Information provided by Australian War Memorial
What is ANZAC Day?
ANZAC Day – 25 April – is probably Australia's most important national occasion.
It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.
ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.
The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as ANZACs, and the pride they soon took in that name endures to this day.
Why is this day special to Australians?
When war broke out in 1914 Australia had been a federal commonwealth for only 14 years.
The new national government was eager to establish its reputation among the nations of the world. In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the 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 Constantinople (now Istanbul), the capital of the Ottoman Empire and an ally of Germany.
They landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Turkish defenders.
What had been planned as a bold stroke to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, 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 soldiers were killed. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians at home and 25 April quickly became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in war.
Although the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives of capturing Constantinople and knocking Turkey out of the war, the Australian and New Zealand actions during the campaign bequeathed an intangible but powerful legacy.
The creation of what became known as the "ANZAC legend" became an important part of the national identity of both nations.
This shaped the ways they viewed both their past and future.
Early commemorations
The date, 25 April, was officially named ANZAC Day in 1916 and was marked by a wide variety of ceremonies and services in Australia, a march through London, and a sports day in the Australian camp in Egypt.
In London over 2,000 Australian and New Zealand troops marched through the streets.
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, attended by nurses.
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.
During the 1920s ANZAC Day became established as a national day of commemoration for the 60,000 Australians who died during the war.
The first year in which all states observed some form of public holiday together on ANZAC Day was 1927.
By the mid-1930s all the rituals we today associate with the day – dawn vigils, marches, memorial services, reunions, two-up games – were firmly established as part of ANZAC Day culture.
With the coming of the Second World War, ANZAC Day was used to also commemorate the lives of Australians lost in that war.
In subsequent years the meaning of the day has been further broadened to include Australians killed in all the military operations in which Australia has been involved.
ANZAC Day was first commemorated at the 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 Memorial ever since.
What does it mean today?
Australians recognise 25 April as an occasion of national commemoration. Commemorative services are held at dawn – the time of the original landing – across the nation.
Later in the day, ex-servicemen and women meet and join in marches through the major cities and many smaller centres. Commemorative ceremonies are held at war memorials around the country.
It is a day when Australians reflect on the many different meanings of war.
Dawn Service
The Dawn Service observed on ANZAC Day has its origins in an operational routine which is still observed by the Australian Army today.
During battle, the half-light of dawn was one of the most favoured times for an attack.
Soldiers in defensive positions were, therefore, woken up in the dark, before dawn, so by the time first light crept across the battlefield they were awake, alert, and manning their weapons.
This was, and still is, known as "stand-to".
It was also repeated at sunset.
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 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 and the daytime ceremony was for families and other well-wishers.
Before dawn the gathered veterans would be ordered to "stand to" and two minutes' silence would follow.
At the end 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.
The ANZAC Day ceremony
Each year the commemorations follow a pattern that is familiar to each generation of Australians.
A typical ANZAC Day service contains the following features: introduction, hymn, prayer, an address, laying of wreaths, recitation, Last Post, a period of silence, Rouse or Reveille, and the national anthem.
At the Memorial, families often place red poppies beside the names of relatives on the Memorial's Roll of Honour after events such as the ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day services.
Features of a commemorative ceremony
Commemorative ceremonies, such as ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day, share many customs and traditions, including:
- Laying of wreaths
- The recitation, including The Ode
- Sounding the Last Post
- A period of silence
- The Rouse and the Reveille
- Red poppies
- The unknown soldier
- Reversed arms
- The lone charger
- The gun carriage
- Rosemary
- Flags at half mast
- Rifle volleys and gun salutes
- The lone piper and Flowers of the forest
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Lae War Cemetery a WW11 icon of Papua New Guinea
By RONALD BULUM
In the solemn beauty of the Lae War Memorial lay nearly 2000 officers, men, and servicewomen who died in
On the brass plaque of a gravestone of one, 401679 Flight Lieutenant E R Staley, Royal Australian Air Force, who died on 31 Dec 1943, the epitaph reads: “Dearly loved ... ever remembered.”
Beside him: “One of nature’s gentlemen, loved by all” is attributed to Pte L R Poole 2/12 Infantry Battalion, who on 21 Jan 1944, died, aged 31.
There were many of men 10 years younger.
The young soldier may have died in one of the many battlegrounds in Morobe. It could have been Salamaua, Wau, or Finschhafen, where fighting were the heaviest.
He was the child of a paranoid era.
When he was just about to enter school, he may have been one of those that mamma sat on the dinner table and showed newspaper advertisements to which a picture of a father sitting in an armchair with his daughter on his lap and son on the floor playing with toy soldiers.
Lining the toy soldiers with a cannon at the back of his battle field, he would hear mamma read the caption: “Daddy, what did YOU do in the Great War?”
Such a challenge bore deep into his spongy mind.
From that very early age, his mind was shaped to be a brave patriot.
He thought that being in greens and going off to war was a heroic move.
For the fathers and uncles and cousins, it was a challenge that had tormenting implications. They thought that, after the war was over, they might face the shame of having to admit that they dodged their responsibilities.
The adult men enlisted with almost fanatical enthusiasm.
History has recorded that despite stringent physical and medical standards being applied, hundreds of volunteers were in fact turned away, many of them almost in tears.
There was an oversupply of volunteers. By December 1914 over 52 560 men had been accepted for enlistment – in excess of the 20 000 offered by the Australian Government to the Imperial Forces.
News of the Gallipoli landing in April 1915, and the mixed emotions of excitement, pride and shock that ensued, a second wave of intense recruiting activity occurred.
“Such was the pride in the deeds of the ANZACs that the recruitment campaigns over the months of July, August and September 1915 gathered in additional 78 860 volunteers,” Russell Cowie noted in his book, Obedience or Choice.
Being a child in any era, the impact of one’s surroundings and particularly events of such magnitude, would have greatly affected the little boy’s mind.
It was thus easy to be drawn into a national mood that would have a large bearing later in adulthood.
They saw a wide range of methods for persuading or shaming their fathers and elder brothers and cousins being pursued by patriotic women’s groups.
They thought that when they grew up healthy and strong, they would not need to be called “eligibles” – a term that suggested delaying or avoiding duty.
They didn’t want to be called “cold footed shirkers”, “slackers”, and “loafers” and “dodgers” by women.
Such public pressure on men grew from shirking to become every boy’s hated term – coward.
So a quarter of a century later, when another opportunity to prove their worth and avoid being delivered a white feather, came during WWII in
For glory in death, their mark is left at the
Ad majorem dei gloriam.
In Flanders Fields
By John McCrae (1915)
In
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In
Anzac on the Wall will move you to tears
One of the most-touching poems I have ever read was sent to me this week by a friend in
Simply titled, Anzac on the Wall, the poem tells of a young Australian John Francis Stuart and the heartbreaking story of how he left his widowed-mother and fiancée behind to join the famous Light Horse Brigade during World War 1 at
The Battle of Beersheba took place on October 31, 1917, as part of the Sinai and
The highlight of the battle was the now-famous charge of the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade, which covered some six kilometres to overrun and capture the last remaining Turkish trenches, and secure the surviving wells at
This elegy marking ANZAC Day is written by the very-talented poet Jim Brown, who lives in Victoria, and only came into prominence when he won first place for 'original performance' of this poem at the 2005 Victorian Bush Poetry Championships.
Surprisingly, many Australians, including my friend Paul, do not know who the author is, despite being moved to tears by the poem.
I did an online search, and went as far as sending Jim Brown an email, however, he had not replied in time for publication.
However, he says in interview published online: “The story behind The Anzac on the Wall is that I was a TV journalist and, in 1990, went to Gallipoli to cover the 90th anniversary of the Anzac landing.
“Before I went, I visited the Military archives in
“The letters could not be identified, and therefore could be returned to the families.
“I made notes at the time and later in life became a bush poet.
“The trigger for the poem was the photograph of the Anzac on the Wall, which I have in my possession and carry it with me when I perform the poem.
“The photo led me to incorporate the information I had gleaned from the letters.
“ The suffering of those waiting at home had not been written about enough, and time and again it seemed that those close to the land knew the very instant they had lost a loved one on the other side of the world.
“From those letters I wrote about the lightning storm, the horse bolting etc.
“I am humbled by the fact that so many people have been moved by the poem, especially around Anzac Day.”
Anzac on the wall
I wandered thru a country town, 'cos I had some time to spare,
And went into an antique shop to see what was in there.
Old Bikes and pumps and kero lamps, but hidden by it all,
A photo of a soldier boy - an Anzac on the Wall.
"The Anzac have a name?" I asked. The old man answered "No,
The ones who could have told me mate, have passed on long ago.
The old man kept on talking and, according to his tale,
The photo was unwanted junk bought from a clearance sale.
"I asked around," the old man said, "but no one knows his face,
He's been on that wall twenty years... deserves a better place.
For some one must have loved him, so it seems a shame somehow."
I nodded in agreement and then said, “I'll take him now."
My nameless digger's photo, well it was a sorry sight
A cracked glass pane and a broken frame - I had to make it right
To prise the photo from its frame I took care just in case,
Cause only sticky paper held the cardboard back in place.
I peeled away the faded screed and much to my surprise,
Two letters and a telegram appeared before my eyes
The first reveals my Anzac's name, and regiment of course
John Mathew Francis Stuart - of
This letter written from the front... my interest now was keen
This note was dated August seventh 1917
"Dear Mum, I'm at Khalasa Springs not far from the
They say it's in the Bible - looks like a Billabong to me.
"My Kathy wrote I'm in her prayers... she's still my bride to be
I just can’t wait to see you both, you're all the world to me.
And Mum you'll soon meet Bluey, last month they shipped him out
I told him to call on you when he's up and about."
"That bluey is a larrikin, and we all thought it funny
He lobbed a Turkish hand grenade into the Co's dunny.
I told you how he dragged me wounded, in from no man's land
He stopped the bleeding closed the wound with only his bare hand."
"Then he copped it at the front from some stray shrapnel blast
It was my turn to drag him in and I thought he wouldn't last.
He woke up in hospital, and nearly lost his mind
Cause out there on the battlefield he'd left one leg behind."
"He's been in a bad way Mum, he knows he'll ride no more
Like me he loves a horse's back, he was a champ before.
So Please Mum can you take him in, he's been like my own brother
Raised in a
But Struth, I miss
I am a mountain cattleman on high plains far away.
I'm mustering white-faced cattle, with no camel's hump in sight
And I waltz my Matilda by a campfire every night
I wonder who rides Billy, I heard the pub burnt down
I'll always love you and please say hooroo to all in town".
The second letter I could see, was in a lady's hand
An answer to her soldier son there in a foreign land.
Her copperplate was perfect, the pages neat and clean
It bore the date, November 3rd 1917.
"T'was hard enough to lose your Dad, without you at the war
I'd hoped you would be home by now - each day I miss you more"
"Your Kathy calls around a lot since you have been away
To share with me her hopes and dreams about your wedding day.
And Bluey has arrived - and what a godsend he has been
We talked and laughed for days about the things you've done and seen"
"He really is a comfort, and works hard around the farm,
I read the same hope in his eyes that you won't come to harm.
Mc Connell's kids rode Billy, but suddenly that changed.
We had a violent lightning storm, and it was really strange."
"Last Wednesday, just on midnight, not a single cloud in sight,
It raged for several minutes, it gave us all a fright.
It really spooked your Billy - and he screamed and bucked and reared
And then he rushed the sliprail fence, which by a foot he cleared"
"They brought him back next afternoon, but something's changed I fear
It's like the day you brought him home, for no one can get near.
Remember when you caught him with his black and flowing mane?
Now Horse breakers fear the beast that only you can tame,"
"That's why we need you home son" - then the flow of ink went dry-
This letter was unfinished, and I couldn't work out why.
Until I started reading, the letter number three
A yellow telegram delivered news of tragedy,
Her son killed in action - oh - what pain that must have been
The Same date as her letter - 3rd November 17
This letter which was never sent, became then one of three
She sealed behind the photo's face - the face she longed to see.
And John's home town's old timers - children when he went to war
Would say no greater cattleman had left the town before.
They knew his widowed mother well - and with respect did tell
How when she lost her only boy she lost her mind as well.
She could not face the awful truth, to strangers she would speak
"My Johnny's at the war you know, he's coming home next week."
They all remembered Bluey he stayed on to the end.
A younger man with wooden leg became her closest friend.
And he would go and find her when she wandered old and weak
And always softly say "yes dear - John will be home next week."
Then when she died Bluey moved on, to
I tried to find out where he went, but don't know to this day.
And Kathy never wed - a lonely spinster some found odd.
She wouldn't set foot in a church - she'd turned her back on God.
John's mother left no Will I learned on my detective trail.
This explains my photo's journey, of that clearance sale.
So I continued digging, cause I wanted to know more.
I found John's name with thousands, in the records of the war.
His last ride proved his courage - a ride you will acclaim
The Light Horse Charge at
That last day in October back in 1917
At 4pm our brave boys fell - that sad fact I did glean.
That's when John's life was sacrificed, the record's crystal clear
But 4pm in
So as John's gallant sprit rose to cross the great divide,
Were lightning bolts back home, a signal from the other side?
Is that why Billy bolted and went racing as in pain?
Because he’d never feel his master on his back again?
Was it coincidental? same time - same day - same date?
Some proof of numerology, or just a quirk of fate?
I think it's more than that you know, as I've heard wiser men,
Acknowledge there are many things that go beyond our ken
Where craggy peaks guard secrets neath dark skies torn asunder,
Where hoofbeats are companions to the rolling waves of thunder
Where lightning cracks like 303's and ricochets again
Where howling moaning gusts of wind sound just like dying men
Some Mountain cattlemen have sworn on lonely alpine track,
They've glimpsed a huge black stallion - Light Horseman on his back.
Yes Sceptics say, it's swirling clouds just forming apparitions
Oh no, my friend you can't dismiss all this as superstition.
The
John Stuart rides on forever there - Now I don't find that all
strange.
Now some gaze upon this photo, and they often question me
And I tell them a small white lie, and say he's family.
"You must be proud of him." they say - I tell them, one and all,
That's why he takes - the pride of place - my Anzac on the Wall
Port Moresby’s fascinating WW11 history
Long before the arrival of the white man, the Motuan people of the area now known as Port Moresby, traded their pots for sago, other food and canoe logs, with their partners from the Gulf of Papua.
They sailed from Hanuabada and other villages, built on silts above the waters of the bay.
They also intermarried with the Gulf people and created strong family and trade links.
The Hiri expeditions were large-scale.
As many as 20 multi-hulled canoes or lakatoi, crewed by some 600 men, carried about 20,000 clay pots on each journey.
To the Motuans, the Hiri was not only an economic enterprise but they also confirmed their identity as a tribe because of the long and dangerous voyages.
These voyages are commemorated in modern times by the annual Hiri Moale Festival held at Ela Beach in September.
The area was already an important trade centre by the time Captain John Moresby, of HMS Basilisk, first identified the area of the site later to become known as Port Moresby.
The Englishman had just ventured through the Coral Sea at the eastern end of New Guinea and upon encountering three previously unknown islands landed there.
At 10 o’clock in the morning of the 20th February, 1873, he claimed the land for Britain and named it after his father, Admiral Sir Fairfax Moresby.
He called the inner reach "Fairfax Harbour" and the other “Port Moresby”.
Actual European settlement of the site did not occur until a decade later when the south-eastern part of New Guinea island was annexed to British Empire.
British New Guinea was passed to the newly established Commonwealth of Australia in 1906, and became known as Papua. From then until 1941 Port Moresby grew slowly.
The main growth was on the peninsula, where port facilities and other services were gradually improved.
Electricity was introduced in 1925 and piped water supply was provided in 1941.
Japan had been on the roll since the early 1930s with the rise of Japanese Imperialism.
Japanese troops invaded Manchuria in 1933, China in 1934, and then came into the South Pacific by attacking Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941.
The ambitious Japanese wanted a stranglehold of the South Pacific, including Australia.
The former Australian territory of Papua, which comprises the south-eastern portion of the island of New Guinea and some groups of small islands, is separated from the Australian mainland only by the 145 kilometre-wide Torres Straits.
Port Moresby, the most important centre, has a good harbour on the Gulf of Papua and its situation so close to the Australian mainland makes it eminently suitable as a naval and military base for operations in the south-west Pacific.
It became a vital point to hold when the Japanese invaded New Guinea.
On January 23, 1942, the Japanese landed at Kavieng on New Ireland and at Rabaul on New Britain where they quickly overcame the Australian defenders, with the ultimate objective of taking Port Moresby.
Before WWII, Port Moresby was a small administrative center for the Australian territories of Papua and New Guinea.
During the war it was the strategic objective of the Japanese during the Battle of Coral Sea and the overland during the Kokoda Trail campaign.
Japanese invasion attempts were unsuccessful, but the area was subjected to many air attacks.
Japanese air raids against Port Moresby started on February 2, 1942, and continued until April 12, 1943 (plus later nighttime harassment raids).
The area became a major American and Australian staging area and airfield complex in support of the Allied push to the north of New Guinea, including Kokoda and Buna/Gona.
The Battle of the Coral Sea from May 5 to 8 averted a Japanese sea borne invasion of Port Moresby and the American success at the Battle of Midway in June not only destroyed Japan's capacity for undertaking long range offensives but also provided the Americans with the opportunity to move from the defensive to the offensive.
The Japanese, who were regularly bombing Port Moresby with 20 to 30 bombers with fighter escort, decided on the overland attack across the Owen Stanley Range.
It was on July 21, 1942, that Japanese troops landed on the northern coast of then New Guinea and unexpectedly began to march over the Owen Stanley Ranges with the intent of capturing Port Moresby.
It was out of here that the Australian 7th Division resisted the Japanese General Horii's overland attempt to capture Port Moresby, and the advance was halted within 30 miles of the city.
Had the Japanese succeeded, the mainland of Australia would have come under dire threat.
Nearly the entire city has some connections with World War II
These include Port Moresby (Town) Prewar town and wharf area; Konedobu Northern area of the town; Kaevaga North of Konedobu ; Waigani former 5-Mile Wards Drome and the PNG goverment headquarters; Gordons South-east of Waigani PNG Modern History Museum; Boroko Located to the east of town ; Gerehu Area to the north of the present day University of PNG; Kila Kila East of Port Moresby town, former 3-Mile Drome; Mount Lawes Peak behind Port Moresby; Fairfax Harbor Port Moresby's Harbor; Bootless Bay Inlet to the east of Port Moresby; Idlers Bay Inlet to the west of Port Moresby, Roku village; Joyce Bay Bay to the east of Port Moresby, Local Island
By 1944, Port Moresby had six airfields. Jackson was the largest, and was named after Australian ace pilot John Jackson, leader of RAAF Squadron 75, who was killed in a dogfight against Japanese planes over Port Moresby on April 28, 1942.
Wartime airfields in the area included the following:Kila Drome (3 Mile) Airfield for fighters and bombers; Ward Drome (5 Mile) Airfield for heavy bombers and transport planes; Jackson Airport (7 Mile) Main airfield still in use today by Air Niugini; Berry Drome (12 Mile) Fighter and medium bomber base near Bomana; Schwimmer (14 Mile) Fighter and medium bomber base; Durand Airstrip (17 Mile) Fighter and medium bomber base; Rogers (Rarona, 30 Mile) Fighter and medium bomber base; Fisherman's (Daugo) Emergency landing strip on off shore island
There are a number of abandoned gun emplacements, bunkers and fortifications. These were constructed by Australian Engineers in 1944, but never used, then abandoned after the war.
Basalisk Battery Largest, three gun battery to the west of Moresby ; Paga Hill Battery Gun battery and radar set location hill outside Moresby ; Gemo Island Battery Gun position on offshore island, overlooking the east ; Bootless Bay Battery Gun position at Bootless Bay; Boera Battery Gun position west of Port Moresby
Below is a timeline of major events in the Japanese bid to take Port Moresby
03/02/1942 Japanese air raids begin on Port Moresby.
10/03/1942 Japanese aircraft attack Port Moresby.
23/03/1942 Port Moresby is again attacked by Japanese aircraft.
04/05/1942 The Japanese Port Moresby invasion force leaves Rabaul, in New Britain.
19/07/1942 Japanese invasion fleet leaves Rabaul for Buna, New Guinea.
21/07/1942 Japanese land at Buna.
26/08/1942 Two thousand Japanese land at Milne Bay, South East of Port Moresby and advance up Kokoda Trail.
06/09/1942 Australians force total Japanese evacuation of Milne Bay, with just 1,000 troops surviving to be evacuated.
08/09/1942 Japanese advance from Kokoda to the Owen Stanley Mountain Range in an overland drive for Port Moresby, New Guinea.
11/09/1942 Japanese drive halted by Australians at loribaiwa, just 32 miles from Port Moresby.
They sailed from Hanuabada and other villages, built on silts above the waters of the bay.
They also intermarried with the Gulf people and created strong family and trade links.
The Hiri expeditions were large-scale.
As many as 20 multi-hulled canoes or lakatoi, crewed by some 600 men, carried about 20,000 clay pots on each journey.
To the Motuans, the Hiri was not only an economic enterprise but they also confirmed their identity as a tribe because of the long and dangerous voyages.
These voyages are commemorated in modern times by the annual Hiri Moale Festival held at Ela Beach in September.
The area was already an important trade centre by the time Captain John Moresby, of HMS Basilisk, first identified the area of the site later to become known as Port Moresby.
The Englishman had just ventured through the Coral Sea at the eastern end of New Guinea and upon encountering three previously unknown islands landed there.
At 10 o’clock in the morning of the 20th February, 1873, he claimed the land for Britain and named it after his father, Admiral Sir Fairfax Moresby.
He called the inner reach "Fairfax Harbour" and the other “Port Moresby”.
Actual European settlement of the site did not occur until a decade later when the south-eastern part of New Guinea island was annexed to British Empire.
British New Guinea was passed to the newly established Commonwealth of Australia in 1906, and became known as Papua. From then until 1941 Port Moresby grew slowly.
The main growth was on the peninsula, where port facilities and other services were gradually improved.
Electricity was introduced in 1925 and piped water supply was provided in 1941.
Japan had been on the roll since the early 1930s with the rise of Japanese Imperialism.
Japanese troops invaded Manchuria in 1933, China in 1934, and then came into the South Pacific by attacking Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941.
The ambitious Japanese wanted a stranglehold of the South Pacific, including Australia.
The former Australian territory of Papua, which comprises the south-eastern portion of the island of New Guinea and some groups of small islands, is separated from the Australian mainland only by the 145 kilometre-wide Torres Straits.
Port Moresby, the most important centre, has a good harbour on the Gulf of Papua and its situation so close to the Australian mainland makes it eminently suitable as a naval and military base for operations in the south-west Pacific.
It became a vital point to hold when the Japanese invaded New Guinea.
On January 23, 1942, the Japanese landed at Kavieng on New Ireland and at Rabaul on New Britain where they quickly overcame the Australian defenders, with the ultimate objective of taking Port Moresby.
Before WWII, Port Moresby was a small administrative center for the Australian territories of Papua and New Guinea.
During the war it was the strategic objective of the Japanese during the Battle of Coral Sea and the overland during the Kokoda Trail campaign.
Japanese invasion attempts were unsuccessful, but the area was subjected to many air attacks.
Japanese air raids against Port Moresby started on February 2, 1942, and continued until April 12, 1943 (plus later nighttime harassment raids).
The area became a major American and Australian staging area and airfield complex in support of the Allied push to the north of New Guinea, including Kokoda and Buna/Gona.
The Battle of the Coral Sea from May 5 to 8 averted a Japanese sea borne invasion of Port Moresby and the American success at the Battle of Midway in June not only destroyed Japan's capacity for undertaking long range offensives but also provided the Americans with the opportunity to move from the defensive to the offensive.
The Japanese, who were regularly bombing Port Moresby with 20 to 30 bombers with fighter escort, decided on the overland attack across the Owen Stanley Range.
It was on July 21, 1942, that Japanese troops landed on the northern coast of then New Guinea and unexpectedly began to march over the Owen Stanley Ranges with the intent of capturing Port Moresby.
It was out of here that the Australian 7th Division resisted the Japanese General Horii's overland attempt to capture Port Moresby, and the advance was halted within 30 miles of the city.
Had the Japanese succeeded, the mainland of Australia would have come under dire threat.
Nearly the entire city has some connections with World War II
These include Port Moresby (Town) Prewar town and wharf area; Konedobu Northern area of the town; Kaevaga North of Konedobu ; Waigani former 5-Mile Wards Drome and the PNG goverment headquarters; Gordons South-east of Waigani PNG Modern History Museum; Boroko Located to the east of town ; Gerehu Area to the north of the present day University of PNG; Kila Kila East of Port Moresby town, former 3-Mile Drome; Mount Lawes Peak behind Port Moresby; Fairfax Harbor Port Moresby's Harbor; Bootless Bay Inlet to the east of Port Moresby; Idlers Bay Inlet to the west of Port Moresby, Roku village; Joyce Bay Bay to the east of Port Moresby, Local Island
By 1944, Port Moresby had six airfields. Jackson was the largest, and was named after Australian ace pilot John Jackson, leader of RAAF Squadron 75, who was killed in a dogfight against Japanese planes over Port Moresby on April 28, 1942.
Wartime airfields in the area included the following:Kila Drome (3 Mile) Airfield for fighters and bombers; Ward Drome (5 Mile) Airfield for heavy bombers and transport planes; Jackson Airport (7 Mile) Main airfield still in use today by Air Niugini; Berry Drome (12 Mile) Fighter and medium bomber base near Bomana; Schwimmer (14 Mile) Fighter and medium bomber base; Durand Airstrip (17 Mile) Fighter and medium bomber base; Rogers (Rarona, 30 Mile) Fighter and medium bomber base; Fisherman's (Daugo) Emergency landing strip on off shore island
There are a number of abandoned gun emplacements, bunkers and fortifications. These were constructed by Australian Engineers in 1944, but never used, then abandoned after the war.
Basalisk Battery Largest, three gun battery to the west of Moresby ; Paga Hill Battery Gun battery and radar set location hill outside Moresby ; Gemo Island Battery Gun position on offshore island, overlooking the east ; Bootless Bay Battery Gun position at Bootless Bay; Boera Battery Gun position west of Port Moresby
Below is a timeline of major events in the Japanese bid to take Port Moresby
03/02/1942 Japanese air raids begin on Port Moresby.
10/03/1942 Japanese aircraft attack Port Moresby.
23/03/1942 Port Moresby is again attacked by Japanese aircraft.
04/05/1942 The Japanese Port Moresby invasion force leaves Rabaul, in New Britain.
19/07/1942 Japanese invasion fleet leaves Rabaul for Buna, New Guinea.
21/07/1942 Japanese land at Buna.
26/08/1942 Two thousand Japanese land at Milne Bay, South East of Port Moresby and advance up Kokoda Trail.
06/09/1942 Australians force total Japanese evacuation of Milne Bay, with just 1,000 troops surviving to be evacuated.
08/09/1942 Japanese advance from Kokoda to the Owen Stanley Mountain Range in an overland drive for Port Moresby, New Guinea.
11/09/1942 Japanese drive halted by Australians at loribaiwa, just 32 miles from Port Moresby.
McDonald’s Corner and Owers’ Corner
Visitors looking at the Kokoda Trail from Owers' Corner
Visitors having lunch at Owers' Corner
Visitors check out a replica of the 25-pounder gun at Owers' Corner
Visitor reading the storyboard at Owers' Corner
Storyboard at Owers' Corner
Signpost at Ilolo near Owers' Corner
McDonald's Corner down from Owers' Corner
Information about Captain Noel Owers at Owers' Corner
Having lunch at Owers Corners
A replica of the 25-pounder gun at Owers' CornerContinuing the series in the lead-up to ANZAC Day on April 25, this time, we look at two WW11 icons of Papua New Guinea, McDonald’s Corner and Owers’ Corner...
McDonald’s Corner and Owers’ Corner, further in from Sogeri, have always been a favorite place for many residents of Port Moresby.
They are famously known as the beginning of the Kokoda Trail and are visited by thousands of tourists, mainly Australians, every year.
Enjoying a cold beer after a hard couple of days on the Kokoda Trail has always been part of the routine for these trekkers.
Enjoying a family picnic at Owers’ Corner under the blue sky, white clouds, majestic mountains and lush, green environment is a moment to treasure.
McDonald’s and Owers’ Corners, for many years, have been a means of escaping from the sweltering heat and scorched landscape of Port Moresby.
While Moresby is dry as a bone for over six months of the year, these places, invariably, are moist and green and the mountain air cooler.
The mountains, foothills, forests, savannah woodland, rivers and streams have long captured the imagination of many.
It goes without saying that when one goes to McDonald’s and Owers’ corners, one returns to the city very much relaxed, and reinvigorated.
They are very much among the many jewels in PNG’s crown.
McDonald’s Corner
The beginning of the Kokoda Track
In July and August 1942 McDonald's Corner was recognised as the beginning of the Kokoda Track and there is now a memorial at the site as well as a sign announcing the beginning of the "Kokoda Trail".
Nearby was the village of Ilolo, and it was here in July 1942 that officers of the Australian and New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU), such as Lieutenant Herbert Kienzle and his medical officer, the elderly Captain Geoffrey Vernon, brought together the groups of native carriers who were needed to support the Australian advance into the mountains.
Ilolo is reached by a road that leaves Port Moresby and winds its way 40km up a steep hill, past the Rouna Falls and onto the high plateau which includes the Itiki Valley and the Sogeri River.
This area provides a slightly cooler climate and in 1942 was considered suitable for training of the units about to cross the mountains.
Later it became a retraining and rest area for units that had fought on the Track.
It was also the site of a number of military hospitals.
From Ilolo, Lieutenant Kienzle set out with his carriers to establish a series of staging camps along the Kokoda Track to support the troops of the 39th and later the 53rd Battalions.
Staging camps were established at approximately 16km intervals, which meant that the troops would take about eight days to cross the mountains to Kokoda.
Many of the troops who fought on the Kokoda Track have clear memories of Ilolo, and McDonald's Corner - a short distance beyond where they disembarked from their trucks before beginning the march.
The first unit over the mountains, B Company 39th Battalion, under Captain Sam Templeton, left Ilolo on July 7, 1942.
C Company of the Battalion began the trek on July 23.
The first company of the 53rd Battalion left Ilolo on August 11 and the first elements of the 2/14th Battalion began moving on 16 August.
Later an effort was made to push the road beyond Ilolo and a jeep track was constructed to Owers' Corner, but still the troops disembarked at McDonald's Corner.
The first company of the 2/33rd Battalion departed McDonald's Corner on September 10. Eventually, as the track was improved, more troops could be carried forward to Owers' Corner and thus McDonald's Corner lost some of its importance.
It is still regarded, however, as the beginning of the Kokoda Track.
Beyond Ilolo, the first staging camp at the end of a day's journey, was the village of Uberi.
Owers’ Corner
The end of the Jeep Track
Late in August 1942, Lieutenant Noel Owers, with a small survey party, was looking for an alternative route forward of Ilolo by which the troops on the Kokoda Track might more easily be supplied.
The jeep track only ever reached as far as the point which became known as Owers' Corner, and then gave way to a foot track which wound down a steep slope towards Uberi.
During the month of September 1942, two 25 pounder field guns of the 14th Australian Field Regiment were brought forward to Owers' Corner, where they were manhandled into firing positions.
This was the only allied Field Artillery used during the Kokoda Track campaign to support the out gunned and greatly out numbered Infantry.
This action assisted in halting the Japanese advance just 48km from Port Moresby; so began the Japanese retreat.
The terrain was almost impassable for Infantry let alone Artillery.
A third 25 pounder field gun was dismantled and manhandled to Peg 66 beyond Uberi.
The Regiment was assisted in reaching their firing position by a Platoon of the 2/1st Pioneer Battalion.
However, by then the Japanese had withdrawn beyond the range of the gun.
Following the action at Owers' Corner from to September 22-28, 1942, the Commander Royal Artillery 7th Division, Brigadier L.S. Barker despatched the following:
"The ejection of the enemy from Ioribaiwa Ridge indicates a turning point in the battle for Port Moresby. The success of our forces was due in no small part to the action of 53rd Field Battery, 14th Field Regiment in bringing fire to bear on the enemy position which they had every reason to consider was safe from artillery fire.
“The manner in which difficulties were overcome in bringing guns into action at Owers' Corner and later in taking guns forward to Uberi is another example of the aptness of the gunner motto, "UBIQUE".
“The accuracy of the fire brought down at extreme range indicates that the personnel who served the guns are maintaining that standard of efficiency which is recognised as inherent in gunner units.
“Special mention must be made of the early reconnaissance of the area and the accurate observation of fire by the Troop Commander, Captain J.P. Cullen who has been mention in despatches.
“The action of the unit in taking a gun to pieces to manhandle it up and down he steep hillsides of Uberi indicates that the Militia soldier is fully alive to the resourcefulness expected from gunners. The task of getting this gun forward was facilitated by the good work of 5 Platoon 2/1st Pioneer Battalion who improved and prepared the track.
“The CRA desires to congratulate the officers and men who took part in the actual action, on their fine achievement and that he feels confident of the good work which will be carried out in future by the 14th Field Regiment and wishes them every success in the campaign ahead.”
All units which participated in the Owen Stanley Campaign between McDonald's Corner and Kokoda, passed through Owers' Corner.
Later as the counter offensive was under way, on October 3, Generals MacArthur, Blamey, Herring and Kenney accompanied by the Minister for the Army, Mr F.M.Forde, visited Owers' Corner as the 16th Brigade began their move towards the objective, Kokoda.
General MacArthur told Brigadier J.E. Lloyd the commander, "Lloyd, by some act of God, your Brigade has been chosen for this job. The eyes of the Western world are upon you. I have every confidence in you and your men, good luck, don't stop."
McDonald’s Corner and Owers’ Corner, further in from Sogeri, have always been a favorite place for many residents of Port Moresby.
They are famously known as the beginning of the Kokoda Trail and are visited by thousands of tourists, mainly Australians, every year.
Enjoying a cold beer after a hard couple of days on the Kokoda Trail has always been part of the routine for these trekkers.
Enjoying a family picnic at Owers’ Corner under the blue sky, white clouds, majestic mountains and lush, green environment is a moment to treasure.
McDonald’s and Owers’ Corners, for many years, have been a means of escaping from the sweltering heat and scorched landscape of Port Moresby.
While Moresby is dry as a bone for over six months of the year, these places, invariably, are moist and green and the mountain air cooler.
The mountains, foothills, forests, savannah woodland, rivers and streams have long captured the imagination of many.
It goes without saying that when one goes to McDonald’s and Owers’ corners, one returns to the city very much relaxed, and reinvigorated.
They are very much among the many jewels in PNG’s crown.
McDonald’s Corner
The beginning of the Kokoda Track
In July and August 1942 McDonald's Corner was recognised as the beginning of the Kokoda Track and there is now a memorial at the site as well as a sign announcing the beginning of the "Kokoda Trail".
Nearby was the village of Ilolo, and it was here in July 1942 that officers of the Australian and New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU), such as Lieutenant Herbert Kienzle and his medical officer, the elderly Captain Geoffrey Vernon, brought together the groups of native carriers who were needed to support the Australian advance into the mountains.
Ilolo is reached by a road that leaves Port Moresby and winds its way 40km up a steep hill, past the Rouna Falls and onto the high plateau which includes the Itiki Valley and the Sogeri River.
This area provides a slightly cooler climate and in 1942 was considered suitable for training of the units about to cross the mountains.
Later it became a retraining and rest area for units that had fought on the Track.
It was also the site of a number of military hospitals.
From Ilolo, Lieutenant Kienzle set out with his carriers to establish a series of staging camps along the Kokoda Track to support the troops of the 39th and later the 53rd Battalions.
Staging camps were established at approximately 16km intervals, which meant that the troops would take about eight days to cross the mountains to Kokoda.
Many of the troops who fought on the Kokoda Track have clear memories of Ilolo, and McDonald's Corner - a short distance beyond where they disembarked from their trucks before beginning the march.
The first unit over the mountains, B Company 39th Battalion, under Captain Sam Templeton, left Ilolo on July 7, 1942.
C Company of the Battalion began the trek on July 23.
The first company of the 53rd Battalion left Ilolo on August 11 and the first elements of the 2/14th Battalion began moving on 16 August.
Later an effort was made to push the road beyond Ilolo and a jeep track was constructed to Owers' Corner, but still the troops disembarked at McDonald's Corner.
The first company of the 2/33rd Battalion departed McDonald's Corner on September 10. Eventually, as the track was improved, more troops could be carried forward to Owers' Corner and thus McDonald's Corner lost some of its importance.
It is still regarded, however, as the beginning of the Kokoda Track.
Beyond Ilolo, the first staging camp at the end of a day's journey, was the village of Uberi.
Owers’ Corner
The end of the Jeep Track
Late in August 1942, Lieutenant Noel Owers, with a small survey party, was looking for an alternative route forward of Ilolo by which the troops on the Kokoda Track might more easily be supplied.
The jeep track only ever reached as far as the point which became known as Owers' Corner, and then gave way to a foot track which wound down a steep slope towards Uberi.
During the month of September 1942, two 25 pounder field guns of the 14th Australian Field Regiment were brought forward to Owers' Corner, where they were manhandled into firing positions.
This was the only allied Field Artillery used during the Kokoda Track campaign to support the out gunned and greatly out numbered Infantry.
This action assisted in halting the Japanese advance just 48km from Port Moresby; so began the Japanese retreat.
The terrain was almost impassable for Infantry let alone Artillery.
A third 25 pounder field gun was dismantled and manhandled to Peg 66 beyond Uberi.
The Regiment was assisted in reaching their firing position by a Platoon of the 2/1st Pioneer Battalion.
However, by then the Japanese had withdrawn beyond the range of the gun.
Following the action at Owers' Corner from to September 22-28, 1942, the Commander Royal Artillery 7th Division, Brigadier L.S. Barker despatched the following:
"The ejection of the enemy from Ioribaiwa Ridge indicates a turning point in the battle for Port Moresby. The success of our forces was due in no small part to the action of 53rd Field Battery, 14th Field Regiment in bringing fire to bear on the enemy position which they had every reason to consider was safe from artillery fire.
“The manner in which difficulties were overcome in bringing guns into action at Owers' Corner and later in taking guns forward to Uberi is another example of the aptness of the gunner motto, "UBIQUE".
“The accuracy of the fire brought down at extreme range indicates that the personnel who served the guns are maintaining that standard of efficiency which is recognised as inherent in gunner units.
“Special mention must be made of the early reconnaissance of the area and the accurate observation of fire by the Troop Commander, Captain J.P. Cullen who has been mention in despatches.
“The action of the unit in taking a gun to pieces to manhandle it up and down he steep hillsides of Uberi indicates that the Militia soldier is fully alive to the resourcefulness expected from gunners. The task of getting this gun forward was facilitated by the good work of 5 Platoon 2/1st Pioneer Battalion who improved and prepared the track.
“The CRA desires to congratulate the officers and men who took part in the actual action, on their fine achievement and that he feels confident of the good work which will be carried out in future by the 14th Field Regiment and wishes them every success in the campaign ahead.”
All units which participated in the Owen Stanley Campaign between McDonald's Corner and Kokoda, passed through Owers' Corner.
Later as the counter offensive was under way, on October 3, Generals MacArthur, Blamey, Herring and Kenney accompanied by the Minister for the Army, Mr F.M.Forde, visited Owers' Corner as the 16th Brigade began their move towards the objective, Kokoda.
General MacArthur told Brigadier J.E. Lloyd the commander, "Lloyd, by some act of God, your Brigade has been chosen for this job. The eyes of the Western world are upon you. I have every confidence in you and your men, good luck, don't stop."
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Agriculture show to focus on climate change
By SENIORL ANZU
Climate change will be the focus of this year’s Agricultural Innovations Show planned for Tuesday, May 5, at Bubia near Lae.
Displays and presentations during this annual event will be made on issues surrounding this global phenomenon, its impact on PNG agriculture, and initiatives undertaken by National Agriculture Research Institute and its collaborators to tackle different aspects of the climate change problem in the country.
Accordingly, the theme for this year’s occasion will be ‘Adapting PNG Agriculture to Climate Change’.
NARI scientists are well into their preparations.
A range of information resources on climate change will be showcased to create awareness and educate the farmers and the general public.
Such resources will be in leaflets, posters, videos and CDs highlighting the global changes and scenarios, including global warming and El Niño and La Niña events, their effects on agricultural farming systems and livelihoods of Papua New Guineans, and strategies on how the country can respond to global warming and possible droughts brought on by El Niño.
PNG, situated on the western rim of the tropical pacific, has already suffered from:
· The effects of rising sea levels with some small island communities evacuating,;
· Extremes in rainfall intensities linked to La Nina Southern Oscillation events causing floods and landslides;
· Widespread food shortage resulting from drought conditions in 1997;
· Threats to food and cash crop production posed by pests and diseases like the late blight on potato and leaf scab on sweet potato; and
· Increased incidence of malaria in the PNG highlands due to warmer temperatures.
NARI director-general Dr
He stressed that: “The country requires a multi-pronged strategy in the areas of agricultural research for development, policy and resource support, and strategic and effective implementation.”
In response to the threat of climate change, a series of projects have been jointly implemented and/or developed by various Australian and PNG institutions and NARI. These projects are in the areas of early warning system, crop and genotype diversification, biotechnology targeting of pests and disease, dissemination and adaptation of drought-coping strategies, and sustainable water supply.
Much of these will be shown during the innovations show.
Dr Ghodake said PNG must take the initiative and urgently address the imminent impacts of climate change on the nation’s food and water security.
He also stressed that PNG must make a strategic investment by accepting and implementing agriculture as a development agenda for the well-being of the people and prosperity of the nation.
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