Goldfield

How The Japs Came To Morobe

Gallant Work by New Guinea's Comercial Pilots

SHORTLY before 12.30 p.m. on Wed nesday, January 21, 1942, Pilot Heath of Guinea Airways, flew a G3l Jun kers freighting plane in from the coast to a drome in the mountainous interior of New Guinea.

A man, on the ground, some distance out, saw the G3l go overhead, and then noticed six strange planes, a couple of him 8 behmd him ’ and eviden tly following Five minutes after Heath put his Jun kers down on the aerodrome, beside the two other G3l planes owned by Bulolo Gold Dredging Ltd., six Japanese fighter planes attacked, and destroyed the three G3l’s with incendiary bullets. had found their way over the difficult coastal range, into the Bulolo Valley, by sneaking in behind the unsus pecting Heath. So the Asiatic invader arrived, to put an end to the great Morobe-Bulolo gold industry.

About the same time, Pilot Ross, with a Guinea Airways G3l, was descending

on Salamaua. He saw a number of strange planes, apparently attacking the town ™S 6 w Page 13) * He swun 8’ away, got Waif ly among clouds, and escaped to At the same time, Guinea Airways’ general manager, O’Dea, escaped from Wlth GA ’ S best machine (a Ford) and flew direct to Port Moresby, to await instructions. . J h( x disintegration of the Morobe gold industry, and allied services, soon followed. ■v lB '*' day, January 21, the civilians abandoned Salamaua and Lae, hurriedly packed what personal possessions and food they could carry, and set off inland for Wau. A few got a lift on planes, makm S the Journey irt 25 minutes.

The great majority walked. It was a ghastly journey, over incredible moun tains and through ceaseless rain, The men from Salamaua took seven days on the trip; those from Lae, eight days.

SOME attempt was made, between Wednesday (Jan. 21) and Monday (Jan. 26), to keep the gold industry going along the Bulolo valley. But it was useless—-the European workmen, quite reasonably, insisted that if they were to work the dredges, powerhouses, etc., they should be given some protection against Jap, raiders—Australian planes, or anti aircraft guns, or something.

The same men had watched the Japs flying up and down, only 300 feet above the ground, cheekily shooting up Bulolo’s G3l’s; and they knew that if there had been only half a dozen of the good Australian fighter planes in the district (for which they had pleaded) not a Jap would have escaped.

On January 26, Bulolo Gold Dredging and Guinea Goldfields Ltd. closed down.

Men of military age were called to the militia; but all others were concentrated at Wau, to await the arrival of the weary pilgrims from Salamaua and Lae. There was much rain, and all rivers were in flood.

THERE was bitter criticism of the authorities for failing to make better provision for evacuation from Lae and Salamaua. The authorities had given explicit orders that planes should be re moved as soon as the Japs threatened; and on January 21 the Guinea Airways pilots obeyed, and removed their three big planes to Wau and Port Moresby.

Very early on January 22, after con sultations in Port Moresby, Mr, O’Dea led his three Guinea Airways planes from Wau down to Lae and Salamaua, to assist Europeans. But it was too late.

The Guinea Airways machines then appear to have gone south, and the people at Wau applied themselves to the task of evacuating about 300 Europeans, using the Carpenter Airlines Lockheed (a big air-liner), the once famous but now decrepit old “Faith in Australia”, Pilot Stephens’ Gannet, and a Fox Moth.

The fact that they brought the “Faith” into use showed how desperate was their need.

The weather was very bad, there was confusion and depression everywhere, and the great majority of the indentured native labourers had disappeared into the bush.

ON January 27, there came disaster. The Lockheed was just about to leave Wau, with a load of Chinese women and children, when a Chinaman’s lorry, left with its brakes off, ran into the air

liner and smashed the propellor and crank-case. Only the ancient “Faith”, the Gannet, and the Moth to evacuate 390 people!

But Carpenter Airlines acted splendidly, The smash occurred on Tuesday. On Friday, Carpenters’ second Lockheed ar rived at Wau, with Superintendent R.

Mant, four mechanics, and a spare en gine and propellor; and they fell like tigers upon the job of repairing the wounded airliner.

On Wednesday (28th) the weather was so bad that the “Faith” and Moth made only one trip to Port Moresby; and on Thursday the planes did not fly at all.

The appearance of Mr. Mant and his crew on Friday was greeted with cheers.

Then came plenty of drama.

ON Saturday (Jan. 31), a Jap. recon naissance plane came over Wau, took a photograph, and flew away.

A few minutes later. Carpenters’ second Lockheed and the bulky old “Faith” came in from Pt. Moresby. Then the Jap. swung in to take more photographs, saw the two big planes, which had just ar rived, and, evidently thinking they were bombers, went off in a great hurry, after dropping one harmless bomb.

Next day (Sunday, Feb. 1), the Lock heed was on Wau drome, about to leave for Port Moresby. The two pilots had gone to get some tea —when nine Jap. 4-engined flying-boats came over from Salamaua. Everyone promptly “went to ground”. The Japs droned off along the mountains.

While everyone else watched the enemy slowly turning to come back, Pilot C.

Bernard raced out onto the drome, started up the plane’s engines, clawed away the chocks, sprang into the cockpit, and had somehow got the big machine moving down the ’drome before the Japs returned.

They immediately began bombing but Bernard got his Lockheed into the air, and flew away towards Koranga and Cliffside, with the Japs after him. He turned and twisted, and made height, and got his nose round into the mountains, headed for Papua. The Jap. bombers chased him for six miles, shooting at him with machine-guns and 1-inch cannon, but he had the speed of them, and reached Port Moresby unscathed.

The flying-boats returned and bombed Wau and machine-gunned suspected hide-outs at Wau Creek.

Three men were wounded—Mr. Moroney, Mr Hart (of NGG staff), and Mr. Paslow (of BGD staff).

ON February 2, the damaged Lockheed, completely repaired within two days, was brought back into service, and took a load of evacuees, including the three wounded men, to Pt. Moresby.

Within a few days, the evacuation was complete. To-day, the gold ‘ industry is suspended.

While there is much criticism of im portant folk “higher up” for their lack of forethought and preparation, the Morobe people have nothing but praise for the minor officials and the hard working commercial pilots, who carried out two evacuations —women and children in December and men in January—with out one accident. Praise especially. is given to Messrs. R. Mant, J. Crisp, C.

Bernard, and B. Ritchie (Carpenter Air lines), Mr. Arthur Collins (Mandated Airlines), Pilot L. J. Stephens, and Messrs.

O’Dea, Ross and Heath (Guinea Airways).

Pilot Stephens, assisted by Mr. Norman Wilde, made a number of trips between Wau and Port Moresby in his Gannet plane, carrying evacuees.

It appears that it was Mr. Collins, with Mechanic Taylor, who worked day and

night on the old “Faith”, and got her into a condition to carry evacuees over to Port Moresby. Piloted by Mr. Collins, she made her first trip across on Sunday (Jan. 25), and among her passengers was the Administrator (Sir Walter McNicoll), who was very ill.

L. J. Stephens Missing

PILOT Stephens, who had rendered splendid service in many directions, left Port Moresby for Wau on Feb ruary 5, with the old “Faith in Austra lia” (which had just been “repaired”), and disappeared. He had not been re ported, up to Feb. 9, and it is feared that he is down somewhere in the mountain ous jungles of the interior.

Hon. George Murray, MLC, Director of Agriculture in New Guinea, who had been in Sydney and Canberra for some weeks on sick leave, returned to New Guinea by what appears to have been the last plane which got through from Aus tralia to Rabaul in January. He ap parently arrived in Rabaul on January 17, and the Japanese invasion came three days later. As far as is known, Mr. Murray is with the other European refugees in the New Britain jungle.