I received this comment from one Larry Kasperek in regards to the Nadzab Airport story below (which has been used previously in this Blog): "The airstrip at Nadzab was built by the 836th Aviation Engineer Battalion.
"They arrived from Lae on Dec. 17, 1943 and spent their first Christmas in the Pacific there.
"In addition to the airstrip, they built a control tower, access roads, laid water pipe to the hospital area and the largest playhouse in thousands of miles, complete with a sound system.
"The John Wayne Show entertained them there.
"Of note in their history was a tea house run by the Australians.
"They departed in March of 1944.
"My father was a member, and they still hold annual reunions."
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
The story of Nadzab Airport
Longtime Lae resident, the late Horace Niall, once predicted that Nadazab would one day become the main international airport for Papua New Guinea (Picture above showsNadzab, just before it was opened in late 1977)
It hasn’t, as yet, however, is capable of receiving international flights and remains one of the busiest airports in the country.
Niall was one of those who helped to build Nadzab back in 1943 into one of the busiest airstrips of World War 11.
And he fondly recalls that Nadzab was almost in every respect an “international airport” in those days, with loudspeakers calling for passengers to Honolulu, Los Angeles, Australia and many other faraway places.
Nadzab fell into disuse after WW11, however, rose from the ashes of the war to be reopened in 1977 and eventually took over from Lae as the main airport.
“Having had so much to do with Nadzab, I was happy to hear in 1973 that it was to be made operational again,” Niall wrote in 1978.
“I doubt that it will ever be as busy as it was from late 1943 to 1945, but I have a feeling in my bones that one day it will become the main international airport for Papua New Guinea.”
The first airfield in the Nadzab area of the Morobe Province’s Markham Valley was established by the Lutheran Mission for use by small planes serving the mission station at Gabmatzung.
It was not used very often and, after the outbreak of the Pacific War, it soon became overgrown with dense kunai grass.
It was with the capture of Japanese-occupied Lae in mind that the Allied forces decided to use the Nadzab area as a landing craft for Dakota and other aircraft.
On September 5, 1943, about 1600 men of the 503rd American Parachute Infantry Regiment, with an Australian battery of 25-pounders, were dropped at Nadzab.
The Americans were in 82 Dakota transports, the Australian gunners in five.
Before the attack, part of the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion, with a Papuan Infantry Battalion (PIB) company and an Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU) detachment with almost 1000 Papua New Guineans as carriers and labourers, had been assembled at Tsili Tsili airstrip in the Lower Watut area, to the southwest of Nadzab.
“The ANGAU detachment was under my command,” Niall takes up the story.
“All of us made a three-day march from Tsili Tsili to a point overlooking the Markham River and almost opposite the area where the paratroopers were to land.
“Before the drop, the site was heavily strafed by Mitchell bombers and fighter planes.
“At the same time the Lae airstrip was also coming under heavy bombardment.
“During the strafing, large areas of kunai grass were set alight.
“The paratroopers landed with no opposition.
“The overland troops and carriers crossed the Markham River just west of the junction with the Erap River but their progress to the drop area was held up because a track had to be cut through the tall pitpit (a wild sugarcane).
“By dark, Lieutenant Colonel J.T. Lang, CO of the Pioneers, and myself had reached the site of the proposed new airstrip.
“Word was sent back along the track for all to sleep where they could and to be at the old airstrip site by first light.
“This happened and by 7.30am I was able to report that, by a superhuman effort on the part of the Papua New Guinea labourers, the old strip was cleared and ready for planes to land on it.
“On hearing this, the 5th Air Force headquarters began moving troops of the Australian 7th Division, the first arrivals landing about 11.30am.
“Cover for the incoming aircraft was provided by the US paratroopers.
“The next day I was told to report to Colonel Price of the US Army engineers, who instructed me to accompany him to a site, marked on aerial photograph of the area, which appeared suitable for a large airstrip.
“We travelled at breakneck speed across country to the site of the present Nadzab airstrip.
“After driving up and down the proposed site a few times the colonel said he was satisfied it would be suitable.
“We then arranged for 50 labourers to be put to work clearing the kunai and other rubbish.
“A camp site, which is still recognisable, was selected for ANGAU personnel near the present turn-off from the Highlands Highway to the airport.”
Grass knives and machetes were dropped and some large tractor drawn mowers were sent from Port Moresby.
However, they could not be used until large stones and bush covering the area had been cleared.
Then six bulldozers were flown in.
They cleared a track as they drove to the site of the planned strip.
That track was almost in the same position as the track which today leads from the airport to the racecourse.
“The ‘dozers quickly leveled the area but in doing so they raised a pall of black dust, caused by the kunai being set alight, which made working conditions unpleasant, especially since drinking water had to be carried several miles,” Niall recalls.
“Another danger was the death adders which turned up by the score.
“Most were large and angry at being disturbed and each had to be caught and killed before work could proceed.
“Luckily no one was bitten and I think the adders helped augment the meat rations of some workers!”
Next came the Marsden steel matting which was laid on the new strip by the US engineers.
Two days after work had begun, the first flight of Mitchell bombers landed.
The strip had already been tested by a few Dakota landings and a makeshift control tower, made from poles cut from the nearby bushes and tied with wire and kunai vines, had been erected.
In the days that followed Lae was recaptured and the US 5th Air Force headquarters was moved from Port Moresby to Nadzab.
Two more strips were prepared plus an emergency landing ground.
Dispersal bays were made and connecting roads, most of which were sealed with bitumen flown from Port Moresby, were laid.
An Australian Construction Squadron also built two strips near the entrance to the present-day Nadzab airport for use by RAAF aircraft.
The main airstrip was, at first, used mostly by medium and heavy bombers such as Liberators and Flying Fortresses which were attacking Madang, Wewak, Rabaul and Hollandia (now Jayapura in West Irian).
They came and went from dawn till dark.
This went on until Hollandia was captured by US troops.
The heavy aircraft were then moved to Hollandia, and to Morotai in the northern Moluccas.
Nadazab then became home to the Combat Replacement Training Centre (CRTC).
Planes were flown in from Australia and the United States and the crews were given their final training before combat.
“Nadzab was almost in every respect an international airport,” Niall remembers.
“All day long, one could hear loudspeakers calling for passengers to Honolulu, Los Angeles, Australia and many other faraway places.
“Most air operations for the transport aircraft were controlled by civilians in uniform.
“One told me they were getting ready for the period after the war when they would be traffic controllers for US civil airlines.
“It must have been excellent training for them!
“We were hoping to have the use of a lot of the army-built huts at Nadzab after the 5th Air Force moved on but to our disappointment nearly all were dismantled and flown to Hollandia.
“Only the concrete floors were left, many of which can be seen at Nadzab today.”
The war over, Nadzab fell into disuse, nearly all air movements being made from Lae.
“Two years later, the only sign of activity was the ‘graveyard’ of dozens of wrecked Liberators and Fortress bombers plus a few Dakotas and fighter planes,” Niall continues.
“These were bought by an enterprising group who set up a furnace, smelted down the pieces into ingots and shipped them from Lae at what was said to have been a very handsome profit.
“It was sad to see the old bombers being chopped up.
“On their sides were a great selection of humourous paintwork – fancy names, markings signifying the number of missions, numbers of ships hit or sunk and other aircraft shot down in combat.
“Practically nothing is left today of the ‘graveyard’ which was at the western end of the present airstrip.”
In 1962, the main strip at Nadzab was resealed by the Australian Commonwealth Department of
Works and lengthened to make it suitable for Mirage fighters, even though they never materialised.
However, it was always maintained by the Australian Department of Civil Aviation as an alternative to Lae in poor weather conditions.
Likes its predecessor in Lae, Nadzab has made an indelible impact on the history of Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea and the world.
Storm Boy brings back memories of another day
It was while searching a second-hand shop in Port Moresby for books that I found a real gem.
That book was Storm Boy, written by Australian Colin Theile, and which was later made into a classic Australian film of the same name in 1976.
I immediately pounced on the book as Storm Boy was a movie that touched my heart – and those of so many other children - so many years ago as a child in Lae.
And, indeed, my children enjoyed every minute of me reading the book to them, which just goes to show the timelessness of Storm Boy.
It also brought back so many memories of another day, particularly of the now-extinct movie theatres, which once abounded all over Papua New Guinea.
A whole generation in Papua New Guinea has sadly grown up without knowing the experience of watching movies in a cinema.
In the “happy days” of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, cinemas were commonplace all over the country.
Those of us who grew up in that roaring and memorable period will know the joy of watching films on the big screen.
These days, with the advance of television, video, VCDs, and the Internet, the movie projector has become as antiquated as the time-honored typewriter.
Anyway, it was in 1978, when I was 10, that my father brought my elder brother David and I to the Huon Theatre in Lae one rainy night to watch Storm Boy.
I remember sitting with my eyes glued to the big screen, following Storm Boy’s every move, until I broke down and wept with him when his pet pelican Mr Percival was shot by hunters along a lonely, windswept Australian shore.
Every once in a while there is a special film, a film that appeals to all ages, a classic family entertainment that celebrates life and joyfully touches the heart.Storm Boy is that film.
Storm Boy (Mike) lives with his recluse father, Hide-Away Tom, on South Australia's lonely and beautiful coast.
Years before, when Storm Boy’s mother had died, Hide-Away Tom had left Adelaide and gone to live like a hermit by the sea.
Here his Storm Boy’s spirit roams with his pet pelican, Mr Percival, and his secret Aboriginal friend, Fingerbone Bill.
He knows no other world.
Suddenly there are intruders: the local school teacher who wants him to take lessons, a resentful wildlife ranger, duck shooters, hooligans with loud music.
Storm Boy, growing up, is forced to choose between a life of continued isolation and the challenges of the outside world.
One time the hunters are in the area, Mr Percival is shot down and Mike does a mad search through the long grass to find him.
The search is unsuccessful and Mike cries as he walks along the beach remembering times they spent together.
Fingerbone eventually finds Mr. Percival and buries him.
He shows Storm Boy the grave he dug, and there are a few moments of sadness, but this is turned to hope when Fingerbone shows Storm Boy a nest with a freshly hatched pelican in it: "Mr. Percival all over again, a bird like him never dies."
The film was one of the first Australian feature films made for children to become well-known and both the book and film are still widely used in school English programmes.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
First University of Goroka debate and panel discussion launched
Last Tuesday night (10th July 2008), the University of Goroka launched its first-ever student debate and panel discussion about events currently in the media.
The topic of the debate was centred on the controversial issues of mining and exploration.
Two teams of students competed in the debate, presenting their arguments for and against the topic, to win the approval of the adjudicators.
Some poignant ideas were presented throughout the debate, which ensured an interesting and entertaining event witnessed by staff and students.
Strong competition from each competing side meant a tough decision was reached to award one team the winner on the night.
Chief organiser of the event, Associate Professor Dr Michael Mel, commented: “Great societies can discuss things if they can articulate their points of view [and] it’s very important today as we look at these kinds of issues…affecting our pockets and our levels of survival”.
He also quoted Vanuatu orator Jean-Maree Tjibaou: “As long as talk remains hidden in our minds we will never develop a common conscience”.
The debate was followed by an open discussion on the Prime Minister’s actions to intervene into certain commissions of inquiry about matters of national interest.
The discussion raised several important points made by staff and students relating to the topic regarding transparency, good governance, democracy, unbiased information from the media and justice for crimes committed against the state.
Dr Mel commented: “We live in a world where information is constructed…[and yet] the truth is only relative”.
The evening proved to be popular with staff and students alike and was deemed a success, enjoyed by all.
Similar events are planned to be held later in the year.
The topic of the debate was centred on the controversial issues of mining and exploration.
Two teams of students competed in the debate, presenting their arguments for and against the topic, to win the approval of the adjudicators.
Some poignant ideas were presented throughout the debate, which ensured an interesting and entertaining event witnessed by staff and students.
Strong competition from each competing side meant a tough decision was reached to award one team the winner on the night.
Chief organiser of the event, Associate Professor Dr Michael Mel, commented: “Great societies can discuss things if they can articulate their points of view [and] it’s very important today as we look at these kinds of issues…affecting our pockets and our levels of survival”.
He also quoted Vanuatu orator Jean-Maree Tjibaou: “As long as talk remains hidden in our minds we will never develop a common conscience”.
The debate was followed by an open discussion on the Prime Minister’s actions to intervene into certain commissions of inquiry about matters of national interest.
The discussion raised several important points made by staff and students relating to the topic regarding transparency, good governance, democracy, unbiased information from the media and justice for crimes committed against the state.
Dr Mel commented: “We live in a world where information is constructed…[and yet] the truth is only relative”.
The evening proved to be popular with staff and students alike and was deemed a success, enjoyed by all.
Similar events are planned to be held later in the year.
University of Goroka Open Day a success
Last Friday (11 July 2008) saw the University of Goroka successfully host its annual Open Day celebrations.
The day attracted many visitors from the general public, tourists, and students from local and outlying schools to attend and participate in all attractions at the event.
Displays by each university faculty and partner institutions proved to be very popular.
Some highlights on the day included: displays from each faculty of student projects; blind students demonstrating how they learn by Braille computers and typewriters; Science faculty demonstrations on the uses and capabilities of the electron microscope; cooking and sewing demonstrations by the Home Economics department; displays of sculpture and artworks by Expressive Arts students (fine arts); student poetry recitals by the Humanities faculty Language and Literature staff; interactive demonstrations by the university’s IT staff; methods of teaching and learning by Education students; and HIV/AIDS and STI awareness displays by Health section staff and students.
Vice Chancellor Dr Gairo Onagi welcomed all attendees to the Open Day.
“This university is for you…this University is made by people who join it.
“Feel welcome to come and join us,” he invitingly said.
Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic) and UOG Open Day Committee Chairman, Associate Professor Dr Michael Mel, thanked all who attended and told students how important education was to their lives and reminded them that university study was for all.
“Dispela universiti em i ples tru bilong yumi”, he said.
He also acknowledged and thanked all students and staff who prepared for and participated in the event.
The open day came to an end with contemporary dance and music performances by Expressive Arts students.
The event was seen as progressing better each year and unanimously declared a success by all involved
10 Tips for the newcomer to Blogging
By Goroka Bogger, Robert Schilt (http://www.trupela.com/)
(This is a follow-up to the story I posted a couple of days back on: “Blogging in Papua New Guinea“)
Wikipedia defines a Blog as: A blog (an abridgment of the term web log) is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
First of all some basic terms…
A Blog is the same as a Weblog (Web Log).
A Blog is a type of website.
All Blog’s are websites but not all websites are Blog’s.
People that write Blogs are called Bloggers.
The collection of all Blogs is called the Blogoshere.
Blogs have a certain type of software running in the background.
Blogs make it easy to frequently add content to your website.
To publish a story or article is to post a story or article to your Blog.
If you already have access to the Internet - a Blog can be setup for little or no cost.
Blogging is easy and it’s fun.
OK - here’s that list of 10 tips on how to get started:
1. You must have a reasonable level of computer literacy.
2. Regular and easy access to the Internet is a must.
3. Ask yourself: Why do I want to start a Blog and what subject will I be writing about?.
4. Do a little bit of research and reading (google) on the subject. There’s a great book for the novice called (you guessed it!) : “Blogging for Dummies” by Brad Hill.
5. Decide on a Blogging Host - these are currently the most popular:
LiveJournal.
Yahoo! 360.
My Space.
Blogger.
Blogspot.
Facebook.
Typepad.
Wordpress.
6. Once you have decided on a Blogging Host then take the time to familiarise yourself with the blogging tools and administration software available.
7. Design and configure the style of your Blog. Consider incorporating one or more of the following:
A Photo Album.
Reader comments.
Links to other Blogs or websites.
RSS or Atom news feed.
Page header graphic.
Include a list of your recent posts.
Collect visitor/reader statistics.
Categories and keywords (tags).
A Contact form.
About the author.
8. Time to start writing and posting! Aim to post something on a daily basis. Better to post short stories regularly rather than longer stories intermittently.
9. Tell as many people as possible about your new Blog!!
10. Start reading and interacting with other blogs (social networking) that have similar topics.
Finally, if you do get stuck… you can always put up your hand and ask for some help. Most bloggers are only too willing to share their experiences with others.
Thought for today…
The greatest achievement is selflessness. The greatest worth is self-mastery. The greatest quality is seeking to serve others. The greatest precept is continual awareness. The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything. The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways. The greatest magic is transmuting the passions. The greatest generosity is non-attachment. The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind. The greatest patience is humility. The greatest effort is not concerned with results. The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go. The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances. - Atisha ...
(This is a follow-up to the story I posted a couple of days back on: “Blogging in Papua New Guinea“)
Wikipedia defines a Blog as: A blog (an abridgment of the term web log) is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
First of all some basic terms…
A Blog is the same as a Weblog (Web Log).
A Blog is a type of website.
All Blog’s are websites but not all websites are Blog’s.
People that write Blogs are called Bloggers.
The collection of all Blogs is called the Blogoshere.
Blogs have a certain type of software running in the background.
Blogs make it easy to frequently add content to your website.
To publish a story or article is to post a story or article to your Blog.
If you already have access to the Internet - a Blog can be setup for little or no cost.
Blogging is easy and it’s fun.
OK - here’s that list of 10 tips on how to get started:
1. You must have a reasonable level of computer literacy.
2. Regular and easy access to the Internet is a must.
3. Ask yourself: Why do I want to start a Blog and what subject will I be writing about?.
4. Do a little bit of research and reading (google) on the subject. There’s a great book for the novice called (you guessed it!) : “Blogging for Dummies” by Brad Hill.
5. Decide on a Blogging Host - these are currently the most popular:
LiveJournal.
Yahoo! 360.
My Space.
Blogger.
Blogspot.
Facebook.
Typepad.
Wordpress.
6. Once you have decided on a Blogging Host then take the time to familiarise yourself with the blogging tools and administration software available.
7. Design and configure the style of your Blog. Consider incorporating one or more of the following:
A Photo Album.
Reader comments.
Links to other Blogs or websites.
RSS or Atom news feed.
Page header graphic.
Include a list of your recent posts.
Collect visitor/reader statistics.
Categories and keywords (tags).
A Contact form.
About the author.
8. Time to start writing and posting! Aim to post something on a daily basis. Better to post short stories regularly rather than longer stories intermittently.
9. Tell as many people as possible about your new Blog!!
10. Start reading and interacting with other blogs (social networking) that have similar topics.
Finally, if you do get stuck… you can always put up your hand and ask for some help. Most bloggers are only too willing to share their experiences with others.
Thought for today…
The greatest achievement is selflessness. The greatest worth is self-mastery. The greatest quality is seeking to serve others. The greatest precept is continual awareness. The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything. The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways. The greatest magic is transmuting the passions. The greatest generosity is non-attachment. The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind. The greatest patience is humility. The greatest effort is not concerned with results. The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go. The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances. - Atisha ...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)