Headquarters?

Cameron's Plateau: New Milne Bay Headquarters?

Cameron's Plateau is situated a few miles inside the entrance to vast Milne Bay on the Papuan mainland— the scene of furious wartime activity. ( TIHE plateau rises from hot, flat, jungle covered foreshores to a height of some 400 ft and is backed by the lower slopes of the mighty mountain ranges of the Papuan coast.

The plateau itself is marked for the new town’s residential area, the flat foreshores for the administrative and commercial centre and the native re sidential area.

Plateau residents should all have a pleasant view across the Bay and benefit from the small elevation, though the trek from town may be long and steep.

Twelve miles away at the head of the bay and connected by a wartime all metal road is Gurney airstrip. The road needs clearing and regrading while culverts need replacing and rivers must be bridged. Three sizeable bridges and smaller ones are needed, but the basic road exists.

Gurney Field

Half-way between Cameron’s Plateau and Gurney airstrip, close to the road, is the most likely overseas wharf site. Nearby is disused Turn bull airstrip, southernmost point of the Japanese wartime advance.

One mile from the town site is the monument to Australia’s Corporal French, posthumously awarded the first VC in the South West Pacific campaign.

The plateau itself housed a major American war-time hospital where thousands of wounded received treat ment en route to the south or were patched up to go back into battle.

Old-timers say the hospital staff numbered 120 doctors and surgeons.

Today, all that remains is the de caying water tower high on the mountain slopes and the concrete settling pond for the water supply it provided.

Jungle growth has reclaimed the land although if one cares to look one can still find the odd rusted tin hat.

That is Cameron’s Plateau today, 17 years after war’s end. What will it be like 17 years hence?