by Gregory J. Ivey
I was recently informed by a former Serviceman, Mark Fletcher, about some Second World War images donated to the Army Museum of NSW, Victoria Barracks, Paddington in Sydney where Mark is a volunteer. The images below are just a selection of the Port Moresby war-time photos from an Album donated by the wife of the late Captain Craigie who retired in the early 1960s.
Cpl (later Captain) Craigie was posted to Port Moresby in June 1940 to 13th Heavy Battery attached to the Royal Australian Artillery. During 1940 and 1941 he took many black & white photos around the Port Moresby area and later placed them in an album with his brief caption for each photo. Craigie left Port Moresby for duty in Sydney on 3 January 1942.
Another former Serviceman, Frank Cordingley, has enhanced six of these images. The original photo captions were very brief and undated, so I have expanded them after looking at other Craigie album captions. For example, the location of these photos is almost certainly Konedobu. Konedobu is an historic suburb of Port Moresby, featuring government buildings. According to several sources[2], the PIB conducted its initial recruiting and training in this suburb.
These images were identified in 2020 which marked the 80th Anniversary of the official Formation of the Papuan Infantry Battalion (PIB) at Port Moresby in June 1940 as a Unit in the Australian Order of Battle. The PIB fought with distinction throughout the New Guinea campaigns of the Second World War and was not disbanded until the middle of 1946. From late 1944, many experienced (New Guinea) soldiers from the PIB were transferred to bolster the newly-formed New Guinea Infantry Battalions (NGIB) which saw active service in 1945 and the last of these battalions was not disbanded until late 1947. PIB and NGIB Servicemen received 43 bravery awards during the War: 1 DSO, 6 MC, 3 DCM, 20 MM, 10 MID, 1 U.S. Legion of Merit, and 2 George Medals. The PIB and NGIB were amalgamated administratively in 1944 under the title of Pacific Islands Regiment and later awarded 11 Battle Honours.
[1] This article was first published in Sabretache Vol LXII, No 1 – March 2021, pp 4-7
[2] Lahui Ako, Nameless Warriors, UPNG Press, Port Moresby, 2012; G.M. Byrnes, Green Shadows, G.M. Byrnes, Newmarket Qld, 1989
2020 caption: Papuan men enlisting in PIB, Konedobu, 1940 approx.
2020 caption: PIB recruits wearing ramis for parade ground drill, Konedobu, 1940 approx.
2020 caption: Company of PIB recruits with sticks, Konedobu, 1940 approx.
2020 caption: PIB with rifles being inspected, Konedobu, 1940 approx.
2020 caption: PIB on parade with rifles, Konedobu, 1940 approx.
2020 caption: PIB platoon, Konedobu, 1940 approx. The PIB appear to have worn police uniforms, for some occasions, until the PIB uniform became available.