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VI
New Caledonia

Arrived in Necal we found that a good camp had been prepared at Moindah, though none of us anticipated a long stay there. The temperate climate was much appreciated, and the conditions generally were good. The 4th NZ General Hospital was most generous in providing accommodation for a draft of men each weekend so that Noumea could be visited in search of the elusive silk stocking. Came final boards of survey, packing and the striking of tents, a short stay at Kalavere, the home of the convalescent depot, and then embarkation at Noumea and arrival at Auckland on 17 August, 1944. From the time of departure from New Caledonia the unit had ceased to function as such, and, once in Papakura, rapid disintegration took place as men set off for their homes. The 24th NZ Field Ambulance had to its credit but a year of overseas service, all of which was spent in the Solomons. It had prepared in many ways and, through arduous endeavour, had attained a high standard of fitness without which life in the jungle could have exacted a heavier toll.

What of our camps now on Guadalcanal and Green? What trace is left to show that New Zealand feet trod there? Probably very little. One might be pardoned for concluding with these lines dedicated to any tropic island:

'Isle of beauty, azure seas and skies,
Of tropic's verdant growth which given time
Will tirelessly enclose the ravages of men and war.
For time wins in the end; there is no end to time.'