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Shovel Sword and Scalpel: A record of service of medical units of the second New Zealand expeditionary force in the Pacific

III — Kalavere

III
Kalavere

Any hopes that our American friends might have discarded a few odds and ends before they vacated Kalavere were soon dispelled when we came to take stock of our new home. The native population for miles around had scavenged the area long before our arrival, so all that we gained was a number of large concrete blocks, which had been laid down as floors, and about 12 or 15 thatched bares, each about the size of a beach cottage and capable of housing four people. These were allocated to the officers and sisters, who remained in them even when huts subsequently became available.

So much happened during those early days at Kalavere that it is difficult to crowd it into these few pages and retain a correct perspective. The scene was one of intense activity as we strove to establish our depot and look to the welfare of nearly 100 patients. Ever since the inception of the unit the theme of 'Patients first' had been preached to the staff, and it became much more than a catch phrase or lip service slogan. All worked unstintingly as expedience demanded; there were tents to be erected, drains to be dug, trucks unloaded—sometimes in the middle of the night; equipment stored, medical services to be maintained—including a modest 10-bed hospital under Sister M. E. Burke—and last, but by no means least, a permanent layout for our camp had to be planned and finalised. Major S. E. West, NZE, was a frequent visitor, and under his guidance the engineers commenced work clearing niaouli trees, levelling for foundations, forming roads and installing drainage and a septic tank sewerage page 155system. Captain J. S. Beresford, NZDC, opened up his dental section, and, with an ingenuity reminiscent of Heath Robinson, contrived to rig up some very serviceable appliances. Sister J. M. McKellar commandeered a trestle table and small tent in which to commence massage, and Captain W. S. Wood hung up his sign outside the regimental aid post. Lieutenant R. Cato was kept busy in the role of transport officer, especially so since nearly every request for a vehicle was classified as urgent. Irrespective of rank or appointment each man was a labourer in those days, and Lieutenant-Colonel Wood, more often than not stripped to the waist, was no exception to the rule. As our camp rose up midst the niaoulis we felt something of that pioneering spirit of old.that prompted our forefathers to cut their homes out of the bush.

The next excitement was the arrival of 10 Women's Army Auxiliary Corps personnel from New Zealand—the ultimate establishment provided for 39 in all. White womenfolk were still something of a novelty, especially to those of our patients who had returned from the northern areas, and the new girls were the cynosure of all eyes. Everything possible had been prepared for their comfort, and three small bures were set apart for their quarters. Arriving as they did in the midst of camp construction, they are deserving of the highest praise for the manner in which they quickly adapted themselves to their new surroundings. Laundry and ablutions were performed in the stream—a muddy torrent after any rain—while candles and hurricane lamps were their only lights at night. Clarice Riley was the senior NCO, and with Marcel Hartnett took over orderly room duties. Tris Wang-ford quickened more than one male pulse as the quartermaster's righthand 'man,' and Noeline Thoreau quickly mastered dollars and cents as the 'Canteen Cutie.' Marion Ramsay, Hazel McDonald, Noel Brodie, Helen Dahl, Eileen Graham, and Maxie Duncan all wore the Red Cross emblem that distinguished them as VAD's. Much has been stated loosely from time to time concerning the desirability or otherwise of sending girls overseas in the armed forces, but if the experience of this unit can be taken as any guide then these girls, and those who joined them at a later date, did an excellent job of work and one can only speak in terms of unstinting praise.

Our recreation hut was beginning to take shape, but, although the framework was completed in October, we were obliged to page 156await native labour to complete the thatching. Hut parts were arriving, and the first prefabricated hut was erected to house the unit canteen. It was early in this month that the officer in charge administration, Brigadier W. W. Dove, CBE, MC, asked us to provide a programme on the occasion of the official opening of the Bourail Club. This gave us only little more than three weeks for preparation, but, nothing daunted, we set to work. Rehearsals commenced on Splitzkreig III, so named because most of the items were reproduced by Lieutenant Spraggon from a previous production of that title in New Zealand. The show proved an immediate hit, and, after two performances at the club, we visited several other units, giving a total of seven performances in all. Humour with whirlwind speed was the keynote of the programme, and it took the form of a sparkling revue. The Waacs appeared in a much-discussed Eastern ballet, but 'The Angels' probably created the greatest impression when many wellknown personalities were introduced. To quote one verse:—

Brigadier Dove
Went in his car one day,
He forgot the speed restrictions,
And his auto hit a dray!

There's another little red cap on the sideboard,
And a dozen mourning colonels standing by,
There's a hundred thousand angels shouting 'OICA'
Getting Admin Orders in the sky.

Lieutenant-Colonel Wood was always an advocate of entertainment in the unit, and in this, as well as all other camp activities, the patients were encouraged to participate as much as possible. Two-thirds of the personnel in Splitzkreig were convalescents.

With the assistance of sisters, Waacs and sometimes French girls from Bourail we were now able to hold occasional dances. We had an excellent dance orchestra, under the baton of Captain Wood, and our floor consisted of two of the concrete blocks, bequeathed us by the Americans, and which shone like mirrors after a generous application of candle grease. Coloured hurricane lamps provided festive illumination, and the quartermaster could always be relied upon to find something better than 'spam' for page 157supper. Owing to the comparatively small number of girls available a rationing system had to be introduced, and the patients were allowed one evening, the staff other ranks another, then the sergeants, and lastly the officers. These functions were called formal dances, and the girls wore their attractive white uniforms. We also ran weekly dances, when the number of girls increased, but these were of an informal nature and were intended principally for the patients.