PNGAA

For more than 50 years, chloroquine was widely used in the fight against malaria. It was cheap, safe and highly effective. But in the late 1990s scientists noticed the drug was losing potency, and it’s now been rendered almost useless by the spread of chloroquine-resistant parasites.

Dr Rowena Martin, principal investigator at the School of Biology of the Australia National University, has revealed how the parasites managed to get the upper hand, and what can be done to redress the situation. Her research has won her a Eureka Prize worth $10,000, sponsored by Macquarie University for outstanding research, and the $20,000 L’Oreal "Australia for Women in Science" Fellowship.

Judges said Dr Martin had offered a way forward in malaria treatment through excellent research and a breadth of technical skills rare in such a young scientist: just 35 years of age.

At her secondary schools in Tamworth and Newcastle, Rowena Martin’s interests ranged from science to architecture. But during her undergraduate degree at ANU, she was given several opportunities to work in research labs – and she was hooked.

"I really love the problem solving, lateral thinking, and creativity involved in scientific research. And the excitement when you make the big discovery in the small hours of the morning. It’s a great feeling."

It wasn’t until working on her honours project that she learned that the ancient scourge of malaria was on the march again. This year it will infect about 300 million people and kill about one million of them.

"Malaria places an immense economic burden on a country. It isn’t just associated with poverty, it is a cause of poverty. The parasite’s ability to develop resistance to drugs appears to be inexhaustible, so we constantly need to look for novel compounds and new ways to use the existing ones.”

Dr Martin is interested in finding out more about malaria in PNG.

30 August 2010

Lihir shareholders approve Newcrest merger

by Donald Hook

Lihir Gold Ltd shareholders have overwhelmingly approved a merger with Newcrest Mining, to create the world's fourth largest producer of gold.

The shareholder approval was passed by 99.86 percent of the total votes cast at a meeting in Port Moresby on Monday 23 August 2010. This exceeded the required majority of 75 percent ordered by a PNG court.

The final hurdle to the merger is approval by the PNG National Court at a hearing scheduled for Friday.

If approved, the merger will become effective on 30 August and is due to be implemented on 13 September.

Lihir chairman, Dr Ross Garnaut, told shareholders the merger would create a $25 billion company with a portfolio of long-life, high margin, tier one gold assets.

He said the Lihir gold mine in New Ireland Province has a great future as the jewel in the crown of what will be the region's pre-eminent gold company.

Earlier this year, Lihir announced it planned to increase the mine's production by about 50 percent over the next 10 years.

Some 4,250 people are employed directly or indirectly by the mine.

25 August 2010

Opposition promises funding for Montevideo Maru memorial

Veterans of the New Guinea campaign in World War II and relatives of the men who died in New Britain and in the sinking of the Montevideo Maru have expressed delight and excitement at the Opposition’s decision to fund a memorial being planned for Canberra.

The 1942 sinking of the Montevideo Maru – carrying over 1,000 Australian troops and civilians captured by the Japanese in Rabaul, then the capital of New Guinea – remains Australia’s the worst tragedy at sea.

“This is a generous offer by the Opposition and it will go a long way to making sure a permanent memorial is built at the Australian War Memorial,” said Prof. Keith Jackson, President of the Rabaul and Montevideo Maru Society.

“For nearly 70 years, the relatives of the men who died believed Australia had given up on them and that the nation did not care. The sinking of this hellship was a terrible event that most Australians had not heard of.

“In June this year, the Commonwealth Government granted $100,000 to the memorial and the news that the Coalition will match this if elected to office is great news.

“Also in June, for the first time, Parliament expressed regret and sorrow at the loss.

“After all these years, the relatives and the few remaining veterans who escaped from Rabaul, are overwhelmed that the nation has given them the recognition they have been waiting for. They are really feeling a sense of resolution and closure.”

12 August 2010

Minster announces $100,000 for Montevideo Maru memorial

The Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel, Alan Griffin, delivered an historic statement in Parliament today honouring those lost in the Montevideo Maru tragedy, Australia's worst maritime disaster.

"On behalf of the Australian Government I would like to express our sincere sorrow for the tragedy of the sinking of the Montevideo Maru, where 1,053 Australians lost their lives," Mr Griffin said.

"I especially acknowledge the suffering of their families and friends. They endured many long and painful years waiting for news of their loved ones and they deserve our sympathy.

"I'm please to announce the Australian Government has pledged $100,000 to assist the Montevideo Maru Memorial Committee to build a national memorial in the grounds of the Australian War Memorial.

"Australia will always remember the service and sacrifice of those who perished on the Montevideo Maru," Mr Griffin said.

On 22 June 1942, 1,053 Australian prisoners of war and civilians who had been captured and held by the Japanese at Rabaul on the island of New Britain (in what is now Papua New Guinea) boarded the Montevideo Maru.

Unaware that the vessel was carrying allied prisoners, on 1 July 1942 the United States submarine USS Sturgeon fired torpedoes at the Montevideo Maru, sinking the ship and killing all those imprisoned on board and most of the crew.

The Red Cross made inquiries throughout the war, but it was not until October 1945 that a nominal roll of those on board was uncovered.

"It was more than three years after the sinking that the families of those lost on the Montevideo Maru learnt of the tragedy, confirming their greatest fears," Mr Griffin said.

All those lost on the Montevideo Maru are officially individually commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The service personnel are commemorated on the Memorial to the Missing at the Rabaul (Bita Paka) War Cemetery, and the civilian dead are commemorated on the Civilian Roll of Honour located at Westminster Abbey, London. Collectively those who were lost are also commemorated by the Montevideo Maru memorial at Simpson Harbour, Rabaul; by plaques at the Hellships Memorial at Subic Bay in the Philippines; and at the National Prisoner Of War memorial in Ballarat, Australia.

The full Statement on the loss of the Montevideo Maru is available on the DVA media centre.

Huge turn-out for memorial resolution

350 Friends of Montevideo Maru will gather in Canberra on 21 June 2010 as the Australian Parliament honours military personnel and civilians who died as a result of the New Guinea Islands conflict—and thanks their relatives.

Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel Minister, Alan Griffin, will make a Ministerial statement on the matter and this will be responded to by Mrs Louise Markus, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs.

Following the Ministerial Statement, an afternoon tea will be hosted by Mr Griffin in the Queens Terrace Gallery from 4.30 pm.

An historic private members motion will be debated in the evening, starting at about 9 o’clock. The same resolution will pass through the Senate the same day.
The resolution will cover:

the gratitude of the Australian nation to the military personnel and civilians in Rabaul and the New Guinea Islands for their services in the defence of Australia during World War II
regret and sorrow for the sacrifices that were made in the defence of Rabaul and the New Guinea Islands after the invasion of 23 January 1942 and in the subsequent sinking of the Montevideo Maru on 1 July 1942
condolences to the relatives of the people who died in this conflict
thanks to the relatives for their forbearance and efforts in ensuring that the nation remembers the sacrifices made.

The speakers will be Catherine King (ALP Vic), Louise Markus (Lib NSW), Bruce Scott (Nat Qld), John Murphy (ALP NSW), Steven Ciobo (Lib Qld) and Bob Katter (Ind Qld).

The Ministerial Statement and the debate during Private Members' Business will be webcast live on the internet as they occur in the chamber. See Parliament’s live broadcasting schedule at http://webcast.aph.gov.au/livebroadcasting/

John Schindler’s documentary The Tragedy of the Montevideo Maru will be repeated on Foxtel’s History Channel on the evening of 21 June to coincide with the event.

Present will be a number of Lark Force veterans in their nineties as well as 12 siblings and 33 children of the men who were lost.

New committee members

The PNGAA Management Committee welcomes the following gentlemen who have been appointed to fill casual vacancies.

Phil Ainsworth
After initially qualifying as a cartographer, Phil applied for a position in the Department of Forests in PNG. He married whilst in PNG and raised his three daughters there. Later, in 1971, he gained his Economics Degree from Queensland University.

Phil spent 21 years living in Papua New Guinea from 1960 to 1981, initially drawing topographical maps from aerial photography for forestry purposes and later as an economist assisting negotiations for forest contracts. From 1972, Phil was an economist in the National Planning Office of the Prime Minister’s department of PNG.

After completing obligatory Australian Army national service training Phil was a commissioned officer prior to going to PNG. He transferred to the Papua New Guinea Volunteer Rifles (PNGVR) until voluntarily transferring to the Army Reserve in 1968.

Phil was a foundation member of the NGVR & PNGVR Ex-members Association when it was formed and was elected president of the Association in early 2005. In 2006, the Association leased premises from the National Servicemen’s Association of Australia at Wacol and established a Military Museum specialising in the New Guinea Archipelago, World War II campaigns. The Museum’s establishment has given the Association a stronger historical focus.

Phil is a founding partner and long-serving Managing Director of King and Co, in Brisbane, a leading Queensland commercial and industrial property company established in 1988. He also has other business interests in Queensland.

The Hon. Paul Munro
Paul Munro is a graduate of the Sydney Law School and was admitted to the NSW Bar in 1961. He was an Officer of the PNG Administration and a member of the Public Solicitor’s Office in Port Moresby and Rabaul from 1961 to 1966; he resigned to become Industrial Advocate for the PNG PSA in Port Moresby 1966-1968. With the PNG Supreme Court and the PNG Public Service Arbitrator he travelled extensively around the then Territory, for the most part as defence counsel in prosecutions of indigenes for indictable offences. He was junior counsel in successful defences of Sgt Gonene Dorni and kiap Otto Alder in 1965. He appeared with Bob Hawke for the PSA in the Local Officers case in 1966-7.

Returning to Australia in 1968, several periods of full time professional legal practice in Melbourne and Sydney were interspersed with periods of service as a national public sector union official, including about five years as a member of the ACTU Executive. He was a member of the 1974-1976 Coombs Royal Commission on Australian Government Administration, and later of the Administrative Review Council.

From 1986 to 2004 he held office as Justice Munro, a Senior Presidential Member of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (the AIRC) and its predecessors
He is Patron of the NSW Industrial Relations Society and a member of the Executive of the Australian Institute of Employment Rights. He has been a member of PNGAA since it first came to his notice in about 1998.

Paul is an active member of Sydney Striders Running Club, competing regularly in 10K and half-marathon events.

Draft Australian school curriculum (2)

Further to the previous item, the PNGAA has made a submission to the Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority. Click here to see the submission.

Announcements at 2010 AGM

a) Since accepting the role of President in 2009, Riley Warren AM has been given the opportunity for postgraduate research which will be extremely time consuming. He feels that for the Association to properly function it needs a President who has the time to devote to the job. Unfortunately this has meant he will not complete the second year of his two-year term as President. According to the Rules, if the President is unavailable the Committee chooses from within its members someone to be the President. Dennis Doyle has been elected by the committee to continue in an acting capacity from this AGM until the end of the current term which expires at the next AGM.

b) This year we will out-source some of the administrative work of the PNGAA. This work has reached a level which is beyond the time and effort constraints of a voluntary committee. The project will be closely monitored to ensure that it is an affordable and effective solution.

Meeting with Rochelle Hill

Two PNGAA Management Committee members, Dennis Doyle and Andrea Williams, recently met with Rochelle Hill, adviser to Julie Bishop, Australia’s Deputy Opposition Leader and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs.

It is encouraging to see that the Liberal-National Coalition cares enough about PNG to be interested in doing their homework—listening to a wide range of people to develop policy that will work positively for our two countries.

We were able to share information on the present makeup of the PNGAA membership and our interest in strengthening the mutually beneficial Australian/PNG relationship.

Some of the topics that were discussed included;

A need for the Australian education system to provide young Australians with a good knowledge of our nearest neighbour. This is presently lacking.
The need for those Australians dealing with PNG and its people to gain a thorough understanding of the nature and cultural issues of PNG society to ensure mutual respect.
The relevance and effectiveness of aid that is provided to PNG.

There are many of our members who have been strongly influenced by our experiences living in PNG. In fact, many of us still think of PNG as ‘home’. This has shaped who we are and this shared bond, together with the close proximity of our countries, is a link that will transcend generations.

Our members respect the cultural diversity that PNG offers. As with any relationship, there are times when the chips are down and it’s good to know a friend or neighbour cares. We care; it’s what binds us together.

We need to expand an awareness of PNG within Australia. We can encourage interaction between our youth through sport, through school exchange and through labour exchange programs. This also draws into focus visas requirements.

In the last few years we have seen groups of our Australian students visit PNG to assist with projects. The benefit to the students in terms of broadening their thought and skill base is immeasurable. PNG students are clamouring to be educated but often the costs are prohibitive.

With our collective experience, knowledge base, and our continuing contacts with people and organisations in PNG there are many ways we can continue to strengthen our relationship in a practical way, as a friendly neighbour, to provide support at grass roots levels.

Our forum is a wonderful place to hear your ideas and we feel optimistic that they will be listened to. Please help by contributing your ideas here.

Draft Australian school curriculum (1)

The K-10 draft Australian curriculum came out on Monday 1 March 2010 and is available for comment until 23 May. The senior secondary curriculum is due from April to June. An article about the implications for the PNGAA is here.

Harry West, OAM

Harry West received an award of the Medal of the Order of Australia in the June 2009 Queen’s Birthday Honours list for service to the Papua New Guinea Association of Australia.

Harry served as Secretary of the PNGAA for ten years and President for sixteen years until April 2008. At the 2008 Annual General Meeting of the association he was unanimously voted an honorary life member for outstanding and meritorious service to the Association, only the third such appointment in its 58-year history.

Subsequently Harry was invested into the Order of Australia at an impressive Honours and Awards ceremony at Government House, Sydney on Friday 17 September 2009 by the Governor of NSW, Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC, CVO (pictured with Harry.)

Montevideo Maru Memorial Trust

The relatives of the troops and civilians who died as a result of the Japanese invasion of the New Guinea Islands in January 1942—including those on the Montevideo Maru—always felt isolated; their grief compounded by the feeling that those troops and civilians had been betrayed.

During the war they went for years without knowing what had happened to their men and, after the war, felt that their great personal tragedy had gone unrecognised. They came to believe, quite simply, that Australia didn’t care.

From time to time, relatives would seek some form of greater solace from government, only to be told—often dismissively—that the government had done what it could.

I’d been in Rabaul in 1970 as a journalist, but it was only in 2008-09 as PNGAA President that I met a number of the relatives and realised there were some hundreds of people for whom there had never been closure in this matter. They wanted greater recognition for the sacrifice that had been made.

I felt they had a compelling story to tell and a reasonable case to make. So in late 2008, we established a small, informal group, now being incorporated as the Montevideo Maru Memorial Trust.

The purpose of the Trust is to represent the families of those soldiers and civilians captured in Rabaul and the New Guinea Islands in 1942. Our goal is to gain national recognition and greater understanding of the tragedy and its antecedents in the interests of relatives and the historical record.

The Trust has an outstanding committee including Hon. Kerry Sibraa, AO, former Senate president, as my deputy, Andrea Williams, Phil Ainsworth, Clive Troy, Hooky Street, Liz Thurston, Bob Lawrence and Don Hook. You’ll recognise many of these names as PNGAA members.

We’ve also had the good fortune to secure Hon. Peter Garrett, AM, as Patron, Prof Hank Nelson as historical adviser, and leading Canberra lawyer Bernard Collaery as legal adviser.

There are already 200 members of the Trust, who we call Friends. You can become a Friend by emailing me at . Membership is currently free of charge, although this is likely to change in the near future. The Trust produces a monthly newsletter.

Our objectives include:

To appropriately memorialise the tragedy of the fall of Rabaul and the sinking of the Montevideo Maru to facilitate comfort and closure in the minds of the victims’ relatives.
To secure national recognition and stimulate action to provide greater knowledge of the events that led to the fall of Rabaul and the sinking of the Montevideo Maru.
To locate the nominal roll brought back from Japan and deposited with Central Army Records that is believed to include the names of all the prisoners on board the Montevideo Maru.
To engage the Commonwealth in declaring the site of the sinking an official war grave.

We are pursuing major projects in each of these areas. One of particular importance is the construction of a memorial within the grounds of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. The Director of the Memorial, Maj Gen Steve Gower, AO, is enthusiastic about this proposal and is extending considerable assistance to the Trust to realise it.
One of the earliest decisions made by the Trust was not to seek an underwater search for the Montevideo Maru. The coordinates of where it sank are well known—indicating its position within a 2km radius—and the cost of a dedicated search would be prohibitive. While deciding not to seek a search, however, the committee did seek the declaration of the site of the sinking as an official war grave, and this is being currently pursued through the Office of Australian War Graves.

The Trust is ensuring that the story of the Montevideo Maru becomes better known to Australians through the media. In 2009 we were helped in this regard by:

a Parliamentary speech by the Minister, the first time many relatives had experienced national recognition of the tragedy
the dedication of a plaque at the Hellships Memorial at Subic Bay in the Philippines on 1 July, the 68th anniversary of the sinking
the broadcast by Foxtel of a documentary produced by John Schindler, The Tragedy of the Montevideo Maru

If you would like to become a Friend, or find out more about the work of the Trust, just drop me an . Keith Jackson

Help needed, as recovery of Japanese war dead from the Islands “far from over’’

Almost 65 years after the end of the Pacific war, Japanese are still working to track down and recover the remains of thousands of Japanese war dead they believe are scattered across the mainland and offshore islands of Papua New Guinea including Bougainville, the Solomons and elsewhere in the South-west Pacific war theatre.

“The task of recovery and repatriation is far from over for a huge number of Japanese families hoping for final closure,” the active and respected Japanese researcher Harumi Sakaguchi has told Una Voce.

Sakaguchi, a PNGAA member, and a former UN worker in PNG, wants to make contact with any Australian ex-servicemen, or others, including Papua New Guineans or expat residents, who may have been engaged directly or indirectly in burials of Japanese servicemen, especially those who became prisoners of war but died despite medical treatment.

Based on his self-financed research in Australia, PNG and Japan, and the study of documents and photographs including a photo of a Japanese war cemetery in the Bomana area of Port Moresby, Sakaguchi suspects the remains of a potentially significant number of Japanese servicemen are yet to be recovered and repatriated to Japan. He hopes that Australian veterans with relevant knowledge can offer critical help in shedding further light on interment that may assist in their final recovery.

Sakaguchi is particularly keen to contact and consult Australian ex-servicemen who had direct or indirect knowledge of the burials of:

Japanese prisoners who died at the 2/9 Australian General Hospital near Port Moresby;
the remains of Japanese naval airmen recovered after being shot down during raids on Port Moresby; and
the Japanese servicemen and war prisoners who were initially buried in a Japanese war cemetery constructed by an Australian force in Torokina, Bougainville.

Harumi Sakaguchi, who has also been assisting the Montevideo Maru Memorial Trust with information, can be contacted at .

Update from Oro Province

In October 2009, an Oro Community Development Project (OCDP) team of teachers and a medical doctor followed up a similar visit to Oro Province in April 2009.

One of the tasks included the personal distribution of books, stationery and other supplies. The quantum was very substantial as the two schools at Gona and Hohorita had been operating with virtually no stock at all. The storage of these resources was discussed with each of the schools. They both had lockable rooms and this is where the goods will be stored. Systems to regulate the issuing of stock were also discussed.

After consultation with the staff at both schools, the appropriate textbooks for each level were decided upon. Books for Language, Mathematics and Health were identified. In Popondetta, the cost of these textbooks is double that of the same books in Port Moresby.

We were fortunate that TNT and Airlines of PNG offered to transport all the library books, teaching aids and other teaching supplies as well as the birthing kits from Sydney to Popondetta. These were transported as air freight at no cost to OCDP although they did incur a moderate customs charge in Port Moresby.

In careful discussions with staff, their frustrations became clear. They are asked to do too much with too little and this is impacting on school attendance. However areas in which we can be helpful have been identified.

Training sessions in the use of birthing kits occurred at or near both the schools. 1000 kits will now be distributed, together with the appropriate advice, by the Mothers’ Union on a non-discriminatory basis to expectant mothers in the area.

The impact on schools of typhoid, dysentery, other water-borne diseases and more recently cholera is far greater than anticipated. The provision of clean water is a major issue. At Hohorita, there are no water tanks while at Gona there is only one. Water from the streams is used for washing, cooking and drinking with the inevitable problems particularly during the dry season.

The next team will visit the schools at Gona and Hohorita in early April 2010 when work will continue on helping to develop school communities through an integrated approach involving health, clean water, sanitation, education and agricultural opportunities.

During the forthcoming visit it is hoped to finalise the installation of appropriate water tanks and to update sanitation facilities. In this regard, we are grateful for the advice of the Institute of Sustainable Futures at UTS. The individual health of the school children and staff will be a particular project for the medical doctor as well as further training and distribution of more birth kits. Helping teaching staff deal with a plethora of challenges will exercise the mind.

OCDP remains deeply appreciative of the support of the PNGAA and its members. Further information can be viewed on our website at www.oropng.org or if you do not already receive the newsletter you can do so, by emailing us at or mailing us at PO Box 219, Hunters Hill NSW 2110. John Kleinig

New High Commissioner to PNG

Mr Ian Ferguson Kemish, AM, has been appointed Australia’s new High Commissioner to PNG, taking up the posting in early February 2010.

Mr Kemish spent several years in Port Moresby as a schoolboy. His father Len worked for Elcom in the 1960s and early 1970s and was a commissioned officer in the PNGVR serving in Lae, Rabaul and Port Moresby.

Mr Kemish holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree from the University of Queensland and a Diploma in Education. He was a schoolteacher before joining the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1988. Fluent in Tok Pisin, Indonesian and German, Kemish served at Australian diplomatic missions in Vienna, Bander Seri Begawan and recently was Australian Ambassador to Germany.

He’s also worked on secondment to the New Zealand Ministry of External Relations as desk officer PNG/Vanuatu/Solomon Islands, and as head of the international division in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in Canberra. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia for managing the Australian government’s response in the aftermath of the 2002 Bali bombings.

Ian is married to Roxanne, and the couple have two daughters aged 22 and 18. Donald Hook

National Archives Display

The sinking of the Montevideo Maru with the loss of 1,053 Allied prisoners is featured in a major display at the National Archives in Canberra. The display, Memory of a Nation, traces events and decisions that have shaped Australia and the lives of its people. The display includes an extract from the nominal roll of prisoners, a plan of the ship, details from the submarine’s log and a photograph of a memorial service in Rabaul on the fourth anniversary of the sinking.

There’s also a Territory of New Guinea ‘Form of Information of Death’ relating to Ernest Charles Bye, 60, a master mariner, who’d been in Rabaul for 18 months before the Japanese invasion. The informant, his daughter Joan, a schoolteacher in Queensland, stated on 6 April 1946 that her father had been lost when the Montevideo Maru was sunk.

A ‘Military Service & Casualty Form’ lists Gunner John Eshott Carr, who turned 20 just before the ship left Rabaul, as “missing”. In late 1945 this was changed to “believed dead”. The display will run until 30 May. Admission is free. Donald Hook

Chris Dierke

It was with great sadness that the Papua New Guinea Association of Australia (PNGAA) learnt of the passing of committee member Chris Diercke on Sunday 31 January 2010.

The President, Riley Warren, and the Committee would like to express their deep sympathy to Chris’ family.

Chris had been assisting with the PNGAA website since mid-2009 and he was a highly valued and respected committee member whose friendship, loyalty, knowledge and passion for all things PNG was unsurpassed.

His energy greatly inspired the work of the Montevideo Maru Memorial Trust. His relentless research into the events surrounding the Japanese invasion of PNG in 1942 and his passion for ‘seeking out the truth’ hugely motivated the team. The President, Keith Jackson, and fellow members of the Montevideo Maru Memorial Trust have also conveyed their deepest sympathy to all Chris’ family and friends.

Chris had played an enormous role in the development of the Lark Force Wilderness Track (LFWT) in East New Britain. His easy manner enabled him to connect with Lark Force diggers and their family members and he was fascinated with their history, regularly presenting the Lark Force story to service clubs and interested groups. He carried the role of PNG representative of the International Porters Protection Group, an NGO aiming to protect the welfare of porters worldwide. His mentoring role with the LFWT porters will be one of his many legacies.

One of Chris’ dreams was to see the Kokopo War Museum revamped to become a first-class museum preserving the history of the New Guinea islands.

Chris was born at Vunapope, East New Britain, as a fourth generation direct descendant of the Queen Emma clan.

Chris’ mother, Gwen, was evacuated from Rabaul just prior to the Japanese invasion in early 1942. Gwen’s first husband, New Ireland planter Vivian Ives, was one of more than 30 people killed by the Japanese in February 1944 in a massacre at Kavieng Wharf.

Chris’ father, Rudolf Diercke, a German national, spent most of the war years in a Japanese internment camp as punishment for helping the crew of a downed American bomber. His 82-year-old great-grandmother, Phebe Parkinson, died in the camp.

Phebe was the daughter of a Samoan Princess and the sister of Queen Emma who established the first commercial enterprises in New Britain. Phebe married Richard Parkinson, the illegitimate son of a palace seamstress and a Duke who was second in line to the Danish Throne. Richard and Phebe were married in Samoa before moving to New Guinea in 1882 to be with Emma. They later settled on Kuradui Plantation near Kokopo. Richard Parkinson, a scientist, wrote the book Dreissig Jahre in der Sudsee (30 Years in the South Seas) which was first published in 1907. This book is acknowledged by historians, anthropologists and scientists as a classic recording of PNG customs of the 19th century.

Chris’ paternal great grandfather, Carl Diercke, founded the Diercke Atlas in Germany 126 years ago which is still used all over Germany. (See Una Voce No 2 June 2009 p19).

In January 2010 Chris returned to Kokopo to bury his father, Rudi Diercke, and brother, Michael Diercke, with his grandmother Helene (Nellie) Parkinson, his great grandmother Phebe Parkinson and great grandfather Richard Parkinson in a family cemetery at Kuradui.

Chris’ earlier years were spent around the Gazelle Peninsula (Induna, Reiven, Takubar, Rapopo Plantations) and his work later included both plantation management and teaching in Papua New Guinea.

Settling permanently in Australia in 1972, Chris spent 39 years in education, thirty as a school principal in NSW. He co-founded and co-managed an innovative adolescent psychiatric ICU; founded an annual public speaking competition for students; and initiated training programs for NSW Sport & Recreation. As a result of these major achievements he was a recipient of Australian Council of Education award. Chris was also involved in canoe marathons.

In October 2009 Chris and his son Nathan arranged for a 20-foot container filled with medical supplies, boots and other materials to be shipped to Rabaul to assist communities in the Bainings and Gazelle.

Chris was dedicated to his family, but his compassion for others, his ability to share knowledge, his loyalty, commitment and enthusiasm will be lasting tributes to him.

Family gathered with friends in the Community Hall next door to his Garden Suburbs school today to share special memories. His two grandsons would have made him proud, singing his favourite songs ‘Ben’ and ‘What a Wonderful World’.

Australian Business Volunteers

Strengthening Business & Communities by Stephen Ellis

Australian Business Volunteers (ABV) is an Australian based non-government, not-for-profit international development agency that contributes towards the alleviation of poverty in developing communities by delivering capacity building solutions strategically designed to foster and promote sustainable growth. By leveraging the skill and knowledge of expert business volunteers it strengthens both business and communities who benefit from a better skilled workforce and increased employment opportunities. Longer-term benefits also include improved economic stability, confidence, prosperity and independence.

Working across 16 countries in the Asia Pacific region, the projects ABV supports are firmly based on the concept of self-help and all involve a strong element of skills transfer. ABV works with private sector organisations, government agencies, local NGOs, and other community based organisations such as charities and community groups. The average duration of each assignment is between one and six months. ABV also deliver longer-term programs consisting of several linked projects, which utilise the skills of multiple expert volunteers. ABV has maintained a strong relationship with the people of Papua New Guinea since its inception in 1981. A majority of projects in PNG involve working with local businesses. Other work consists of helping improve governance, improve education and training, better health and the assist with environmental sustainability. Within these broad business sectors, ABV has helped small businesses such as the Melanesian Hair & Beauty Supplies Ltd to large companies such as PNG Ports Corporation Ltd and PNG Tourism Promotion Authority. As well as specific projects, ABV also delivers targeted business training courses to women and men across the country.

Over the years, a number of key partners have supported ABV. Current partners include the Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce, Australia PNG Business Council, Australia Pacific Islands Business Council, and Pacific Islands Trade and Investment. These partnerships keep ABV in touch with people on the ground in PNG, and help source new business and community development opportunities. The Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce provides a point of contact for clients and support for volunteers working in-country. Further enhancing the relationship between ABV and PNG are current board members, three of whom have spent a significant amount of time living and working in PNG and still play an active role in rallying support for the country. Directed by the board, ABV committed to increasing its efforts to deliver more services within PNG, in areas where its volunteers are most needed. Because of this initiative, a number of ABV staff members recently spent time in-country, and are currently planning a program to help local communities and landowners deal with the significant changes that are expected to follow the initiation of the PNG LNG project.
This work will initially involve helping LABA Holdings - which represents the collective interests of landowners in the western part of Port Moresby - set up its office and build their capacity to access funding and negotiate equitable outcomes for the regions landowners. It is hoped this will ensure LABA becomes a sustainable organisation with the ability to represent the interests of landowners and benefit the whole community.

For more information on ABV, or to find out how you and/or your business can get involved, please visit www.abv.org.au.

Rotary assists the Oro Province

Rotary’s Eastern Region and Gosford Rotary Club have been trying to make a difference to the people of Oro after the devastation of Cyclone Guba in 2007. Two visits to PNG in June 2008 and June 2009 by Rotarian and PNGAA member John Phillips, discussions in Port Moresby and Popondetta with the AHC, Rotary, Provincial Officers as well as undertaking field surveys and speaking with village elders have resulted in an assessment that there are still 50+ schools needing to be rebuilt or in need of major repair and 20+ teacher houses to be built. Senior Australian Ministers have failed to respond to representations for a level of funding and participation which is beyond the capacity of Rotary or other organizations.

At the same time, much has been achieved by Rotary’s Eastern Region.

In November 2008 a Rotary Team worked at Embogo High School, near Oro Bay. The school had well over a metre of water through it, depositing a deep layer of mud through all buildings and destroying school books and equipment, etc. Although some cleanup work had been done, the team's presence and assistance gave great encouragement to all, with the purchase by Rotary of $10,000 worth of paint and other supplies and their application in rectifying some of the damage done.

After the visit in June 2009 an initiative was undertaken by E Region, Rotary, to send a consignment of school materials to assist in re-establishing schools. As a result 2x20ft containers were dispatched containing school desks, reference books, exercise books, pens, pencils, etc. Also included were water tanks, a pump and a generator, to provide water for toilets and ablutions at Embogo High School. The team from last November will go back to install these. Most of the materials would have been obtained at minimal or no cost, but the containers and delivery charges amounted to some $5,000 each.

The work to be done is significant and Rotary District 9680 together with the Gosford Club recognises the importance of it for the future of Oro. Several high schools in Oro Province are in urgent need of repair and upgrading. These schools are essential in providing higher education for students who are the future leaders of PNG—vital for sound and sustained development of the country.

Many villagers in Oro are still living in temporary ‘’Care Centres’’ two years since the tragedy. Many of the people needing help are the direct descendants of the Fuzzy Wuzzy angels who enabled our soldiers to defeat the Japanese invaders in WWII in carrying food and ammunition forward as well as saving the lives of so many of our wounded soldiers.

For further information please contact John Phillips, phone (02) 4324 4904.

For Kerevat and PNG: A new direction needed

There are moves in PNG to save the Keravat National High School from closure by finding a new direction for it. The move has the strong support of one of its old boys (1951-55), Governor-General Grand Chief Sir Paulias Matane, GCL, GCMG, KStJ, who made his views clear in September when he launched former teacher Barbara Short’s book on the school, Tuum Est: The History of Keravat National High School and its students 1947-1986.

“This school has helped shape the development of PNG,” Sir Paulias said. "Some ex-students have become teachers, scientists, professors, politicians, church leaders, businessmen and women, a Prime Minister—and a Governor-General. It needs rebuilding, not closing. It has not been coping well over the past ten years. Maybe it needs a complete new direction.”

The book took Barbara Short about five years of research. Many ex-teachers and ex-students contributed to it. The chapters are based on the years of the various headmasters, and at the end of each chapter are the names of students who graduated during that time. With the help of ex-students, Barbara then researched what the graduates had done with their lives since leaving the school. The author was not at the book launch because of ill-health.

Alumni associations in PNG are offering to help in reconstructing the school, which is in a poor state. Mannen Kuluwah, chairman of the Moresby branch of the Ex Keravat alumni association told Una Voce in September 2009 that at that point they had not reached a conclusion on how they were going to address the matter of the school’s refurbishment. Whether to rebuild completely, repair the current buildings or repair some and build others. Government departments had the responsibility and there would be discussions to see what steps could be taken, but, he said, “We are coming in because nobody is doing anything about it”.

The alumni association will be selling the book in PNG, with all profits going to the school. In Australia copies can be ordered from Barbara Short, 27 Chesterfield Road, EPPING NSW 2121, for $30 plus $10 p&p.

Speaking the following week at PNG’s 34th anniversary of independence, Sir Paulias referred to the government’s “great initiative” in putting together the National Strategic Plan, 2010-2040, and establishing a Task Force responsible for it. But, he added: “Roads and bridges have deteriorated since independence, while schools, hospitals and government facilities have also reached a point of disrepair, while the world is changing fast. This leaves us no other choices but to make the hard decisions on reinvesting in creating an enabling environment. Silver, gold, gas and oil will end some day, but roads, bridges, and facilities will remain with us.”

“Economies of scale and experience tell me that, no matter what the best managers do in the public sector, inefficiencies within the government and public service systems will continue to be problematic, resulting in ineffective service delivery. Remember, 34-plus years of ineffective government and public service delivery systems in PNG since independence have resulted in the unfortunate mess we are in today.

“My simple and sound advice to the NSP Taskforce, is to embrace Public Private Partnership now. Time is running out for us to turn the nation around.”

Montevideo Maru plaque unveiled

On 1 July 2009, a plaque commemorating the Montevideo Maru disaster was unveiled at Subic Bay. Click here for a full report.

Will Genia's debut for Wallabies

PNG born Will Genia has been named in the 30-man Wallaby squad for the upcoming Tri-Nations series, making his debut against the All Blacks on Saturday 18 July 2009 at Eden Park Auckland.

Genia spent his early years in Port Moresby before being educated at Brisbane Boys College finishing in 2005. He represented GPS, Queensland and Australian Schoolboys rugby in 2005.

Wearing # 21, the Queensland Reds scrumhalf will be backing up Luke Burgess on Saturday night.

The President and Management Committee have forwarded the following message to Will Genia on behalf of the Association: Congratulations Will. We all look forward with real pride to your successful debut against the All Blacks.