Final Japanese surrender in PNG: Don Hook
The final Japanese surrender in PNG came one month after VP Day on 15 August 1945. It marked the end of the war against Japan in the Pacific and the end of World War...
Category: World Wars
First civilians arrive back in Rabaul: Gladys Baker
This December 2011 marks the 70th anniversary since evacuations prior to WWII. It was to be five years before those evacuated were able to return to rebuild new homes and new lives. Gladys Baker...
Wartime relic—USAF P47 Thunderbolt: Peter Worsley
In early 1963, I was a Patrol Officer based in Lae and carried out patrols both along the coast and also into the Wain and Naba areas in the mountains to the north of...
Gallipoli veterans lost on Montevideo Maru: Don Hook
The sinking of the Japanese prisoner transport ship Montevideo Maru 73 years ago remains Australia’s greatest maritime disaster, and there is a tragic link with Gallipoli. Recent research revealed that 15 of the civilian...
Rudy Buckley and the Montevideo Maru: Maxwell R Hayes
Rudy Buckley in NGVR/PNGVR Ex-Members Association parade dress. Photo by T. Dowling One of the most incredible discoveries to come to light confirming the departure of the Montevideo Maru1 from Rabaul with captive service...
Glimmer of hope: Bob Piper
An RAAF Douglas C-47 transport aircraft with nineteen on board, which disappeared minutes after takeoff from Milne Bay in New Guinea in September 1945, may have been re-located. An Australian tour boat operator, as...
Anzac Day 2012 in Rabaul: Bob Cleland
My recent visit to PNG falls naturally into three parts: the cruise from Alotau to Rabaul, Anzac Day in Rabaul, and my return to Goroka after 36 years. I will cover only Anzac Day...
Anzac Day, San Remo Club, 2012: Cecilie Benjamin
The following speech was made at the San Remo Club, West New Britain, on Anzac Day 2012 We gather today here at the San Remo Club, as we annually have in recent years, to...
A happy wartime memory of Kabakaul: Frazer Harry
There is something attractive about the idea of enjoying a cold beer at the end of a hot tropical day, particularly if it’s with a group of great mates, with a view of palm...
Lark Force trek: Tol memorial: Frazer Harry
Over the Anzac Day period in April this year, a group trekked from Rabaul to the South Coast of East New Britain, following in the steps of many of the soldiers of 2/22 Battalion...
The war on Kitava: Caroline L Cameron
“Japanese Grave”. The words on the map record in stark simplicity a man’s lonely resting-place on an obscure island in the Solomon Sea. The Japanese was a pilot who had run out of fuel,...
Edward (Ted) Kenna, VC: Charles Betteridge
Edward (Ted) Kenna was born in Hamilton, Victoria, on 6 July 1919. He died there on 8 July 2009, aged 90 years and two days. He was the last surviving Australian Victoria Cross winner...
Ted Kenna, VC: Reg Yates
Rob and Alan Kenna, sons of the late Ted Kenna, VC, and their brother-in-law Ian Day visited Wewak, Dagua and the Sepik River during 28 March-8 April 2012 with Reg Yates of “Kokoda Historical”...
Timperley’s rescue voyage
This article was first published in Milne Bay 1942 and is now reprinted with permission from Clive Baker and War Book Shop It was during March that Lt Alan Timperley (ANGAU), was ordered to...
