Central N. Guinea

How War Came to Central N. Guinea Mission Importance of a Jeep Road

INTERESTING letter from Pastor A.

J. Campbell, Seventh Day Adven tist Missionary, who has returned to his station at Kainantu, on the edge

of Ramu-Benna plateau country, in

Central New Guinea : A GOOD deal of ..change has taken place in these parts. A Jeep road runs through long stretches of the interior now: and the natives have changed a lot.

With a loaded Jeep and trailer we came over a 70-miles stretch recently, this being the first motor vehicle ever to come onto our Mission. Though we had chains on. we had a very exciting ride, as we ran into heavy rain.

A few months before the invasion, we had completed a European cottage; and things looked very bad when we were evacuated (about six months after the Japanese landed at Lae, Salamaua and elsewhere). But they got worse later, and several air attacks were made at various centres, up here in the interior.

Some 90 bombs were dropped around here, 12 of them falling about our home and in the gardens. A lone Lightning came at the right time, and caused in accurate bombing, as the Jap attackers fled. One bomb fell within 30 feet of our home—but, fortunately, down the hill. No one was hurt on the Mission, though there were some remarkable escapes, especially among the children.

Our home came out of this bombing very well, but it is marked by bomb fragments and bullets on the roof and on all sides, and in each room. One bullet went diagonally almost right through the house, finishing up at a door hinge.

Remarkable to relate, though there are about 80 holes through the iron roof, only about a half-dozen needed soldering, as the remainder are on the top parts of the corrugations. We used to need a light, before the Japs came to visit us, when we went ud through the man hole to do any work above the ceiling.

This is not necessary now, as the “stars” provide the lighting.

One native, when he thought all was safe, sat up in a garden drain (which made good air-raid trenches for all) and began to shave himself, in native fashion, with the blade between his fingers. Then a bomb fell not far from him. and the next instant he was face-down, flat in the mud at the bottom of the dram.

One unexploded bomb remains deep down under a sweet potato patch.

But it was when petrol was ordered to be poured over the floors that our Mis sion cottage had the nearest escape. Two of our native Mission teachers were waiting ready to ignite the place, when they saw the Government cottage go up in smoke; but, fortunately, the order was not given.

ON land, the Japs at that critical time had got within seven miles of our Mission. One night, one of our Mis sion teachers (now one of my house boys) was out with three Australian soldiers and two other natives, on outpost duty, with the Japs encamped across the Upper Ramu Valley, at Arena.

All felt they were at a safe enough distance, with the Japs several miles away, and settled down in their secreted

house. But the Japs had “glassed” them (“glassim mi” in Pidgin, as the native described it).

This native “felt” there was something in the air, and gave a warning. Kanakas who had brought food in that evening had left without payment. So he sat up, while the others slept.

During the night he felt and heard, in the darkness, a sudden shaking of the structure. He raised the alarm, calling out, “Fight i come up master! Fight i come up!”

The Japs let loose a burst of tommygun fire through the kunai hut, and the Australians awakened, and did likewise, from the inside outwards.

This lad said he saw three Jap “shadows” in the darkness.

Two Australians and two Japs were killed, and a Chimbu native wounded. and one Jap, one Australian, apolice boy, and my Mission teacher escaped. The Jap went his way, and our Australian party of three went theirs. This, appar-

ently. was the only battle fought in Cen tral New Guinea.

At that time over 100 Japs were encamped at Arona, some thousand feet above the floor of the Middle Ramu Val ley. It appears that Central New Guinea just escaped becoming a major scene of conflict.

AS I returned to Central New Guinea, by air, it was the Jeep road in the interior, as seen from the air, that caused me the greatest interest. I watched it from one side and then from the other of the plane.

It should prove of much use in this country. It is quite evident that the natives really take a pride in a good road that meanders through their country; and, to the extent that they do, an m fluence is created that reacts against their old inter-tribal fighting ways. Road development is one of the best things that can come to this country, for more reasons than one.