised by returned servicemen and school children in cooperation with local authorities.

Anzac Day was gazetted as a public holiday in New Zealand in 1920, through the Anzac Day Act, after lobbying by the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association, the RSA.

 In Australia at the 1921 State Premiers' Conference, it was decided that Anzac Day would be observed on 25 April each year.

However, it was not observed uniformly in all the States.

One of the traditions of Anzac Day is the 'gunfire breakfast' (coffee with rum added), which occurs shortly after many dawn ceremonies.

During the 1920s, Anzac Day became established as a National Day of Commemoration for the 60,000 Australians and 18,000 New Zealanders who died during the war.

The first year in which all the States observed some form of public holiday together on Anzac Day was 1927.

By the mid-1930s, all the rituals now associated with the day — dawn vigils, marches, memorial services, reunions, sly two-up games — became part of Australian Anzac Day culture.

New Zealand commemorations also adopted many of these rituals, with the dawn service being introduced from Australia in 1939.

With the coming of the Second World War, Anzac Day became a day on which to commemorate the lives of Australians and New Zealanders lost in that war as well and in subsequent years, the meaning of the day has been further broadened to include those killed in all the military operations in which the countries have been involved.

Anzac Day was first commemorated at the Australian War Memorial in 1942, but due to government orders preventing large public gatherings in case of Japanese air attack; it was a small affair and was neither a march nor a memorial service.

Anzac Day has been annually commemorated at the Australian War Memorial ever since.

Australians and New Zealanders recognise 25 April as a ceremonial occasion. Commemorative services are held at dawn, the time of the original landing, across both nations.

Later in the day, ex-servicemen and women meet and join in marches through the major cities and many smaller centers.

 Commemorative ceremonies are held at war memorials around both countries.

 It is a day when Australians and New Zealanders reflect on war.

After the First World War, returned soldiers sought the comradeship they felt in those quiet, peaceful moments before dawn.

With symbolic links to the dawn landing at Gallipoli, a dawn stand-to or dawn ceremony became a common form of Anzac Day remembrance during the 1920s.

The first official dawn service was held at the Sydney Cenotaph in 1927.

Dawn services were originally very simple and followed the operational ritual; in many cases they were restricted to veterans only.

The daytime ceremony was for families and other well-wishers and the dawn service was for returned soldiers to remember and reflect among the comrades with whom they shared a special bond.

Before dawn the gathered veterans would be ordered to "stand-to" and two minutes of silence would follow.

At the start of this time a lone bugler would play "The Last Post" and then concluded the service with "Reveille".

In more recent times the families and young people have been encouraged to take part in dawn services, and services in Australian capital cities have seen some of the largest turnouts ever.

Reflecting this change, the ceremonies have become more elaborate, incorporating hymns, readings, pipers and rifle volleys.

Others, though, have retained the simple format of the dawn stand-to, familiar to so many soldiers.

Each year the commemorations follow a pattern that is familiar to generations of Australians.

A typical Anzac Day service contains the following features: introduction, hymn, prayer, an address, laying of wreaths, recitation, the playing of "The Last Post", a minute of silence, "Reveille", and the playing of both New Zealand and Australian national anthems.

At the Australian War Memorial, following events such as the Anzac Day and Remembrance Day services, families often place red poppies beside the names of relatives on the Memorial's Roll of Honour.

In Australia sprigs of rosemary are often worn on lapels and in New Zealand poppies have taken on this role.