Notes from the Northern Territory: Jim Toner

March 2013

Many of our members have interesting backgrounds and Dr Albert Foreman now practicing in Darwin is certainly one of these. As a young man in Melbourne he graduated in Civil Engineering and joined COMWORKS in the NT for ten years. In 1967 he was posted to Moresby as Senior Engineer for Roads and Aerodromes in Papua. By 1971 having obtained a Diploma in Education he began teaching in High Schools. However during 1972-75 he studied medicine at UPNG and his 1976-77 internship took him to hospitals in Moresby, Lae, Rabaul, Goroka, Kainantu and Kudjip Mission. He was responsible for surgery and obstetrics at Mount Hagen before seeking overseas experience in 1978. 

Dr Foreman has maintained his interest in PNG, attended the 48th Annual Medical Symposium in Moresby last September, and plans to be in Lae for the next conference this year.

Marengo Mining Ltd is poised to commence copper mining at Yanderra near Bundi and its Field Manager is Paul Mason. He bears the same name as his father the valiant Bougainville Coastwatcher but is better known to me as "Paulipops". Paul was raised on Inus plantation but when his mother, Noelle, visited Mendi where the Masons operated a trade store, she would telegraph her husband with details and conclude "Much love to Paulipops", then a small boy. As the Mendi radio operator I invariably had to spell this out (Peter-Able-Uncle, etc.) for the operator at Madang to the considerable amusement of listeners.

After his father died in 1972, Paul jnr. worked in Highlands businesses until 2000 before moving to Brisbane but he returned to PNG in 2008 for the mining company where he works an unusual schedule, 5 weeks on followed by 3 weeks off. Apart from the 95 km pipeline to a new port on the coast another interesting proposal from the miners is the creation of a road from Yanderra over the Bismarck Range to Kundiawa. Good luck.

Weekend editions of the PNG Post-Courier have been carrying historical accounts of sporting events during "the colonial era". These have been supplied from the records of Dave Keating, former chalkie (ASOPA 1961/62). One tale which I had never heard before referred to Peter Manser, a Gibbes Sepik pilot, who many readers will have known. A rugby league team was flying from Rabaul to Lae for an inter-Zone match when their Fokker got sick and had to be put down at Kimbe. Gloom! Then Manser’s DC3 floated in with a cargo of copra which he promptly tipped out and replaced with side saddle seats to accommodate the footballers. The flight thus resumed reached Lae just in time for the opening whistle. Pasin bilong Territory tru.

I discover that I have now been contributing news and notes from the Top End to Una Voce for 23 years. With a bit of luck I intend to continue but in the meantime have been able to take a peek at our archives for 1989. The first thing to be said is that Nick Booth has done a hugely impressive job in placing them on the PNGAA website and all members owe him for his time and toil.

 My first offering, made at the urging of Harry West, appeared in the September 1989 edition in which I noticed a Vale entry for Bob Towers, ex-DCA. his reminded me that he had established a cinema for indigenes in Boroko called the Nita Theatre where one evening being at a loose end and observing that Zulu (in which a fistful of VCs were awarded to the winning side at Rorke’s Drift) was the main feature I decided it should have my patronage.

Sadly when I pushed my money across the counter to the cashier it was swiftly shoved back at me. "No Europeans in 'ere," declared the expatriate. "Youse only get down the front row touching up the meris". Suitably abashed I headed for the door and had to watch the film years later.

To my surprise when this incident was reported in the December issue it read "chatting up the meris" The Editor's decision is final and I had great respect for Doug Parrish and the work he was doing in maintaining Una Voce for us at a high standard. Not to forget that he was concurrently our President so I asked no questions but the "Black Knight" was good enough to inform me that in effecting the change of verb he had been obliged to take into account the sensitivities of our more senior lady members....

I said no more but did in fact wonder a little about the presumed delicate condition of those ladies who had accompanied their man to PNG to live in pitpit huts lit by Tilley lamps and serviced by long drop toilets. But the words "tough old birds" shall never pass my lips.