Sidelights on the Disaster

THE disastrous eruption of Mount Lamington, in Northeast Papua, has brought to light many reminiscences of old-time residents and Australian servicemen who served in the famous Kokoda-trail area during the war with Japan. And, although a few have hinted otherwise, it seems certain that there is no authentic record of any previous eruption of this mountain—although it is equally certain from the rich volcanic soil of the area, huge blocks of stone of volcanic formation in nearby creeks and the general lay-out of the country, that something of the sort must have occurred in bygone ages. „ .. .

Mr. Leo Austen, formerly a Resident Magistrate of Papua (now Aborigines Welfare Officer in the Clarence River district of NSW) is of the opinion that Lamington has been inactive for cen turies. As far as he knows there are no native legends that tell of the mountain erupting, but old men have told him stories of what must have been some similar cataclysm in an adjacent area.

Lamington is a peak in the Hydrq graphers’ Range. On very old maps it is shown as Berepo —the language of the people who live thereabouts. Apparently the name was changed to Lamington in honour of Lord Lamington, a Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901.

In the north-eastern foothills of the Hydrographers lie four lakes, the largest of which is Embi, and it is about this lake that the old legend is concerned.

According to the old men the only people living in the whole of the Buna district in that far-off time, lived in the foothills of these mountains. The waters of Embi lake were then little more than a creek and here, one day, all the people gathered to fish. While they were so employed a tremendous wind sprang up and down the mountainside rushed a great flood of water what swelled Embi Creek into a mighty stream. The people rushed to higher ground but even as they did so, the whole earth shook and trohibled and “turned over” engulfing all in the up heaval. Embi Creek had become a long l£tko There were, as is usual in such legends, two survivors—a small boy and a girl who had stayed behind in the village. Assisted by a mysterious creature like a giant turtle who had, among other things, power of speech, they lived to have several progeny—the ancestors of the present

native population.

IT has been said that Lamington is re garded as a “spirit mountain” or “home of spirits” by the local natives. Perhaps their now nebulous belief is founded on some actual happening of the pasL as suggested by the foregoing; but old hands” will be quick to point out that most of the prominent peaks on the P-NG

(Continued on Page 102)

landscape are similarly endowed by thes natives who live in their shadow.

It is, however, only in such vagues stories that we have any link with thes unrecorded past. Papua-New Guinea hasa. a short history as far as Europeans area concerned, but there never has been any£ indication that this Lamington area con tained a hidden threat to the thousands?, of natives who lived there, or to the European goldminers, or the rubber andb coffee planters who came later.

Sangara, the Anglican Mission statiom built on the slopes of the mountain was, wiped out by bombs during 1942-43, butt was rebuilt recently without thought ot< this even more terrifying enemy. Afteir the war the administration station was. shifted from the coast at Buna to Higaturu where the scenery was beautifull the soil fertile and the stickiness of the. coast was exchanged for a pleasant] climate with cool to cold nights.

There are endless records of volcanioj activity along the northern coast of New Guinea, right through New Britain to.

Rabaul, and on eastwards, into Bougain-j ville and the Solomons; but this region of northeast Papua has been regarded hitherto as being far south of the volcanic line.

However, servicemen who were in the neighbourhood of Tufi (on the coast, 711 miles eastwards of Lamington, declare that there were earthquakes, and a great deal of smoke, from some volcano-liko hills in that area, during 1943.

These districts of Papua-New Guineie have known much tragedy of anothes kind.

THE Martyrs’ Memorial School, whick was set up as part of the Anglican mission establishment 'at Sangan only in 1948, was there as a tangibl memorial to the 10 European mission: aries who were brutally done to dead during the Jap invasion of the Bunas Kokoda area in 1942. Two of thosi martyrs were young women—Sister M Hayman and Miss Mavis Parkinson whu in 1942, were foully treated by the Jafl before they were bayonetted to deati before graves that had been already pre pared for them.

In the shadow of Mount Lamington th Japs committed some of their moc fiendish atrocities and, apparently, sonr of the local natives were eager to assii them in this work.

A former AIF captain, writing recent! in the Melbourne Herald, recalls how, 1943, a gallows was erected secretly Higaturu from which were hung 21 nativv who had, at Jap instigation, murders six European missionaries at Buna tic year before. The story was not told the time, in order to preserve the fictiii that all New Guinea natives were blaa fuzzy-wuzzy angels; and all Allii personnel were barred from the area.

The native murderers were betrayed friendly villagers when the Allies retoc the area in 1943; and, in the hope thi it would have a salutary effect upon W local gentry, thousands of natives .we herded into the area to witness the ham ings, which took place at half-hour i t6 lt is interesting to note here that Fa til John Benson’s name was among th:j who were reported safe by the Anglico Mission soon after the Lamington u heaval. Father Benson is now station at Gona and continues to lead what sees to be a charmed life. .

In the earlier part of their wandenru in 1942, before they fell into Japan* hands, Father Benson was with Sisa 1 Hayman and Miss Parkinson. During L

icertain war years that followed it was jlieved that he too, had perished at the inds of the Japs; but, apparently, he id the two women had become separated , some stage and, just by the luck of the ime, he fell into slightly less brutal inds. Although many times he pre ired himself for death, he eventually as sent to New Britain and spent the st of the war years with the Catholic issionaries of Vunapope, who too, of iurse, were prisoners of the Japs.

In the 20’s, John Benson, a appily married man with iveral small children, pre ded over an Anglican parish i southern NSW. Driving ith his wife and youngsters i holiday along the coast lad one night, their car unged into the Clyde River ; the unmarked Bateman’s rry. Only he survived.

He entered an Anglican onastery; but as he was isentially a man of action, ie monastic life was not for m. He soon afterwards went i the Papuan mission field, erhaps some would say that ather Benson is a “lucky” an. But tragedy seems to ive been the motif of his life, ither than luck. It takes im courage and faith to see ich tragedies overwhelming ved ones and friends.

LLL in all, New Guinea is a hard mis tress. Perhaps some of her favours are rewarding but, looking back over jr chequered history, one is appalled at e death-dealing blows she has handed it to those who have loved her most.

In the course of a statement about the ,tastrope, the Minister for Territories Jr. Spender) on February 2 had some iing interesting to say about Mount imington: “The Mount Lamington area —although lies, I understand, on an older line of eakness hi which the volcanoes are ainly dormant—was well out of the known le of weakness in the earth’s crust which is shown activity of recent years, as anifest by volcanic signs which run rough Manam and Karkar Islands, and ilasea in New Britain, to Rabaul. Even native legend there is no mention of ilcanic activity in the Mount Lamington ea.

“A peculiarity of the Mount Lamington uption is that it was of the very un ;ual type known to vulcanologists as the dean or ‘glowing cloud’ mode of erup m, in which gravity as well as pressure a major factor in the distribution of )t dust clouds, which caused so great a ss of life. Probably the last previously corded explosion of this type was that Martinique in 1902. This seems to be ie only one comparable to the Mount imington eruption.

“It was very largely the colossal blast, •mparable to that of an atomic bomb, hich caused the fatalities, although, of mrse, many died from burns or a coro nation of burns and blast. Never before ad such an eruption taken place in that :ea, so far as is known —not even accord ig to native legends.

“Yet the Administration is criticised on ie ground that it should have displayed :eater foresight. As I have already aserved. hindsight is much easier than >resight.”