NEW BASE

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23260, 23 July 1945, Page 4

NEW BASE

R.N.Z.A.F. Task Fore East Coast Of New Britain Less Than 100 Miles From Rabaul Official R.N.Z.A.F. News Service JACQUINOT BAY. July 17. Squadrons of the Royal New j Zealand Air Ferce are now oper- ' ating from a base on New Britain, I separated front the Japanese fort- : less of Rabaul by fewer than 100 miles of jungle ccuntry. The new iase is situated at Jacquinot Bay, i.n the eastern ecast of the island, ju>t below the Gazelle Peninsula, which is strongly held by the 4 Japanese centring on Rabaul. The R.N.Z,A..F's. move means th | ground and air forces w’Ul now I I working in the closest eo-operati< lon New Britain, as they have bet I doing for some months on Bougaii lie. Australian troops are attent ,oi.. to the ground fighting. with tl greater part of air support beit ‘ given by New Zealanders. | From their Jacquinot Hay bat I squadrons of the R.N.Z.A.F. will 1 lai .? to concentrate closely on tl I two Japanese key bases in the Bi inarcks—Rabaul on New Britain, at Kavieng on New Ireland. Estimat piac the tot.d > nemy strength on the two bases alone at over 40.000. Rough Jungle Country ■ Backed by some of the roughest ar I toughest country of the Pacific, tl ■ new air base is on the southern c ' of Jacquinot Bav. The airstrip itsc i runs along a bluff. 300 to 400 fe i high, overlooking a narrow coast . ,-helf. Tl’.e interior breaks into e: i t. : rugged and mountainous te i rain, rising to as high as 6000 feet, c | by de p gorges and covered with den | jungle. i The New Zealander-’ camp cuts in ihe 1003-acre Palmalmal cocon p: .-.nation. which shows many signs I wear and tear from Japanese occupi I tion an Allied bombing. When tl I enemy was driven out of the art ' lie left behind two dumps of s [mines m trenches covered by galvai I ised iron and young coconuts. I A Corsair servicing unit was tl i first body of New Zealanders arrive. Their landing ship. lad< above and below deck with all the servicing equipment motor transpo camp ma’trial, and personal ge; arrived offshore at midday after voyage from their former base < Green Island, through a night of hea ram. Rainfall 20(1 Inches a Year The landing ship ran on to < beach, and the strenuous and swelte in. iob of unloading bcean. Heavy mi made it hard going as the trucks, jee and bomb-carriers ploughed up the h to a temporary camp site near t strip. In a scraggy section of the pla ration, where secondary growth h been only partly cleared, they hast: ran up their tents as low. black clou sweeping in across the bay threaten rain. . And the rains came. Jacquinot B area has one of the heaviest rainfa cf the Pacific. An average of ov 200 inches was recorded at Palmaln over a period of seven years before t war, and the most for one year w 320 inches. One August, always t wettest month. 102.1 inches of rain ft An average of 200 days of the year a wet. Conditions were rugged—m grt contrast with the well-settled cat from which the airmen had come. T place dripped with moisture. Undt foot the mud was thick, black a cloggy. Puddled by drenching rains a struggling vehicles, it fastened to bo< and soiled clothes. For a tent floor was not pleasant. But the men to it cheerfully, and lost no time settling in and establishing themselv comfortably. The food was go( which helped a lot. Until they ha their own messes and kitchens bu

they are eating with Australian uni Pythons and Crocodiles Main grouse at Jacquinot at the st) was the enforced wearing of lo trousers, anklets and shirts at times as a precaution against scr tvphus. It is not known whether t disease is prevalent in the area, t bush mokkas. the mites winch cai it. are widespread in eastern N Britain. Permission has now be given for the wearing of shorts. 1 usual precautions against malaria s also taken. Snakes are not num Ou's in eastern New Britain. A det adder is the only venomous type, a the pvthon is the commonest. Cro< diles infest the tidal streams. The New Zealanders were quick find their way around, and quick make friends with the Australians, was Sunday. the day after their arriv and the men who escaped work: parties were cut sight-seeing, or try: out the pick of the swimming, pot The Australians held a regatta in t bay. which was dotted with sm craft of all shapes and sizes