Sixty years on: Bill Brown
1952 was not an easy year for Harry West, transferred from Goroka to take over the Kainantu Sub-district, and thrust into responsibility for the road from the Highlands down to Markham valley floor. Highlanders,...
Category: Political Development
The kiaps in a time of change: Donald Denoon
Historian Donald Denoon outlines the unique relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea, and the changing role of the kiaps. When civilian administration resumed in Papua and New Guinea after World War II, and...
Sorting the mail at Olsobip (Western District): Philip Fitzpatrick
(Published Una Voce, September 2002, page 38) Fitzpatrick, Philip 1997- 2002 – Barracuda Seismic Surveys, Fogoma’iu and Kaiam, Oilsearch, surveys for oil and gas drilling in Western Province PNG. Social mapping Omati, Aure PNG...
On being a kiap: Jim Sinclair
Notes for panel discussion, National Archives, Canberra, 21 November 2010. It must be emphasized that my experiences were shared by many kiaps, and were not in any way unique. I have decided to talk...
My kiap medal conundrum: Graham Taylor
Reading the commentary about medals for Kiaps afflicts me with conflicting points of view especially given that as an immediate post WW2 Kiap I might be qualified to receive one. My first point is...
Yes, we brought them shell: the best shell they ever had!: Jim Sinclair
“One cannot spend over 27 years in Papua New Guinea and fail to experience sadness and regret when forced to leave it, particularly when the circumstances are beyond one’s control,” writes J. P. Sinclair,...
Official Australian recognition of Kiaps’ services
On 5 November 2008, Chris Viner-Smith submitted a paper to the Australian Government seeking formal recognition of the services of Kiaps (patrol officers) in the development of the independent state of Papua New Guinea,...
Boiled puddings: Paul Oates
When I set up a permanent Base Camp at Mindik in the middle of the Huon Peninsula in1970, I arrived with the usual Patrol gear (Kerosene stove, canvas shower bucket and a “bedsail”. The...
Bob Cole and the thirty police badges: Chips Mackellar
When Bob Cole was Commissioner of the Royal Papua and New Guinea Constabulary, it was customary for kiaps passing through Port Moresby on posting or on leave, to drop in and pay their respects. So...
The PNG crest and flag: Geoff Littler – Una Voce Sept 2015
Geoff Littler was an Official Member of the Second House of Assembly, TPNG The story of the crest and flag commenced during the life of the first House of Assembly when the Select Committee...
Aircraft accidents involving kiaps: Paul Oates
1953: Auster on take-off crashed into Vanimo Harbour. The pilot was killed and passengers District Commissioner Ian Skinner and Assistant District Officer George Wearne were rescued from the submerged aircraft. 1955: Dragon on take-off...
Attacks on patrols: Paul Oates
A very short list of examples to illustrate the working environment of many former kiaps The correspondence on the Kainantu attacks on Burge and Brown is digitalized on the National Archives website. As many...
Independence Day reminiscences
(Published in Una Voce, September 2005) Dave Tarrant In 1975 there were many expats leaving PNG and I was one of them. As an Industrial Relations Officer with the Dept of Labour I...
KIAP (DVD)
Some 2000 young Australian men served as Patrol Officers in Papua New Guinea between the end of World War Two and Papua New Guinea Independence in 1975. They were known by Papua New Guinea...
The Kiaps Compendium
Compiled and edited by Nancy Johnston Dedicated to the memory of William James (Bill) Johnston 1 October 1924 – 12 September 2001 A Kiap of the Territory of Papua & New Guinea Bill...
