Gregory J Ivey & Russell Wade

This article outlines the pre-independence evolution of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF), although readers may be aware that the first indigenous battalion was formed by the Australian army in June 1940. During WWII the Papuan Infantry Battalion (PIB) and the later New Guinea Infantry battalions served honourably and continuously across the New Guinea mainland and islands. These battalions were amalgamated with the title of (HQ) Pacific Islands Regiment (PIR) in 1944 until the work of the battalions ceased in 1947.

The Australian army was given approval to re-form the PIR in 1951 and develop an efficient and effective military force. By 1975 the PNGDF was arguably the best-prepared (large) institution for independence.

How was such readiness actually achieved?

From 1951, especially from 1966, Papua New Guinean servicemen of the PIR were being trained for future leadership roles by Australian servicemen. During the 1950s their focus was training future PIR leaders but during the 1960s and 1970s the mission broadened to educating future leaders for the PNG community. Quietly and proactively, commanders of the PIR implemented a mission to prepare some future leaders in a self-governing country. Unlike the cautious views of some managers and expatriates, the strategy of senior Defence Force leaders was to anticipate and enable self-government.

Since WWI the Australian army has had its own Education Officers and NCOs who led courses in literacy, numeracy, current affairs and vocational skills. From the 1950s, young PIR recruits received educational instruction, always in English, during their initial training in Port Moresby. Later, as soldiers, they undertook additional education courses in order to qualify for army promotions. As well as these courses in PNG, groups of soldiers with technical aptitude were often selected for courses in Australia to gain higher level experience and/or qualifications.

By the early 1960s, a few promising Papua New Guinean soldiers were being coached for officer training at the Officer Cadet School at Portsea, Victoria, in an intensive one-year military leadership course, graduating alongside Australian, New Zealand and Malaysian classmates. Some Australian and Territory of Papua & New Guinea (TP&NG) graduates later served alongside each other as platoon commanders in the PIR. After the establishment of Igam Barracks in 1968, some potential officers undertook education courses at the Military Cadet School in Lae before their training at Portsea.

The mid-1960s saw an escalation in the education of Papua New Guinean soldiers. A farsighted program saw the diversion of some National Servicemen teachers from Vietnam or Australian postings to postings across PNG in order to expand the Army Education mission rapidly. There the army wisely took advantage of those Nashos’ civilian professional qualifications. Between 1966 and 1973 about 300 additional Education Instructors (Nasho chalkies) were deployed to PNG army bases to accelerate the education and potential promotion of PNG soldiers. These Education Instructors led not only the traditional English literacy and numeracy courses but also developed lessons focused, for example, on Democracy and both Military and PNG History, as well as courses in science or agriculture (under the supervision of a Nasho didiman—a Tok Pisin term for an agricultural officer). As a result of these increased opportunities, more PIR soldiers qualified for positions of responsibility and leadership within the army. At the same time, many other Australian officers and NCOs were training PIR soldiers daily, both in the Territory and in Australia, for future command roles. In addition to such structured courses, PIR companies engaged their soldiers in lessons discussing military culture and the supremacy of the civilian government.

By the late 1960s, the resources of the Australian Army were fully committed to the Vietnam War deployments, which meant that the army in TP&NG had lower priority. Furthermore, TP&NG personnel were under the control of Northern Command in Brisbane until 1965. Nevertheless, for their first posting to the PIR, the Australian Army often required its junior commissioned officers to undergo a psychological examination and a language aptitude test. Additionally, if posted to the PIR, to facilitate communication, Papua New Guinean soldiers would speak to their newly arrived platoon commander only in Tok Pisin until that officer was fluent. In the Army Education precincts, however, speaking in English was the priority. Non-commissioned regular servicemen, often at the rank of lance corporal or higher, were also posted

Qld Members with PNGDF Major-General J Singirok on Anzac Day 2023 (courtesy of Lindy Horton

to TP&NG to apply and demonstrate their skills.

The PIR had a particular reputation for being the first organisation to integrate soldiers from all the then 18 districts in an even distribution across its infantry platoons. Such a strategy was not easy to achieve but it was seen as a model for future governance. The benefits of this strategy were seen in the operational deployments such as civic action projects and border patrols, where at least one soldier in a platoon could speak tok ples or the local dialect. (These patrols often had an attached education serviceman for gathering field experience.) PIR soldiers signed on for a far shorter period of service than did Australian soldiers. After several years of military training and education courses, PIR soldiers could re-enlist or return to their village better qualified for positions of responsibility.

In early 1965, PNG Command was established, which facilitated local decision-making and local initiatives such as the Nasho chalkies’ scheme referred to above. The PNGDF was formed in January 1973 with a focus on forthcoming independence. Papua New Guinean officers were being promoted proportionately through the ranks to positions of higher responsibility, mentored by their Australian colleagues. When independence came, the PNGDF was in capable hands with sound assets, and respected by government and citizens alike.

NSW members with (PIB & NGIB) WO ‘Jock’ Wilkinson, aged 102, Anzac Day 2023 (courtesy of Peter Porteous)

Those Australian officers who had served in the PIR and other PNGDF units and who were fluent in Tok Pisin were said to have had their personal file ‘marked with the black hand’ and were affectionately called ‘Blackhanders’. After 1975 this became a badge of honour and a precursor for selection for service in the newly Independent Papua New Guinea.

Post 1975, those with previous experience in PNG were highly sought after to serve in critical positions under the command of former PNG classmates and other Portsea graduates. This was a unique leadership situation and required the utmost mutual loyalty, trust and respect. Other Australians who had PNG service in the army, navy, RAAF or 183 Recce Flight before independence, also returned to serve in the PNGDF Land units, including the Royal PIR, the Maritime Element, the Air Transport Squadron and even the Royal PNG Constabulary. 

About the PIB-NGIB-HQ-PIR Association

Many of those who served in TP&NG, or later in PNG, continued, through their membership of the PIB-NGIB-HQ-PIR Association, to support the objectives of the Association in commemorating those who served in Papua New Guinea both in war and in peace. With members across Australia and in PNG, this Association aims to promote the constructive role played by its members in the years before PNG independence. We hold commemoration services and publish stories and photos of the pre-Independent PNG Army on our website: www.soldierspng.com. As our name suggests, we also honour the Australian and PNG servicemen who fought in the PIB and the New Guinea Infantry Battalions during the WWII campaigns in PNG. Membership of our Association is open to all those interested, for the low cost of $5 a year, at our website. •

Editor’s Note: The author, Gregory J Ivey, is formerly 2 PIR 1969–70, and Russell Wade is formerly 1 PIR 1971–73 & Facilities Engineer, PNGDF, 1983–84.