The year in review

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery
Lae War Cemetery
Rabaul (Bita Paka) War Cemetery

PORT MORESBY (BOMANA) WAR CEMETERY

Headstone Realignment Project

A project to realign 1,836 headstones in the Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery was undertaken during the year. A total of 68 headstone beams, each containing 27 headstones had previously been identified as containing many headstones no longer consistent with the CWGC standard.

Drainage works undertaken between 1998 and 2000 as well as the installation of a new irrigation system were necessary projects to complete prior to this realignment work. The earlier works sought to stabilise the soil moisture content across the cemetery by preventing extreme flooding in the wet season and cracking of the ground in the dry season. By preventing these extremes the pressures exerted by heavy clay soil on beams would be reduced and remove any detrimental effects.

C&M Engineers, under the supervision of Cardno Willing consulting engineers carried out the realignment work over a six month period from May until October. While this work was very disruptive, more than half the headstones in the cemetery were returned to the required standard of presentation consistent with those elsewhere in the cemetery.

	left: Headstones removed right: Headstones realigned ready to be fixed back into beam

To help prevent any further movement, the beams were strengthened at every joint. With approximately 11 joints per beam, this work resulted in a significant upgrade of the beams.

Reinstatement of the headstone beds was carried out immediately after the realignment work. The National Capital Botanic Gardens in Port Moresby was contracted to provide a wider range of suitable ground cover plants to improve the aesthetics of the headstone beds and reduce the splashing of soil on the headstones during heavy rain. Due to the very long dry season, the irrigation system has been extended to assist in the care of the new plants.

Sandstone Memorials — Repairs

Minor repairs to the Memorial to the Missing, Stone of Remembrance and Entrance Building have recently been completed by specialist Australian stonemasons.

A team of three contracted monumental masons has completed several long term maintenance tasks as well as some new work at Rabaul (Bita Paka), Lae and Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemeteries.

	left: James Kuk masks up bronze panels on the Port Moresby (Bomana) Memorial to the Missing, prior to painting. right: Nathan Jilling highlighting one of the bronze panels on the Port Moresby (Bomana) Memorial to the Missing

Refurbishment of Memorial to the Missing

After an inspection of the bronze panels on the Memorial to the Missing in March 2002, a recommendation was made that they be refurbished. The paint on the panels had been badly scratched in places and was also degenerating in other areas.

The technique used was the same as that for refurbishing bronze plaques in Australia. The lettering on the panels was rubbed back and highlighted, the panels were then stripped back to bare metal with paint stripper and cleaned down. The brown background colour was then applied using aerosol cans. The lettering was again highlighted prior to the application of two-part Paracryl Clear Finish. The clear finish was applied with a spraygun.

LAE WAR CEMETERY

Works undertaken at Lae War Cemetery have focused on repairs to the sandstone entrance building the adjacent bastions and the Indian section of the cemetery.

New paving flagstones were laid at the entrance building to extend the paved surface and better protect adjacent walls from the pooling of water. Agricultural drains were laid in the lawn area adjacent to prevent flooding. Many of the sandstone wall tiles had deteriorated due to rising damp and were replaced. Capping on the entrance walls was reset and steps to the Indian section of the cemetery were re-laid.

Garden beds within the Indian section of the cemetery have been upgraded and it is planned to renovate all garden beds throughout the cemetery during 2003.

RABAUL (BITA PAKA) WAR CEMETERY

Sandstone Memorials — Repairs

In August, specialist stonemasons travelled to Bita Paka to carry out work on the Memorial to the Missing, Cross of Sacrific and the Indian and Pakistan Obelisk. The 12 monumental walls comprising the Memorial to the Missing required extensive re-jointing, the removal and replacement of a number of sandstone tiles and the resetting of all capping stones.

At the Cross of Sacrifice and Indian and Pakistan Obelisk many of the joints were replaced. While at Bita Paka the stonemasons constructed a low sandstone plinth on which was placed an historic plaque commemorating the Australian Servicemen killed there during World War I.

	Rabaul (Bita Paka) Memorial to the Missing

Memorial to the Missing — Bronze Panel Restoration

Bita Paka War Cemetery is 48 kilometres from Rabaul. The cemetery is the smallest of the three war cemeteries in PNG, and is maintained by local OAWG staff.

An avenue of sandstone columns forms the Rabual Memorial to the Missing and commemorates 1,224 Servicemen who died in New Britain and New Ireland, and who have no known grave. This includes 1,216 Australians. It is the largest single list of its kind from any battle area in which Australians fought in Papua New Guinea between 1942 and 1945.

The bronze panels have slowly deteriorated to an unsatisfactory standard and in October a team from Australia travelled to PNG to refurbish the panels.

The project was disrupted by the late delivery of materials and equipment, bad weather and the supply of incorrect equipment. However, with the support of local staff and backup equipment the project was completed in the time allowed and to the high standard required. It is expected the new paint finish will last approximately ten years.

	above: SA staff member Steve Djuric sprays colour onto the memorial panels

	above: Masked panels after colour has been sprayed

	above: Rain slowed the work

	above: Highlighting the lettering

	left: Final cleaning of the panels right: Australian and Papua New Guinean OAWG staff who carried out the refurbishment

Security

Security in PNG remains a problem. Following a serious attack on guards at Bomana War Cemetery in May, a review of security measures was undertaken with the Australian High Commission. Consequently, it was decided to upgrade the guarding presence, electronic monitoring and the perimeter fence. These measures will be completed during 2003–04.

Security at Bita Paka War Cemetery has also been of concern with the theft of the gardening supervisor’s vehicle on two separate occasions. Guarding services at the cemetery are under review as a result of these security failures.

I was in PNG last week to visit my father’s headstone at the War Cemetery in Lae. I just want to say how much we appreciate the efforts you make to keep these gardens in such order and looking so beautiful. It is a credit to you and your Department. I met Larry your headman there, responsibly carrying out his work! Hopefully more Australians will make the visit to PNG to follow the footsteps of their forebears and to appreciate the memorials in their memory.

Thank you so much for the photographs of my father’s name on the Rabaul Memorial to the Missing in Papua New Guinea. It is unlikely that I will ever be able to visit the Memorial, so I will treasure these photographs all the more and keep them with my other records of his war service.

I have just received photographs of my grandfather’s grave in Papua New Guinea and I write to thank you for your efforts in obtaining them for me. It is only in the past few years I have come to appreciate the sacrifice made by so many for our freedom.