Deaths Of Islands People

Mr. Edward Taylor One of the most popular pre-war field officers in New Guinea, Mr.

Eward E. Taylor, died suddenly at his home in Ballina, NSW, on November 16. He was born and educated at Mt. Morgan in Queens land and was 79 when he died.

Ted Taylor was a World War I veteran and joined the New Guinea Administration right after his dis charge—in May, 1921, immediately the civilian service was set up.

He served in several districts and was a highly regarded, “unflappable”

District Officer of Morobe and of New Britain at various periods. In 1936 he was offered the job of Assistant Director of the Department of District Services and Native Affairs but declined the appointment. When it was offered to him again in 1939 he accepted it and, after war service, returned to the provisional Papua- New Guinea service in the same position in 1945.

He was in New Guinea at the time of the Japanese invasion but joined the Army in Melbourne in August, 1942. He served, with the rank of Lt.-Colonel, with Military Intelligence.

During his pre-Pacific War service in New Guinea he was awarded the MBE, but it is typical of his modesty, that no one, including his wife, appears to know in which year he received it, and few people knew about it anyway.

He did not remain long in the territory under the circumstances that prevailed immediately after World War 11. He resigned at the end of 1946 to return to Australia. He worked for a time in the Department of Post-war Reconstruction and in 1948-49 spent some time in Nauru, during a period of unrest there, as a Territories Department trouble shooter.

His services were again called on by the Department in 1958-59 following the Navuneram shooting incident in August, 1958. [Twenty two men of Navuneram, a village in the centre of the Gazelle Peninsula, refused to pay a head-tax imposed the previous year. A government patrol consisting of European officers and about 80 police went to the village with the idea of collecting the tax. The villagers began to throw stones and the police were ordered to “fire over the heads” of the villagers. Two natives were killed —by ricochet bullets, it was claimed].

The whole Navuneram affair was

a cause celebre at the time and was symptomatic of a general feeling of discontent among the Tolai people.

Mr. Taylor’s task was to move among them and try to get to the bottom of the trouble and, eventually, to report back to Canberra. He did his usual painstaking job and his report was fearlessly critical of many Administration developments and personnel.

He remarried in 1955 and he and his wife Marion made a new life for themselves in Ballina, in northern New South Wales. In the 14 years that he lived there he became as popular with local people as he had been with Territorians. He spent the last afternoon of his life playing bowls and, according to fellow players, was on top of the world.

Shortly after he returned home that night he collapsed. He had no children.

Mr. H. J. Murray The death in Queensland recently at the age of 70 of Harold John Murray reduces still further the dwindling band of Allied Intel ligence Bureau heroes of the Pacific war.

Murray was a veteran of Gallipoli at 17 and later served in France, was twice wounded and, as a sergeant, was awarded the DCM. In World War II he collected the Military Cross and the US Silver Star.

Like a great many other returned soldiers he went to New Guinea after World War I and eventually became the owner of Lukurahau Plantation, on the east coast of New Ireland.

He was at his plantation when the Japanese landed at Rabaul in January, 1942, and it was largely through his initiative that a party of New Ireland residents eventually reached safety and lived on to fight another day.

That escape, down the coast of New Ireland and then out by sea, with the Japanese everywhere, was successful because of Murray’s sheer determination to win through at all cost; many others simply waited for the Japanese, believing they would be safe if they surrendered.

The entire European male popula tion of New Ireland, with the ex ception of the seven men who escaped under Murray’s leadership, were captured and died in various ways.

Another party of 16 who had escaped to Rabaul were captured and also lost their lives as prisoners.

Murray himself joined both Z and

M special commando units and later the Coastwatchers under the late Eric Feldt.

He established and became com mandant of a camp in Queensland which trained Coastwatcher parties going into the field, including natives selected from compounds in Port Moresby.

This was most valuable work, which he did with great competence, but the time came when the World War I veteran, who had already had a good crack at the enemy in World War 11, insisted in becoming even more active. So B. Fairfax-Ross took over the camp and Murray was landed on New Ireland by submarine to give the first reports of enemy strength received in 15 months.

Later the same year, 1943, Murray made a second landing in the New Ireland area, this time on one of the off-shore islands. His party fought it out on occasions with parties of Japanese, and caused havoc among them. In September, 1944, Murray was posted to Nissan Island to establish the Allied Intelligence Bureau camp there and to clean up the Japanese resistance on the off shore islands to the east of New Ireland.

After the war he returned to his plantation on New Ireland and in 1950 married. Mrs. Murray subsequently became his biographer and wrote two books abut him. The first. Escape, described how he escaped from New Ireland in 1942; the second. Hunted, described the 1943 sorties into the Japanese-held island, and of other experiences with the AIB.

The Murrays had been living in Queensland for the last eight or nine years.

Father Francis Guivarc'h Father Francis Guivarc’h, a Catholic missionary who was highly regarded by all races in P-NG, died in December aged 60. He had spent nearly 35 years in the territory.

Father Francis, who at the time of his death was parish priest at Badili, arrived in the territory from France in 1934 and established a mission at Kerau in the Goilala sub-district. He spent many years working with the Goilalas before moving to other mission stations in western Papua.

In 1954 Father Francis moved to Port Moresby where he became priest at the Christ the King Church Badili.

Father Francis spoke five languages including Suyugc and Tanada, two Papuan dialects.

Nearly 1,000 people attended his funeral at Badili.

Mr. Hargovind Damodar Mr. Hargovind Damodar, Fiji businessman who formed the Suva firm of Shantilal Brothers, importers and exporters, died in Suva recently aged 51 J 6 D 4 XT . T , t B °. rn . at N avs an India, h i m . oved to riji in 1925 and began business.

Mr. Damodar leaves a widow, three sons, two daughters and 18 grandchildren.

Major J . S. McConiwthie The death occurred in Sydney on November 28, of Major James Simpson McConnachie who retired as Director of Police, Nauru in 1966 after 12 years of service there.

He was born in Aberdeenshire in ?» j? the Scots Guards from 1928 to 1931, when he joined the Colonial Police Force in Palestine.

During World War II he was with the British Eighth Army in North Africa and East Africa, from 1941 with the rank of major. Subsequently hisservicewas with the British Army of the Rhine and as OC Army War Graves Concentration, Germany and Denmark. tt , .

He migrated to Australia in 1949 and in 1954 was appointed to Nauru,

His role of Police Chief on Nauru inc ' uded numerous other duties— as me^J ln S nnd dispatching ships aircr ? f . t ’ A . s , a „ resud McConnachie and his Guardsmanhke figure are remembered by many visitors to Nauru as well as by local residents. „ . . .

He 18 survived by his wife, Lucia, five daughters and a son.

Mr. W. S. Nicholas The death occurred suddenly at Nambour Queensland on December 29 of William S. Nicholas, a former Government Printer for Papua-New Guinea. He was 61.

Mr. Nicholas lived at North Curl Curl, NSW, and was visiting his daughter Mrs. Bob Mclnnes, at the time of his death. He had appeared to be in excellent health.

He joined the staff of the Government Printing Office in Port Moresby in 1934, after having for a time been engaged in mining in the Gulf District of Papua. He retired as Government Printer in 1962. During the war he served with Angau in New Guinea.

He leaves a widow, a daughter and three grandchildren.