Life Would Hove Been Tough

Without Drums And Tins

DOUGLAS ASKEW, of Madang, TNG, who has spent a Lifetime in the Southwest Pacific, Says . . .

Na wanaim tok-tok long dispela bigpela drum belong kerosene.

Ol man e savee im e gutpela—ol man e laikim tumus taru. Im e )kim planty gutpela someting longim. Or ait!

Na mipela laik toklong gutpela long taim before —gutpela taim taru!

Taim ol kerosene more bensin im e come up long bokis bilong . Bokis im e got liklik tin e stap long im. Nau dispela tin e tpela more long ol Masta more boi —im a gutpela tumus taru.

Nau yupela harim tok belong liklik tin —olgedder harim!

AT burst of Pidgin was brought >n after reading an article in jraise of the übiquitous 44n drum (July PIM ). But per you would rather have it in ish, anyway. e writer of the article remarked maybe some of us in the Terri could recollect other uses to i the drums were put. e of the most useful that comes ind was their adaptability in ing culverts —across main roads over the Territory—and on ations. I think you would still them filling that purpose not r out of Lae, for instance, along Tadzab Road, and no doubt in r other places. m how about their use as lining veils? And also for latrines? le way from Darwin to Borneo! yarding the latter I have had rather painful memories eir use as such by the RAAF ;ne Section in the Darwin Area rly 1943. The idea was good— e row of drums lined up with ppropriate opening and every ing the Hygiene bloke would r some Diesoline in, followed piece of lighted paper.

The Hot Seat! j only catch in this was a hot seat for the unwary early rs —and sometimes, to the ernation of the operator, a flown” owing to too liberal use el! ay thousand drums have also utilised as containers for ex ig small scrap metal.

I how about pontoons and 1 Early in the war, we un -1 a Liberty ship off Drysdale i, in the far Nor’-West. Her was 2,000 drums of high e fuel, plus a big load of aerial 3. With the Nips just across on : —and very hostile—it was a >ot at that time, and the Yanks lot waste any time hanging fl! the drums were heaved over

the side to drift ashore—tide will ing—and maybe two-thirds of them did reach the beach. But we got all the bombs ashore on large rafts made from empty 44-gallon drums, plus several big trucks.

However, useful as they were— and still are—l still think we all derived more personal benefit from the pre-war. humble. 4-gallon tin.

We must have used millions of them throughout the Islands in those days.

Two 4-gallon tins in a nicely-planed case, or 8 1-gallon tins in the same size case, either Vacuum or Shell, and look what we did with them.

Anything, Just Anything

First, the cases were carefully opened and the tins taken out.

Then one could join the cases to gether in rows, either horizontally or vertically, and you had a set of cupboards, or book cases, or store shelves—in fact with a bit of in genuity one could make all kinds of household fittings.

I even floored a native-material house once with case timber. A lot of work, but I “had the wood” on my neighbours with their old Limbom floors!

The tins had many uses. With the top end cut out and a fencing wire handle they served as buckets, boilers for clothes, and for cooking.

One removed the laundry and then put in the corned beef or leg of mutton.

With one side removed length wise, and the edges rolled, they made good wash-up dishes and wash-basins.

And how about the 1-gallon tins?

With the side cut out they made excellent bread tins—and I am sure that many old Time Befores will re call using them as such.

Gripes! I nearly forgot one other important service they rendered.

Cut right open, and carefully flat tened out. one could roof a build ing, and make walls also.

And one of the unique ideas

I saw put to use was out in the Kimberleys, on the Ord River where the Army had a roving patrol unit early in the war, ostensibly looking around for Jap spies, etc.

These coves had an over-abund ance of 50-lb tins of Army biscuits, so they built a four-walled barracks with the full tins, with spaces for windows and doors, and then roofed it with flattened tins. It was quite impressive, out there in the mulga.

God knows how many biscuits it contained!

Finally—getting away from drums and tins— let us not forget two other very important things which made our rehabilitation of the Territory so much easier after the war ended, when we all had to start off again from “tors”. These were our old trusty friend the “Mighty Jeep”, and Marsden Matting. The latter had about as many uses as the 44-gallon drums.