Suggested Reading/Viewing
Voices from the War. This is a project of Deakin University and contains interviews of Papua New Guineans about their recollections of the war. Go to the web site here or straight to the interview site here...
Taim belong Masta. This electronically downloadable book is accessible from the ANU open research depository. Reading this book may bring back many PNG memories and help you fill your isolation time over the coming weeks. The file is too big to be uploaded onto our website. Click here to download it.
Ration Packs I Have Come Across, Trevor Connell, 2016. Download the complete article (below) in full in greater detail and readability. This has featured in several parts in Harim Tok Tok
| Ration Packs I Have Come Across |
The Story of Marsden Matting. Download the article below..
| The Magic Carpet. The story of Marsden Matting |
Keepers of the Gate - Bob Collins. This is not a history of NGVR. These are the stories of thirty-seven NGVR soldiers—stories which reveal why they were in New Guinea as civilians at that fateful time, their wartime and postwar experiences and the effect on them and their families.
The stories were written as told to Bob Collins, who served in PNGVR, the postwar CMF unit in Papua New Guinea. He met many ex-NGVR men and saw many areas where NGVR operated on the frontline. We are grateful to this small band of courageous and adventurous men, the Keepers of the Gate —our front line of the Pacific War —and these stories are a legacy these outstanding men deserve.
Use the Order Form below.
The stories were written as told to Bob Collins, who served in PNGVR, the postwar CMF unit in Papua New Guinea. He met many ex-NGVR men and saw many areas where NGVR operated on the frontline. We are grateful to this small band of courageous and adventurous men, the Keepers of the Gate —our front line of the Pacific War —and these stories are a legacy these outstanding men deserve.
Use the Order Form below.
| Keepers of the Gate flyer Mar 2018 |
| PNGVR History Brochure - March 2018 |
The attachment and below links were researched and provided by PNGAA Member Patrick Bourke who has contributed greatly our knowledge about the Montevideo Maru and similar subjects..
| A list of War Memorials |
More Suggested Reading
Pte John Holland, B Coy, PNGVR, Rabaul, 1960
1. PNGVR - A History 1951 - 1973, Bob Harvey-Hall, MAJ, RSD, ED, (Rtd) Download the order form above.
2. “Series I Volume IV, Japanese Thrust” by Wigmore Lionel, AWM., 1957
3. “Series I Volume V, South-west Pacific area, first year, Kokoda to Wau” by McCarthy Dudley, AWM, 1959 (see Chapters 3 and 8)
4. “Series I, Volume VI, New Guinea Offensives” by Dexter David, AWM, 1961 (see Chapter 1)
5. “The New Guinea Volunteer Rifles 1939-1943- a history” by Ian Downs
6. “3rd Force - ANGAU”, by Professor Powell
7. “Commando-Double Black: A historical narrative of the 2/5th Independent Company later 2/5 Commando Squadron” by A.A (Andy) Pirie. Australian Military History Publications, 13 Veronica Place, Loftus, NSW, 2232, 1996.
8. “To Find a Path”, Volumes 1 and 2, by James Sinclair. Publisher: Boolarong Publications, Bowen Hills, Qld 1990.
9. “Hostages to Freedom - the fall of Rabaul” by Peter Stone
10. “Rabaul 1942” by Douglas Aplen. Pacific Press
11. “El Tigre” by Frank Holland, MBE - Commando Coastwatcher. Published by Oceans Enterprises, 303-505 Commercial Road, Yarram, Vic 3971
12. “Australian Army: The Pacific Islands Regiment - History” by M.B Pears
13. “The Coast Watchers” by Eric Feldt. Published by Oxford University Press, 1946. Reprinted 1981.
14. Stories covering the war time experiences of some NGVR veterans - published in the Association’s “Harim Tok Tok” quarterly newsletter. These stories were written and edited as told to Bob Collins by the participants.
15. The Australian Army and Department of Information, 1943, Battle of Wau - An Official Publication, An Australian Army at War Series. Australia, Department of Information.
16. The Australian Army and Department of Information, 1944 “Salamaua Siege, an Official Publication” Australian Army at War Series, Sydney, Department of Information.
17. "New Guinea Experience, Gold, War and Peace - 1940 to 1965" by Jim Huxley, NGVR and ANGAU, published by Australian Military History Publications - ISBN 0.9802045-3.
18. "The Kavieng Massacre - a war crime revealed" by Raden Dunbar, published by Sally Milner Publishing Pty Ltd, 2007, ISBN 978 1 8635 1368 5.
19. "Darkest Hour: The True Story of Lark Force at Rabaul - Australia's Worst Military Disaster of World War II" by Bruce D. Gamble, published by Zenith Press, 2006, ISBN 07 603 23496.
20. "The Battle for Australia - the Wau to Salamaua Campaign, 1942-1943" by Captain WHJ (Bill) Phillips, OAM ED (Ret'd), a 33 page booklet first published 2000 by Phillips Publishing, Revised Feb., 2003. ISBN 0 957 8034 4 3.
21. Another story of the Owen gun. Milsurps Knowledge Library - Owen and Austen - The WW 2 ‘Aussie’ Machine Carbine Story
22. The story of the wartime Kokoda Trail: sorting fact from fiction. | PIB NGIB HQ PIR Association (soldierspng.com)
View film and other video here ...
23. The Green Machine. A look at the early 1970 in the Australian Army. Video was used to recruit, shows snippets of an exercise Iron Man with 8/9 Bn. Click here to watch it.
24. PNGVR Annual Camp at Lae. During August and September of this year, the Papua New Guinea Volunteers went into camp near Lae for their annual 14 days of training. The unit, the Territory's C.M.F. force, was formed in 1951 and is made up of Australians, Papuans, New Guineans, Chinese and people of mixed-race. This year about 500 men from subunits in the main Territory centres - Port Moresby, Lae, Madang, Rabual, Wewak, Goroka and Mount Hagen - attended the Camp. They were flown into Lae in Civil airlines and RAAF Caribou Transports. The camp was held on the site of a wartime B.O.D. on the banks of the Bumbu River, close to the Finisterrre Ranges. During the first part of the camp, the troops brushed up on field craft and minor tactics, carried out range shoots with the self loading rifle (SLR), the 3.5 rocket launcher, the O.M.C. (Owen Machine Carbine). and threw grenades. As a special project, the assault pioneers rebuilt a suspension foot-bridge 170 ft long across the Bumbu River. The bridge which gives access to a Boy Scout camp, was washed away recently in a flash flood. The unit also received its first visit from the Commander PNG Command, Brigadier J.M. Hunter, who arrived in the Territory earlier this year and also from the PNGVR's new Honorary Colonel, Colonel R.R. Cole M.C. who is Commissioner of Police in Papua New Guinea. The culmination of the camp came in a three day counter-insurgency exercise involving the whole battalion. The part of the enemy was played by A Company from Lae whose members knew the area well and proved difficult to catch. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C252525
25. The War I New Guinea, Facebook, view here.
26. PNGVR Annual Camp 1966, AWM, view here.
27. PNGVR Training, 1950, AWM. View here ...
28. Listen to this rendition every Anzac Day. The way in which it is sung, gives it a lot of meaning. And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda. Listen to it here....
One comment on the song is...…
Halis ÖZTÜRK 2 years ago
Hello Australian friends. İ am from Turkey. This song very sad and very kindfull. Respect from Turkey. Yes we won this war but many brave man "lost" in here. And our greatest leader Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK wrote a letter for parents and families: "Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side now here in this country of ours... you, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land. They have become our sons as well." This words maybe a little drop for peoples but it means a lot of things for us. Your grandfathers and our grandfathers still "sleeping" together in the our fields. Because we don’t say "they are dead" we say "They are last heroic martyrs".
Come and see their monuments on the ÇANAKKALE (Gallipoli) You are welcome... "After having lost their lives on this land. They have become our sons as well."
29. Film. Patrol over the Kokoda Trail by men of the Papua New Guinea Volunteer Rifles (PNGVR) around Christmas 1962. A bivouac with 'A' Company PNGVR at Lae. The 1963 Lae Show which featured a display by the PNGVR. A Cockshell band at Lae Mission. An Anzac Day parade through Port Moresby which featured the Pacific Islands Regiment, a Squadron of the Special Air Service Regiment and the PNGVR. Shots of an Air Show at 6 Mile Airport, Port Moresby. Scenes of 'A' Coy PNGVR. A trip to Madang includes a visit to the Coastwatchers Memorial. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C217948
30. Australia’s brave WWII volunteers: The NGVR. In the lead up to Japan’s entry into WWII, authority was given for the formation of a volunteer militia unit in Australia’s mandated territory of New Guinea. This video tells the story of the brave men of the Rabaul division of NGVR. Watch it here.
24. PNGVR Annual Camp at Lae. During August and September of this year, the Papua New Guinea Volunteers went into camp near Lae for their annual 14 days of training. The unit, the Territory's C.M.F. force, was formed in 1951 and is made up of Australians, Papuans, New Guineans, Chinese and people of mixed-race. This year about 500 men from subunits in the main Territory centres - Port Moresby, Lae, Madang, Rabual, Wewak, Goroka and Mount Hagen - attended the Camp. They were flown into Lae in Civil airlines and RAAF Caribou Transports. The camp was held on the site of a wartime B.O.D. on the banks of the Bumbu River, close to the Finisterrre Ranges. During the first part of the camp, the troops brushed up on field craft and minor tactics, carried out range shoots with the self loading rifle (SLR), the 3.5 rocket launcher, the O.M.C. (Owen Machine Carbine). and threw grenades. As a special project, the assault pioneers rebuilt a suspension foot-bridge 170 ft long across the Bumbu River. The bridge which gives access to a Boy Scout camp, was washed away recently in a flash flood. The unit also received its first visit from the Commander PNG Command, Brigadier J.M. Hunter, who arrived in the Territory earlier this year and also from the PNGVR's new Honorary Colonel, Colonel R.R. Cole M.C. who is Commissioner of Police in Papua New Guinea. The culmination of the camp came in a three day counter-insurgency exercise involving the whole battalion. The part of the enemy was played by A Company from Lae whose members knew the area well and proved difficult to catch. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C252525
25. The War I New Guinea, Facebook, view here.
26. PNGVR Annual Camp 1966, AWM, view here.
27. PNGVR Training, 1950, AWM. View here ...
28. Listen to this rendition every Anzac Day. The way in which it is sung, gives it a lot of meaning. And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda. Listen to it here....
One comment on the song is...…
Halis ÖZTÜRK 2 years ago
Hello Australian friends. İ am from Turkey. This song very sad and very kindfull. Respect from Turkey. Yes we won this war but many brave man "lost" in here. And our greatest leader Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK wrote a letter for parents and families: "Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side now here in this country of ours... you, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land. They have become our sons as well." This words maybe a little drop for peoples but it means a lot of things for us. Your grandfathers and our grandfathers still "sleeping" together in the our fields. Because we don’t say "they are dead" we say "They are last heroic martyrs".
Come and see their monuments on the ÇANAKKALE (Gallipoli) You are welcome... "After having lost their lives on this land. They have become our sons as well."
29. Film. Patrol over the Kokoda Trail by men of the Papua New Guinea Volunteer Rifles (PNGVR) around Christmas 1962. A bivouac with 'A' Company PNGVR at Lae. The 1963 Lae Show which featured a display by the PNGVR. A Cockshell band at Lae Mission. An Anzac Day parade through Port Moresby which featured the Pacific Islands Regiment, a Squadron of the Special Air Service Regiment and the PNGVR. Shots of an Air Show at 6 Mile Airport, Port Moresby. Scenes of 'A' Coy PNGVR. A trip to Madang includes a visit to the Coastwatchers Memorial. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C217948
30. Australia’s brave WWII volunteers: The NGVR. In the lead up to Japan’s entry into WWII, authority was given for the formation of a volunteer militia unit in Australia’s mandated territory of New Guinea. This video tells the story of the brave men of the Rabaul division of NGVR. Watch it here.
