An Article by Major General Brian Howard AO, MC (Ret’d)

When the PIR was re-raised at Port Moresby in 1951, it was intended to station elements of the Battalion in other parts of the country. The first outstation was established in 1952 at Vanimo, in the Sepik District on the north coast, close to the then Dutch border. It was manned by a rifle company. Companies, with all their stores for six months were flown to Wewak by RAAF aircraft, and then transported the last 250 km by sea in two trips on a local coastal steamer, the MV Tarra, and later by Army Landing Ships (LSM). Vanimo was an idyllic location being right on the coast. From 1965 onwards Vanimo was manned by 2 PIR by which time a Hercules-capable airfield had been constructed by Australian Army Engineers to replace the old light aircraft strip that had been the only contact with the outside world. Vanimo was often isolated for long periods during the monsoon season.

The second outstation was raised at Nutt Point on the remote Manus Island in 1954. It was also manned by a rifle company. The camp was the location where Japanese War Crimes Trials were conducted at the end of WW2. It was closed in 1962 in favour of a new site at Moem Point near Wewak in the Sepik District. This location later became the home of 2 PIR.

The companies rotated through the outstations every six months and these tours of duty were initially unaccompanied. They provided the bases for extensive patrolling into the interior of the country, particularly after the relocation of the Manus Island outstation to Wewak.

In 1968, a 1 PIR rifle company was deployed to a new barracks near Lae. Igam Barracks had been constructed for 3 PIR which was never raised. This tour of duty was 12 months as families accompanied the soldiers. This was a popular location as the barracks and married quarters were brand new and Lae was a major centre with road access to the Highlands.

While not strictly an outstation, a PIR Training Company was established at Goldie River 30 km from Port Moresby in 1957. It was first used by WO2s Charlie Scholl and Col Macgregor for recruit training and later became a permanent camp to be known as E Company, PIR. The facilities for staff and trainees alike were primitive, as the camp was built by the soldiers themselves mainly from local materials. The only road was through a swamp which was often flooded during the summer monsoon season, and at times the only access to Port Moresby was on foot through the swamp which contained crocodiles, snakes and millions of mosquitoes. However, it produced good results from its recruit and junior NCO training and provided the foundation for the Papua New Guinea Training Deport which was formed in 1964.