Australian National Servicemen
David Paterson was born in Port Adelaide on 24 January 1945 to parents Matthew and Dorothy Paterson. He had an older brother Peter. David went to school at Port Adelaide Primary School and Woodville High School. He enjoyed swimming and swam…
Allow me to speak about a Thomas McMahon’s life whose search for fame was to take over the latter part of his life. Max Quanchi,, a Moem graduate (1966-7) in PNG, wrote of Thomas McMahon’s life in a book called…
THE LIFE OF PNG NASHO HANS JURGEN PROEBSTING (1950 – 2024) AN AUSTRALIAN STORY OF IMMIGRANT SUCCESS Hans Jurgen Proebsting was born in 1950 in what was known then as East Germany. His parents, Karl and Elfriede realized quickly that…
Reflections on writing The Chalkies1 Darryl Dymock When I opened my email in Brisbane one August day in 2024 I found this message: ‘Thank you for your application for access to an item held by the National Archives of Australia.The…
It has always intrigued me as to how the concept of the Iduabada Technical College working with the PNG Defence Force arose. Relying on the recollections of WO2 Dan Winkel who was present at the initial stages of this joint…
Today (4/4/24) we celebrated the life of fellow Chalkie, Ian Colwell who served in RAAEC in PNG in 1972-3 at Murray and Igam Barracks. He was the last to serve in the Territory as a conscripted 2-year National Serviceman. An…
(This article was first published in VoicePipe, the magazine of the Tingira Association) Last month I attended the annual commemoration organised by Burwood Council at the National Servicemen’s Memorial in Burwood Park. Around 20 persons were present, mostly local politicians…
My uncle served in the 2/33rd Battalion AIF in TPNG in 1943 during World War 11. One of the few things that he told me about that time was the Liberator crash. He produced 3 newspaper cuttings to tell us…
by Bob Whittaker Editor’s Note: This story is the second extract from the book ‘Jellybeans in the Jungle’ by Bob Whittaker. The first article, ‘Call Up and Rookie Training’ can be viewed by clicking here. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ We boarded the Qantas…
by Bob Whittaker Editor’s Note: This story is an extract from the book ‘Jellybeans in the Jungle’ by Bob Whittaker. On his call up for National Service, as a teacher, Bob could have expected to be sent to Papua New…
by Sgt Kev Horton C Company 1PIR 1971 As I walked through the oppressive heat on the tarmac at Port Moresby Airport, M16 slung over my shoulder, I had no idea that I was about to experience a month that…
Ken Rowe, 1945-2009 March 31, 2009 — 12.00am KEN ROWE, teacher and education researcher, loved to escape to his timber cottage in Marysville in the hills above Melbourne, where king parrots chirped rather than mobile phones. It was where he…
by Sgt Terry Edwinsmith Bellwether, chief, commander, director, foreman, head-most, premier, ruler, senior etc. Leadership is as diverse as the people placed in that position. Some are anointed, promoted or born to that position. Many are conferred this position by…
In war there are no unwounded soldiers, No unsightly wounds to show, No limbs are missing of these men, But inward pain and thoughts crowding on, The mind of ageing veteranswho saw it but have nought to show, Only memories…
By Sgt Siggy Nowak National Service training commenced, and I walked into Puckapunial as a raw recruit following the completion of my Economics university degree, my Dip Ed and then one year teaching in Shepperton. Following recruit training, I marched…
Introduction Over the duration of “operation skoolim”, the RAAEC regular staff in PNG improved its procedures for recruitment, training, and induction of National Service Instructors deployed to PNG Command. The document which follows was written from Port Moresby and designed…
This page shows various single items that are of interest but could not be displayed elsewhere on the website. Learner’s Permit and provisional licence issued in the 1970’s A newspaper item spread over two images of a football match involving…
1PIR’s BOOMERANG BOY (By Terry Edwinsmith) RSM WO1 Frederick Alexander Wilson ARA 5487 24/06/1924 to 27/03/1968 The book, ‘Boomerang Boy’ tells the compelling story of Taurama Barrack’s RSM, Fred Wilson who died at 1PIR on 27th March 1968 when he…
National Servicemen’s Day, February 14 each year. This 14th day in February, the 45th day of the year, is remembered for many events. In recent times in Australia, Decimal Currency was introduced with metrics overtaking the Imperial measures from this…
This is article is reproduced with the kind permission of author, Mark Dapin. It contains interviews undertaken by Mark of fellow Chalkies Les Rowe, Wayne Bensley, Andrew Remenyi, Ray Nichol, Ray Bassett, Peter Porteous and Chris Poulton.First published in 2014,…
This is an NCO course, with documentation from Col Ron Lange, re-done by Greg Ivey. We are indebted to Col Lange for the material. Greg did a great job with the old file, which was showing it’s age. Quite a…
by Sgt. Graeme Johnson I was introduced to this pastime by a civvy mate Bob PRINS who was employed by the Administration in the then Department of Ag., Stock & Fisheries in Wewak town centre. He was friends with some…
by Capt. John Retallick After attending Bathurst Teachers’ College in 1962-3 I was sent to a one teacher school in a wheat paddock somewhere out west for 2 years. Towards the end of that time I received a call-up notice…
by Sgt Paul Taylor What the heck is a Chalkie? Before I answer this question I would like to take you back to 7th February 1968. Why is this date significant to me? Because it was the first day of…
by Dan Winkel Like all 18 year olds of my generation I had to serve 3 months National Service, compulsory full time service to complete Recruit Training. The initial 3 months were followed by 3 years compulsory part time training…
____________________________________________________________________ Editor’s Note: This article was copied from the NSW Teachers News website education.nsw.gov.au/news unaltered and in its entirety. We (the Chalkies) sought and received permission to copy the article. We copied it here to acknowledge an important milestone in…
____________________________________________________________________ Editor’s Note: This article was copied from the The Singleton Argus unaltered and in its entirety. We (the Chalkies) acknowledge it is the property of the newspaper and will receive no monetary gain in using it. We copied it…
by Mark and Frank Donnan 12 August – 17 August 2014 DAY 1 – Flew with my brother Frank from Mascot airport to Cairns, window seat with clear skies and view magnificent, the Great Barrier Reef was a real standout.…
by Sgt. John Meyer I was among 30 soldiers sent on a Civic Action Patrol up into the Gulf Area of Papua New Guinea in January/February 1970. Two Landing Barges were sent on the month long assignment to a remote…
Contributions from Sgts. Terry Edwinsmith and Ron Inglis Background Story As part of the 50th anniversary of the University of Queensland’s Alumni Association, Terry Edwinsmith wrote an article on the National Service Vocational Training Scheme of which many National Servicemen…