Evacuation from Edie Creek: Hilda Johnson
Extract from a letter written by Hilda Johnson to a close friend – published Una Voce, December 1997, page 30 and in Tales of Papua New Guinea, page 65. The letter was written some...
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Tropical force and the Kavieng graves: Greg Knight
Kavieng is the principal town of Papua New Guinea’s New Ireland and less than three degrees south of the equator. Present day Nusa Parade runs along Kavieng’s sleepy waterfront with large tropical trees forming...
A daring escape: Gladys Baker
(Published Una Voce, June 2002, page 14) This is the story of Gladys Baker’s escape from the Japanese as she described it on Radio 2FC at 7.45pm on Sunday night, 27 August 1942. Glad...
Evacuate! Be ready in four hours: Dick & Robyn Dunbar-Reid
The first time that my parents heard of the impending invasion of New Guinea by Japanese forces was on Boxing Day, 1941. At that time we were at Korandindi Plantation on the Mavulu River...
Graves of Gallipoli survivors at Kavieng: Jim Ridges
25 April 2015 marks the 100 years anniversary of the unsuccessful, but often heroic, troop landings, and eventual withdrawal, at Gallipoli in Turkey in the 1914-18 World War. The shared experiences and losses gave...
Epic voyage 2013: Jacky Lawes
Jacqueline (“Jacky”) Lawes is a great granddaughter of the Reverend Dr William Lawes, of the London Missionary Society We were 32 passengers in all on two ships (the MV Miss Rankin and the Surveyor)1...
The journey home: Rod Noble
One day you’re walking down George Street in Sydney. Next day you’re stranded with a landslide on Daulo Pass on the way to Kundiawa. The stark and sudden contrast is never easy to reconcile....
An inadeqquate force: Neville Threlfall
Much has been written lately about the fall of Rabaul in January 1942 and the consequent tragic loss of life when over a thousand prisoners went down in the prison ship Montevideo Maru. These...
Let’s recall what Bert really wrote in “Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels (and other verses)”: Stuart Inder
Fuzzy Wuzzy AngelsDedicated to Sapper Victor Cooke, 2/22nd Field Coy, R.A.E. Many a mother in Australia, When the busy day is done, Sends a prayer to the Almighty For the keeping of her...
As you rip, so shall you sew: Bob Cleland
“Julie, have you got a curved needle and some strong thread?” “I think so, I’ll look. Why do you want it?” “Because I want to sew up a DC3.” “Ooooh . . . ....
Horses on patrol: Chips MacKellar
(Published Una Voce, June 1997, page 6) Malcolm (Chips) MacKellar 1953-1955 CPO Daru and Lake Murray (Western District) 1955-1956 P.O. Mount Hagen (Western Highlands District) 1957 ASOPA Long Course 1958-1964 PO at Madang and...
Insurance, PNG style: Phil Latz
With reference to Rod Noble’s story in the March 2014 edition of Una Voce about the ‘mighty’ Sepik river and Bam Island, here is another regarding that area. In March 1987, prior to Shell...
Kiaps on bikes: Chips MacKellar
(Published in Una Voce, December 1998, page 5) Malcolm (Chips) MacKellar 1953-1955 CPO Daru and Lake Murray (Western District) 1955-1956 P.O. Mount Hagen (Western Highlands District) 1957 ASOPA Long Course 1958-1964 PO at Madang...
The day the horizon disappeared: Graham Egan
In 1976 I was teaching at Mt Hagen Technical College. My three years at Kerema had ended in December 1969 and I was curious to see what the old town looked like. So, during...
Fly River: Peter Hay
When I got married in 1969, the idea was to have a year doing something interesting before settling down to kids and suburbia in Sydney. A shipmate from Jardines was Master of a coaster...
