III
New Caledonia

After a few hungry days at the transit camp the unit moved north by convoy to its area. The first night was spent at Nepoui staging camp, some 150 miles from Noumea. The main features of the trip were the vicious mosquitoes in evidence at every halt of the convoy, thick red dust and uninteresting, desolate countryside. The following day the proposed camp site was reached, and we were met by our advanced party. The area selected was in the Gomen district, at the foot of Mount Ouazangou and near the Tinipp River—approximately 200 miles from Noumea. Before the tents could be erected the disillusioning process was started by a torrential downpour—a judgment of the heavens on Captain Simpson's rash assurance that only one light shower had fallen in 'umpteen' years. The camp, however, was quickly set up and the hospital soon functioning. The unit was responsible for the page 67medical attention of the 14th Brigade and, because of the distance to the nearest general hospital, it was found necessary to provide complete medical services.

Then began the process of settling down. Attention was primarily directed towards obtaining a good water supply—most important both for hospital use and personnel in a place already distinguished for its dust and heat. Gurgling down the western slopes of Mount Ouazangou was a small stream of clear water running over rocks and gravel. To harness this supply it was decided to bring the water down by means of bamboo pipes, a distance of 150 to 200 yards, through the scrub to the camp area. The plan was put into operation and soon a long curved line of bamboo was carrying water to a 200-gallan tank. Despite the doubts of many the supply was more than sufficient, and the abstruse mathematical computation by Private George Huth-nance, of the rate of flow of the stream in gallons an hour, had been vindicated. A constant flow of crystal clear water for all purposes was now assured, and the pipe line became the pride of the camp.

As it was apparent that the unit would be in the area for some time, and as the increasing size of the hospital was already causing tentage problems for the quartermaster, a site for a permanent structure was selected at the top of a clear knoll to the north of the camp. After much pick and shovel work and with the assistance of a compressor from the 20th Field Company, the site was levelled. Soon the building itself was started under the direction of Private Stan Ashton—the brains of all the 22nd's constructional efforts. The finished building had a length of 94 feet, was divided into three wards, and had concrete floors throughout. The men of the unit provided timber gangs and erected the structure, while native labour was employed to do the thatching with niaouli bark. The completed building, admirably situated with a view out to sea, offered as many facilities as could be expected under the existing conditions.

Ingress to the camp presented quite a problem because, between the camp and the main road three-quarters of a mile away, there was a drainage area from Mount Ouazangou. Corporal Dave Dickson, who had had considerable experience in road making, undertook the construction of roads and bridges and the finished effort was a credit to him.

page 68

The outstanding memory of Christmas, 1942, must be the sight of the 'Black Moth' receiving the plaudits of the unit—a tribute to his magnificent Christmas dinner. The recent arrival of the unit from New Zealand and the pressure of work precluded elaborate celebrations. Early in the New Year the even tenor of our ways was temporarily disturbed by the arrival of seven members of the New Zealand Army Nursing Service, under Sister Joyce Sexton. Sisters' quarters had been prepared on the far side of the hospital and the necessary 'Out of bounds' notices erected. The sisters' job was both to nurse patients and train nursing orderlies. Most men are loth to work under command of one of the opposite sex, but the value of the training received was proved when we later operated in the forward area, while the cheerfulness and ready acceptance by the nurses of conditions primitive in the extreme impressed even the most rabid misogynist. As the unit settled down to a routine existence the social life developed. A concert was arranged, happily coinciding with a visit from the divisional band, and unexpected talent was discovered in members of the unit. Friendships were made with local French people, and many letters bearing the stamps of New Caledonia followed the unit in its subsequent wanderings.

B company had arrived in early January and the unit was again complete. Early in February changes in the disposition of units in the brigade resulted in A company being transferred to a new location, 70 miles south, at Nepoui Valley. By this time No. 1 Field Surgical Unit, under the command of Major P. C. Brunette, was attached to our headquarters, and No. 2 Field Surgical Unit, under Major G. E. Waterworth, was attached to A company. Some members of the NZANS were also attached to the hospital run by this latter company.

Sporting activities centred mainly around football and cricket. A football field was marked out near the camp and our team played in the brigade competition. The major football event was the match with 7th NZ Field Ambulance on the divisional sports ground at Moindah. The close win gained by Lieutenant Jack Betteridge and his boys caused celebrations rivalling an All Black victory. The cricket team made history by defeating the 30th Battalion on three consecutive occasions—a dashing century by Private Leo Bartlett being a feature of the third victory. A swimming pool in the Tinipp River was used for instructing any non-page 69swimmers, under the swimming coach, Second-Lieutenant A. J. Fraser, of B company.

Some mention should be made at this stage of the wearers of the white pugaree—the attached personnel of the Army Service Corps, and their skipper, Lieutenant H. M. R. McCoy. They had had a full-time job since our arrival keeping the vehicles on the road, mainly because of the great difficulty in coping with the almost routine breaking of springs. However, the convoy always came through, and it is to the credit of those concerned that, over a period of nearly three years, no unit vehicle was involved in a major accident. An entire volume could be devoted to the idiosyncrasies of the ASC attached, men whose cheerful roguery and infinite capacity for devilry was exceeded only by their readiness to work when the necessity arose.

During the ensuing months life was comparatively uneventful. The two hospitals continued to function while a convalescent camp was established at Poum, a coastal village on the northern extremity of the island. B company had relieved A company, which, in April, had shifted some 20 miles north of Nepoui Valley to a former RNZAF camp site adjacent to Plaine des Gaiacs airfield. Meanwhile, at Gomen a barter and local purchase scheme had been inaugurated to obtain fresh fruit and vegetables, while a permanent trading pact was concluded with a neighbouring native fishing village which traded fish for 'spam'—a most satisfactory arrangement. Two race meetings were held in the brigade area, which attracted visitors from far and wide. On these occasions our camp became a guest-house overnight, with the quartermaster a very worried maitre d'hote!. The lack of adequate recreational facilities and the almost entire absence of places to go on leave, caused many of the troops to turn to hobbies, of which the most popular was wood carving. Private R. J. Adams—' Gaiac Jim'—and his colleagues produced excellent work with the meagre tools available, to the envy of those of us who were less talented.

By this time several changes had taken place amongst personnel of the unit. Major Rees Thomas returned to New Zealand to a tactical course at Wanganui and his place was taken by Major F. O. Bennett. Captain W. Williams, one of our Fiji veterans, was posted to the 4th NZ General Hospital, and we were joined by Captains D R. Ryder and B. W. Nixon. We "lost a key man when the senior clerk, Sergeant R. G. Harrison, page 70was admitted to hospital, to be later returned to New Zealand on health grounds. Early in August, 1943, following an exercise at Noumea in amphibious landings in which B company took part, preliminary embarkation orders were received, and, with a sudden return of enthusiasm, we were packing for a move which, it was hoped, would justify the months of waiting and training. On 15 August we embarked, and the course was set in a northerly direction. This was it!