News item about Tristan Moss posted in early 2011

I have been delighted to have met up with Tristan Moss in Canberra, recently. Tristan is a PhD student at the Australian National University who is researching the experiences of Australian soldiers in PNG in the lead up to independence in 1975. I have set out below the details of the project as supplied by Tristan, to give us all a clear idea of the scope of this study.

‘This project will document and analyse the experiences of Australian servicemen in PNG in the lead up to and after independence in 1975. In doing so, it will analyse three key aspects of the Australian presence. First, it will focus on the individual level of Australian involvement, asking how the Australian defence forces trained, led, advised and interacted with their Papua New Guinea counterparts. Second, the study will place this analysis within the wider context, asking how Australia’s lengthy role in PNG was shaped by and in turn shaped Australian efforts elsewhere as well as how the military as an institution was affected. Finally, the thesis will compare the Australian role in PNG, in particular the effort after 1975, with similar Australian involvement in other countries e.g. Malaysia.’

Tristan is very interested in the work of the National Service teachers and is planning to visit Brisbane later in the year to interview as many Chalkies as possible.
Click here to hear about his interviews with Brisbane Chalkies.

A special thanks to Greg Ivey who first connected with Tristan in this regard.