Management Committee Update

With the 50th anniversary of independence fast approaching, a letter has been sent from PNGAA to the Australian Prime Minister with a request that Australia celebrate this occasion.

It requests consideration for an Australian Cultural and Community Centre for Pacific Nations and a space where the PNGAA Collection can reside and be displayed. A centre where the Pacific can come together and share ideas with Australians is much needed and, without wider Australian acknowledgement, Australians will have no knowledge of the joint history leading to PNG independence that many of our families were part of.

We encourage all PNGAA members to write to their Federal Member in support. If you need suggestions on wording, please email admin@pngaa.net.

ACNC Application

On behalf of the PNGAA, I would like to acknowledge and thank Kylee Anderson who submitted the application to the Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission (ACNC) in early June. This was a hugely, lengthy journey of research, phone calls, and filling in innumerable questions requiring thoughtful and skilled answers, and it took several months to finalise. 

Kylee was supported by Jane Rybarz and Murrough Benson who have generously given their time too. It was wonderful to see the team working like this. It’s something we’ve wanted done for many years, but haven’t had the volunteers to do it.

It’s a huge achievement and we send an enormous thank you to them, especially to Kylee for persevering. Whilst we hope it will be successful, whatever the outcome, this is a great help to PNGAA.  

Thanks to Our Volunteers

There is always ongoing work with PNG Kundu, with the PNGAA website as well as with the treasurer’s role. Much checking and re-jigging behind the scenes has also been going on to update the Rabaul and Montevideo Maru website, too. The education program has been revamped to bring it up to date. External links have been tidied and new photographs added. We are also grateful to those who have contributed items to the PNGAA Collection and donated to the PNGAA Scholarship Fund.

Successful Events

Recently, very successful lunches were held in Cairns, Brisbane and Perth. It was tremendous to see the attendance at all the events, reflecting the camaraderie and fellowship we all enjoy. We thank those who have organised these special occasions for our enjoyment.

New Committee Members Needed Soon

Some of our wonderful volunteers have been in their roles for years. We cannot expect this to continue, and some need a break! At the 2025 AGM we will have the opportunity to vote for new members to the committee and we will be calling for nominations in the next journal. Please, please think about the roles and how you can help in 2025 and 2026. It is always good to have fresh ideas too!

50th Anniversary of Independence

2025 is the 50th anniversary of independence and volunteers are needed to help celebrate this in various states. The current committee all have continuing working roles so this cannot be left to a few people.

Chances are it may not happen unless PNGAA has some special volunteers, and it is an important celebration to share with others. If you feel you can organise an event, please email admin@pngaa.net as soon as possible.

Kiap Memorial

This will be built and dedicated in Canberra in 2025, with thanks to the efforts of Bill Sanders, Graham Watts and John Hocknull OAM, ML. More on that as we are updated.

PNG Kundu

Our journal, PNG Kundu, loves to hear all your stories. Please contribute so that there is a good balance—it’s only through you that the journal can have this balance.

Being practical, if more people have lived in one area over another, or certain towns have more historical emphasis, then it’s likely there might be more information available on it.

Having said that, if you’ve read PNG Kundu properly, the breadth of stories is actually breathtaking! Don’t forget to comment too! PNG Kundu has a great spot with the ‘Letters & Reviews’ section.

Exercise Pitch Black

It is always good to hear of the activities of members. Recently we heard that Graham Watts was catching up with his nephew, Lt Colonel Doug Vavar, in Darwin. Lt Col Vavar is the Commander of the PNG Air Transport Wing (ATW).

For the first time, the PNGDF ATW, has actively participated in Exercise Pitch Black in the Northern Territory, and the PNG PAC-750XL aircraft were being well utilised during the exercise in Australia’s Top End.

Website Photograph Albums

Photos of Port Moresby, taken in April this year, have recently been added to a new photo album on the PNGAA website.

The albums on the PNGAA website are well worth a browse. Again, an example of the ‘behind the scenes’ work our volunteers on the committee do.

Special thanks to Roy Ranney and Claire van Bakel, and previously Ross Johnson, who set up many of the original albums with Nick Booth.

September Milestones

September 2024 holds two significant milestones:

• 110th Anniversary of the Battle of Bitapaka, 11 September 1914

This was significant for many reasons:

• The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) was the first combined operation comprising a seaborne invasion of army and navy, raised in Australia. Units of the Royal Australian Navy escorted the force.
• It was the first Australian action of WWI and the first action under the full command of Australia.
• It was the first time any Australian or British force fought the Germans on their own Territory.
• It was sent to seize German New Guinea and capture the German wireless station at Bitapaka. It was also tasked with dismantling the vital communication systems that supported German naval assets based in the Pacific.
• The AN&MEF secured the first surrender of WWI. it was Australia’s first decisive battle and victory as a nation.
• The first decorations of WWI were awarded for action at Rabaul.
• The first Australian casualties, including six killed in action, occurred in New Guinea on 11 September 1914.
• Australia’s first submarine, AE1, disappeared off the coast of Rabaul on 14 September 1914.
• Strategically it was important because there was a presence of a German fleet in the Pacific that threatened the sea lanes.
• 30th Anniversary of the Twin Volcanic Eruptions of Tavurvur and Vulcan

19 September 1994

This covered Rabaul with volcanic debris and ash and destroyed the homes and livelihoods of all who lived there (see the feature on the back cover of this issue).

Recovery has been slow and challenging, but recovering it is. Queen Elizabeth Park in Rabaul, the home of rugby league, was reopened in July this year after being closed for 30 years since the 1994 volcanic eruptions. The Frangipani Festival is being held, as usual, in September.

Malum Nalu recently wrote:

In 1993, as a young reporter for the Post-Courier in Lae, I travelled with the Lae Bombers for their game against the Rabaul Gurias. Although we lost in front of a passionate home crowd, we got to enjoy the vibrant nightlife of Rabaul post-match. The Bombers partied all night in the volcano town, soaking in the atmosphere of those glory days. Rabaul was the place to be, with nightclubs, live music, great bands like Barike, and beautiful people.

Australians have lived all over Papua New Guinea and we regularly hear how beautiful Rabaul, and Madang, in particular, once were. Rabaul’s history, within PNG, is unique, having been the scene of the first battles for Australians and Papua New Guineans in both WWI and WWII, and the scene of several volcanic eruptions.

During WWII, there was horrific fighting and bases throughout PNG—in Milne Bay, Kokoda, Buna/Gona, the Markham, Bougainville, the Sepik, Emirau—but Rabaul, a former administrative capital for Australia, and the Pacific base for the Japanese in WWII, will always claim extraordinary history.

We cannot ignore that major political and geological events have repeatedly destroyed what is a town with majestic volcanoes and a deep-water harbour.

A tremendous number of people have rebuilt it, and have enjoyed living there! These two milestones have centred on Rabaul. Please send in milestones you would like acknowledged.

Scholarship Update

Glenda Giles, our contact in Wewak, emailed PNGAA Secretary, Kylee Andersen, with a message of thanks from Joyce Manjina, the principal of Anguganak High in the West Sepik Province for the school book packs donated by the PNGAA.

A further update is that in late May 2024, a small Mission Aviation Fellowship Cessna single-engine plane flew the books donated by PNGAA to Tekin airstrip, where Oksapmin Secondary School is located. There is no access to this remote school other than by air.

2024 Olympic Games

In August, many were glued to the TV watching the 2024 Olympic Games held in Paris. Papua New Guinea had six athletes representing their country, held from 26 July–11 August 2024. The athletes included Josh Tarere, and Georgia-Leigh Vele from swimming, Gibson Mara and Kevin Kassman from Taekwondo, Sprinter Leoni Beu, and veteran weightlifter Borea Baru. The team was led by former Olympian Ryan Pini MBE.

Australia had 460 athletes competing in 33 sports.

Whilst all compete for sporting glory, success is celebrated by only a few. Acceptance at the Olympics comes after endless hours of dedication and commitment and that, in itself, is a huge achievement which everyone is proud of. All athletes are at the top of their game, and the journey and experience mean we congratulate all those who take part.

PNGAA New Members

The committee welcomes the following new members: Peter Briggs, Alison Copley, George Curry, Tim Griffiths, Bill Hawley, Ian Honey, Janice Iredale, Brian Jackson, Philip Jamieson, Luke Johnson, Anne Musgrove, John Nelson, Inge Reibe, Tracey Tatnell, Gunter Thyzel, Rory Webb, Naomi White, Renyl Willard, John Wold

2025—A Special Year!

Do give some thought, and email admin@pngaa.net, on how you can help make 2025, the 50th anniversary of PNG Independence, a special year for PNGAA!

Andrea Williams

 

EDITORIAL

Take a Turn 

Next year, 2025, is important for a few reasons; the first that comes to mind is it will be the 50th anniversary of PNG Independence. It is also the year that PNGAA committee members and office bearers step down at the AGM for a fresh lot to be voted in.

We love being part of the Association—receiving the journals and catching up with wantoks at social gatherings. These benefits continue because Association office bearers have been tireless stalwarts who step up year in and year out.

Two vacancies remain—President and Events Co-ordinator. The absence of a president will eventually affect the PNGAA’s governance requirements to continue in the longer term.

Full details of both roles were outlined in the June issue, and are regularly flagged on Facebook and the Association’s website.

If you believe you have the background and capacity to fulfil either of these roles please consider taking a turn.

Apart from these roles, all positions will be declared vacant in the lead-up to next year’s AGM so that new office bearers can be voted in. This is a non-negotiable process for incorporated associations irrespective of whether incumbent officer bearers are happy to continue.

Some roles carry a heavier responsibility than others, there’s no point in pretending otherwise. The secretary, treasurer and membership/website positions are crucial to the PNGAA’s operations. Without a secretary, no incorporated association will receive approval to operate from the Office of Fair Trading. So the voting in of office bearers is very important. Please actively nominate yourself, or chat with and nominate another, to ensure all positions are filled and the Association benefits from more helpers.

To inquire further, please email Kylee Andersen, Secretary of the PNGAA at admin@pngaa.net or phone Kylee on her mobile at 0405 334 501. The other person to approach is Andrea Williams at coordinator@pngaa.net or her mobile 0409 031 889.

Having recently joined the committee I can say, ‘hand on heart’, there’s a very supportive crew behind me. A culture of support and encouragement is evident at all levels. So give it some thought, please.

Thank You Helene

Helene L Cronin (née Foley) OAM has generously donated two large boxes of books to the PNGAA. The boxes contain an extensive list of titles related to Papua New Guinea’s colonial history, including WWII. 

Helene recently published a book titled The Papua Bugle Call 1939–1945: The War and its Ultimate Effects, about the Foley’s family connection to Port Moresby and the experience they and the people of Port Moresby endured during WWII. Helene was thrilled to present a copy of her book to the PNG Consul-General for Queensland, Mr Reatau Rau, and his wife, Susan, (above) during the PNGAA social gathering in Brisbane on 28 July.

PNG Kundu Front Covers

The photo on the cover of this issue was sent to us by member, Peter Worsley OAM, and we are always interested in receiving appropriate images that suit the format from our members.

Specifications required are JPG / 300 dpi / 220 x 310 mm (min.) portrait size. Caption and photographer information must also be included.

If you have something applicable, please send it to me, at editor@pngaa.net, along with your details. The specifications are also available in the Guidelines on page 42, or on our website, www.pngga.org.

CHRISTINE LEONARD