Tribute to N. Guinea

Natives

' T'HIS tribute to the native carriers of Papua and New Guinea will be appreciated by all who know the country.

The way in which the natives have stood by “white master” in this, the greatest crisis in the history of the Pacific Islands, is a wartime epic. . . . These verses were written by a soldier of the IQth Battalion, AIF, and published in the Adelaide “Advertiser” in November.

Many a mother in Australia, when the busy day is done, Sends a prayer to the Almighty for the keeping of her son, Asking that an angel guide him, and to bring him safely back.

Now we see our prayers are answered on the Owen Stanley track.

For they haven’t any halos. Only holes slashed in their ears, And their faces worked with tattoos, and scratch pins in their hair; Bringing back the badly wounded, just as steady as a hearse, Using leaves to keep the rain off. and as careful as a Nurse.

Slow and careful in bad places, on that awful mountain track, And the look upon their faces makes you think that Christ was black.

Not a move to hurt the wounded, and they treat him like a saint— It’s a picture worth recording, that an artist’s yet to paint.

Many a lad will see his mother and husbands meet their wives, Just because the Fuzzy Wuzzies carried them, to save their lives, From mortar or machine gun fire, or chance surprise attack, To safety and the doctors at the bottom of the track.

May the mothers of Australia, when they offer up a prayer, Mention those impromptu angels with the Fuzzy Wuzzy hair.