Notes from the Northern Territory: Jim Toner

December 2009

The PNG-Australia Social & Cultural Group held a 34th Independence Day celebration at the Filipino Community Centre in Darwin and a good attendance watched PNG traditional dancing after dinner.

My last mention of an elderly PIB Sergeant appearing at a Remembrance Day ceremony in Port Moresby was, I think, in 2004. I was delighted to learn that Ben Moide, CBE, was again on parade this year. That by my calculation makes him 86.

Mal Meninga needs no introduction to readers in the rugby league States. For others, he has captained Australia in half of his 45 Tests and as a coach has just led Queensland to victory in the last four annual State of Origin tussles with New South Wales. He is now the prestigious spearhead of an attempt to include a PNG team in the Australian national competition. This is unlikely to come about and anyone aware of the violent passion with which PNG audiences have embraced the Qld-NSW contests on TV will add "fortunately".

Prior to one such game this year the medical officer in charge of the Emergency Ward at the Moresby hospital placed a large notice on its door warning the public that the fee for treatment of injuries sustained from fighting about the Origin match would be 50 Kina. This did not deter well over 100 men, whether joyful Maroons fans or sore losers supporting NSW, all sharing damage in some way, from turning up following the match. Fatalities were kept down to three.

While sport on a TV screen cannot be banned in PNG it seems wiser that Australian teams do not—in the flesh—become involved with a still volatile population not hesitant to declare a 'fight zone'. However the logistics of financing any integration with the NRL will surely obviate need for any decision.

I suspect that but for the highly laudable efforts of our Montevideo Maru committee few of us would ever have learned about the creation in 2006 of the Hellships Memorial in the Philipines. It was described by our Editor in the September issue and her visit to the former US naval base at Subic Bay had been to attend the unveiling of a plaque commemorating the 1053 civil and military prisoners packed aboard the Montevideo Maru at Rabaul in 1942 who just nine days later lost their lives when that vessel was torpedoed by a US submarine.

The Hellships Memorial, funded privately I believe by American Veterans Associations, commemorates no less than 100 of such ships which took Allied prisoners to Japan and elsewhere. However, the Montevideo Maru was the only one to be sunk with all on board. For instance three months later 1834 British POWs captured in the fall of Hong Kong were trapped below decks when the Lisbon Maru en route Japan was also sunk by an American submarine. After the crew abandoned ship two officers broke free from one hold and began to unbatten the hatches of other holds. In consequence drowning was limited to 800 men. Sadly of the 1000 survivors eventually taken on to Japan every fifth man died in those miserable camps.

One elderly English survivor commented this year that "the whole show in the Far East was not given much attention in Britain after the war".   Yes: there and in Australia people were flat out dealing with all the problems arising from a Six Years War with its multiple tragedies. However Keith Payne, Australia's oldest living VC, whose uncle is presumed lost on the Montevideo Maru, said "It is good that this important part of our war history is finally being given some publicity as it appears to have been ignored for many years by authorities and the media". The screening in November of the new film documentary will greatly assist in this and all PNGAA members will look forward to viewing it.

In September a Darwin man attempting to cross the Torres Strait to Papua in a 5m boat had engine trouble and was obliged to beach himself in the Western Province. He declared himself fearful of headhunters and cannibals so was somewhat surprised when the village people appeared with a chair for him to rest on. He told The NT News that after a short wait he was taken to meet their king.....  

This recalled for me a yarn of Kerry Leen, a 1946 seniority kiap, who once when returning from leave aboard the Bulolo was told by a lady passenger that it was not her first trip to New Guinea. On the previous occasion, she informed him, she had been captured by the natives who made her their queen.....

Knowing Kerry I can picture him feigning huge astonishment and pleading for more detail. Much more.