Dodging 'Nips' Behind Bogia

Black Days In New Guinea In 1942-3

By Dan Power-Section I

WHEN the Japs attacked Pearl Harbour I was working as an aviation en gineer at Wewak, NG; and, weeks later, I was one of the crowd on that ridiculous supposed compulsory evacua tion, up the Sepik and Arafundi Rivers.

The evacuation was about the most mismanaged affair that I have ever been connected with, and it was only a matter of days before most of us realised that something drastic was going to happen.

I was only with the party a couple of weeks and two friends and I made our way down both rivers and down the coast, a short distance to Nubia plantation, on Hansa Bay.

We were right about something drastic

going to happen. It was after we left Angoram that the Sepik massacre hap pened.

When the three of us arrived at Nubia plantation we took stock of the situation.

The position was as follows: Three men were still living on their plantations along the Bogia Coast, Two men were on the Ramu River, about 26 miles from the mouth, and they were carrying on gardening, etc. All missionaries were on their stations.

There was only one Administration official in the area and he was in the bush trying to build up evacuation camps and keep the natives under control. He had a man from one of the plantations (whom I will allude to as Mr. E.) as his assistant. 1 FOUND that there was_ nothing much I could do at that moment, except wait with my friends on Nubia planta tion until something turned up. I did find out that all of the Administration staff, and practically everybody else, had done some record runs from Madang to the mountains when a few bombs were dropped on January 21, 1942.

All who remained in Madang were a few NGVR fellows. I contacted these in the hope of being able to join in with them; but I had not been attested and they were not in touch with headquarters.

The Nips had occupied Salamaua and Lae by this time, and there was no way of finding out if Wau or Bulolo were occupied or not. We had a receiving set and sometimes we managed to hear the news.

During March, 1942, the Administra tion official, whom I will allude to as Mr.

B.) arrived on the coast from the bush.

He and I discussed the situation and I decided to join him as a patrol officer until such times as I could get out and join up with some service. We were out of touch with the outside world and did not know what was happening.

The natives in the Bogia area were get ting out of control. They had been led to believe that the days of white govern ment were finished, and that New Guinea coinage was useless as currency.

There was plenty of work to be done, building up evacuation camps and plant ing up gardens inland just in case there was an enemy landing and we could get every body away safely. That was Mi*. B’s idea, and practically everybody in the area took it as a huge joke. I noticed that when the Nips did land, later on, most of them who did dogde the Nips were very pleased to make use of the evacuation camps.

Mr. 8., Mr. E. and I carried on in that area for some months. We took it, turn about, to be in the bush and on the coast.

By the end of the year we had evacuation camps and large gardens at Josefstahl, and Sirinibu, gardens at Atemble. We drove cattle from the coast to Josestahl; made our own salt out of sea-water on the beach; collected shell on the beach and carried it all inland to Sirinibu and Atemble. and shell are currency in, on and beyond the Ramu River.

Josef stahl is three days’ walk further in, and on the Ramu River.

While we were at Bogia we sometimes saw a fresh face. One of the men from the Ramu used to call in sometimes on his way to Madang in his small boat.

IT was during July, 1942, that we had a few visitors for a few days. Mr.

McColl, Bill Tripling and party dropped

in to see us on their way from the Ninigo Jslands to Madang. (See “PIM,” March, 1947). Having them with us for a few days brightened us up a great deal: it had been some considerable time since we had seen anybody outside our own circle. We were not receiving any rations at all, and we just had to live off the land—what we could grow, what we could shoot and what we could buv off local village natives. If anybody maintains that it is impossible to live off the land in New Guinea, I can contradict him:

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While building up the evacuation camps we also carried out patrols and let the natives know tnat there was still a white government functioning, and they soon realised that New Guinea coinage was still currency, •. , We had some former Police boys, and nwn d bnp E of h nnti^s—most of mine e

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1 k ew the M b District It was during - the month of Aueust 1942 That we received some news from Mad’ane - A former District Officer had walked overfrom Port Ssby to Madang He wT then a captain in ANGAU and was in touch with the times.

The unit ANGAU had been formed in Port Moresby and New Guinea men were required for it.

Mr. 8., being an Administration official, was automatically in it, with rank of lieutenant: and Mr. E. and I were given the opportunity of joining up as privates, as from the time we had been doing Government work. I made the mistake, then, by making my way to Madang, being medically examined by a mission doctor, and being attested in ANGAU.

Later on, I bitterly regretted ever joining up with such an outfit. At the time I was attested, the rate of pay for a private was six shillings per day, plus food, cloth-

ing and accommodation. I just had to live as I had been doing for months, off the land, and wear my own pre-war clothes.

ON the night of December 18, 1942, I was aboard the MV “Edith,” in the middle of Madang Harbour, when the Nip made a landing. There was another man with me, Pte. B. E. Rasmussen (usually known as Rass) who had recently walked over from Port Moresby and was returning to the Bogia area with me.

When we both arrived at Alexishafen, Rass decided to walk along the coast to Bogia, and I decided to travel per “Edith.”

I only took five boys with me and Rass had the remainder.

Both of us managed to dodge the Nips that night, but I was in Bogia over a week before Rass arrived.

When I arrived at Bogia, there was a panic on, thanks to Lieut. X. The “Edith” and a couple of other small boats were taken safely into the Ramu River by one of my Nubia friends, and one of the men from the Ramu.

I collected all of my natives and what ever gear that I could and set off to take all into Sirinibu. Lieutenant X was go ing to stay behind but he was only half an hour behind me. One of the planta tion-owners came out with us; he was not interested in remaining on his planta tion now, as there were Nips about.

After I arrived at Sirinibu, I went down the Ramu River, near to the mouth, to bring up one of the small boats. One of the men from there came back with me.

WHEN I arrived back in Sirinibu, near the end of January, 1943, I could see that there was a lot of trouble in the air. Administration officials from the Sepik district had brought Chinese evacuees and natives through Sirinibu and

Atemble. They cleaned up all of the food stuffs in my gardens, and also the gardens of local natives; they also created a great deal of chaos amongst the natives in the Sirinibu-Atemble area.

The party moved on and made their way to Chimbu, via Musark, Guaibi and Bundi. I only wished that they had taken all their party with them. Instead, they left some of the Chinese at Sirinibu. and I fell for the job of looking after them.

These Chinese were the most quarrel some, laziest, good-for-nothing individuals I have ever had anything to do with. I had to feed and look after them, to the best of my ability, and they were not con tent to live off the land like we had to do, but were demanding tea, sugar, tinned milk, rice, etc—articles that I had not seen myself for over a year. If I man aged to shoot a pig or a few birds they wanted the lot —they did not seem to realise that I had a line of natives to feed as well as them.

At the beginning of February, 1943, Lieut. X got into a fever again. I had to collect the Chinese, some of my natives, and what gear I could, and make my way further inland, rig up some shelters, and await events.

We walked for two days, and finally arrived at Apanam, at the foot of the Schraeder Ranges. The natives around this area were the hostile pigmy type, and I had to keep my eye on them. I had to erect houses, start planting gardens, try and contact local natives, and buy native vegetables off them, try to shoot pigs and birds, and then look after those confounded Chinese. Not one of them made any attempt to give a hand to do anything and they were very quarrelsome with one another.

It was not long, owing to the attitude of Lieut. X., before some of the natives from our lines deserted and went down to the Nips. They knew that we could

not follow them that far. These desertions made things very inconvenient for P x lent ? work to jJPi needed all the native labour we could get.

DURING the month of February, 1943, I heard, per medium of local natives. that there was a party a white men in the Schraeder ranges, heading our way. I could not make out what this was all about. There were no known tracks

in there and no white man had been in there very far.

Four days later I collected some police boys, went up into the mountains, and located the party. It turned out to be Joe Searson and five men of the 2/6 Ind. Co.

They had blazed the trail from Mount Hagen. They had a wireless set, a list of instructions, etc. What pleased me most was that I received some letters—the first for fourteen months. It was just

luck that Joe brought the letters, because he had it in writing that both Rass and I were presumed killed, about ten weeks earlier.

I escorted the party to my camp at Apanam, and Rass and I entertained them to the best our ability. The trouble was that all we could celebrate with was pure, unadulterated water.

Instructions had come from Head quarters that all missionaries and other civilians were to be evacuated. Most of the missionaries were with the Nips, and nothing could be done about them. One man who had remained on his plantation had been captured.

About a week after. Joe’s party arrived, a party left Apanam for Mount Hagen.

This party consisted of some of Joe’s party, Lieut. X., Rass, all the Chinese, and some missionaries. I was very pleased to see the last of some of them.

Just at this time, Pte E. was promoted to W/O and I was promoted to Sgt.

W/O E. took charge of the area and our staff consisted of four of the 2/6 Ind. Co. fellows, a few police boys and other natives who had remained with us.

We were very busy for months, doing patrols, evacuating missionaries and other civilians. In addition to evacuees in our own area, we had a good many from the Sepik district.

We thtfke in Bogia were given instruc tions that in the event of a landing we were not to leave our post to assist any who had elected to remain at their own risk. There were eleven months during 1942 when they could have been evacuated easily. After the Nips landed and the instructions came out to evacuate all, it certainly made things awkward. It was not long before most roads were closed and we had an awful time. All who had laughed about Lieut. B’s evacuation

camps were very pleased to make use of them to the full extent.

IN April, 1943, we saw a few fresh faces in our area; some members of AIB and FELO arrived. I have yet to find out just what they came for. They cer tainly did not do anything except build a couple of camps further inland, and sat down and lived well for a month or

so. Occasionally one or two would visit me at Apanam but did not go any further.

The FELO party caused a deal of dis cord amongst our natives. There were two boys with them who had been with the Nips at Buna, had met up with the Australian forces, had been taken around Port Moresby and shown all the equip ment, aircraft, troops, etc., and had been brought over to my area to give propa ganda talks.

These talks did more harm than good.

Our natives were not interested in what was in Port Moresby, but what was in our own area. We had Nips walking in and taking up all choice positions without any opposition and nothing was being done about it. We were carrying on with our job but we could not even get an issue of rations, clothing, ammunition, medical supplies, etc. These talks were one of the causes of a big desertion at a later date.

Our white staff varied from time to time. One of the 2/6 Ind. Co. fellows had gone out with evacuees: another one was killed by Nips on the Little Ramu

River. Two were still with us and we acquired three signallers.

It was in June, 1943, that we received our first issue of rations from the army.

By that time I had been sixteen months in the army and W/O E. had been a couple of months longer.

The rations were carried out from Mount Hagen and I had to take a party of natives up to Warment, in the Schraeder Ranges, to take delivery of them. It was here that I built a camp and made it stores base.

I might mention that I received no issue of clothing or any ,303 ammunition.

I was in the land of forgotten men.

It was during this month of June that W/O E., all of AIB and FELO staffs, as well as some missionaries and two civilians, all left the area and walked to Mount Hagen and Chimbu. At the same time we had a good many desertions amongst our natives.

There were several reasons why the natives all deserted and I don’t blame them for doing it. They had certainly done a very good job of work: but there is the old saying that a willing horse can be overworked. The main reason why they deserted is known to very few and it cannot be put in print. (To be concluded next issue.) Mr. Leslie F. Gill, who owns three plantains and two trading stations in the British Solomons most of them are still wartime wrecks is now headed back to the Protectorate. He went to Australia soon after the end of the war —in which he rendered notable service— and has been living in Melbourne for 18 months.