NOUMEA REVISITED

Evening Star, Issue 25170, 9 May 1944, Page 7

NOUMEA REVISITED

j LAPSE OF 30 YEARS (N'.Z.E.F. Official News Service.) PACIFIC HEADQUARTERS, May 4. Brigadier A E. Conway, Adjutant-general, New Zealand Army Forces, is on a tour of inspection of the New Zealand Forces in the Pacific area. He is accompanied by Colonel E. R. McKillop, deputy commissioner of defence construction. Thirty years ago, when a force of New Zealanders landed at Noumea on their way to wrest Samoa from the Germans, there was a small group of soldiers of not very significant rank—one was a captain, two were privates, and the fourth was a signalman. The captain is now' Lieutenant-gene-

ral & Puttick, Chief of Staff of the New Zealand Forces, who has already been to New Caledonia in this war and has met one of the privates and the signaller. This last week-end, however, saw another of the privates, now Colonel E. R. McKillo-p, meet the signaller—Brigadier W. W. Dove, who is now 'offioer in charge of administration, 2nd N.Z.E.F.I.P. The other private, who has yet to return to New Caledonia, is now

Air Vice-marshal Sir Arthur Coningham. Colonel MeKillop has the distinction of being the first New Zealand soldier to enter the Pacific zone in this war. He was formerly in charge of the defence construction work at Fni. He is accompanying Brigadier r>n—-v "-ho Ihree vear= ago last week-end was in Singapore attending the last Pacific war before that stronghold feil to the Japanese.