Porton Revisted

Ray Pescud left Australia on the 1st June 2009 with the hope of visiting Porton Plantation, and Porton Beach, where his father fought with the 31st/51st Battalion and associated units against the Japanese in 1945. He hoped to gain permission from the local villages to lay a memorial plaque in their honor. Ray arrived in Buka on the 2nd June 2009, there he was met by the sister’s of Nazareth at the Chabai Catholic Mission who had kindly aloud him to stay with them for the two weeks that he would be there.

Once he arrived in Chabai Village, he then met with Francis, one of the village chiefs of the area. They discussed permission to lay the plaque as it is their traditional land and he needed to become aware of their local customs and beliefs so that no offence to them would occur. Francis then went and spoke to the chiefs of the other villages it would affect and organized for the memorial plaque to be laid at the place where the water hole was at Porton. It was this water hole which the Japanese fought strongly to hold at the Battle of Porton.

On the 8th June 2009, Ray was taken to Porton Beach by boat to commemorate the original landing on Porton Beach. Once he arrived at the beach, he was met by around a hundred villagers who were lined up along the beach and he was to shake all of their hands as he was then a part of their community. Before proceeding into the jungle to Porton Plantation, he had his hands and feet washed with coconut milk to ward off evil spirits and cleanse him of any evil spirits. Ray was then led through the jungle, to the place the chiefs had arranged, which had been decorated with palm fronds and an alter made for the service. A huge piece of coral, with bullet holes in it from the battle had been chosen by the chiefs for the memorial plaque to be laid.

During the service the nuns said prayers and washed the coral with holy water and blessed it. The chiefs spoke of unity between the Bougainville people and Australian people, they also spoke of the stories they had of what had happened when the Japanese came to Chabai and of how the Australians fought and died here in the area where the plaque was being laid in 1945. They also spoke of how their people had suffered and died fighting the Japanese. The villagers sang traditional songs and also” Amazing Grace” as a hymn for those who did not return.

Ray spoke to them of how important it was to remember those who did not return and those who did and of the sacrifice that the Bougainville people had also suffered during the Battle of Porton and through out the Japanese occupation and that he hoped that the laying of the memorial plaque would bring them closer together as people with the Australian people.

The day concluded with the plaque being put in place on the coral memorial and then the villagers shared traditional food that they had prepared. Many families had attended and the children played on the beach. Now, each year, on the 8th June the villagers will visit the memorial as it has become a part of there traditions and they will be looking after the memorial, which will be very much appreciated by many Australians.

Special thanks goes to the Sisters of Nazareth at Chabai Village, Francis the village chief, and to Rebecca Walker, an Australian ex pat working as an aid worker in Chabai Village, as she translated for me and was a considerable help to me during my visit. Also a very special thanks to the young men of the villages in the area for keeping me safe and showing me the Japanese fortifications at Porton  which were difficult to find due to the thick jungle and it being 64 years since the Battle occurred. Lest we forget.

Mr.Ray Pescud