Life In The Islands - A 1943 Letter From A Kiwi Soldier
Jun 25, 2021 19:55:25 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 25, 2021 19:55:25 GMT 12
LIFE IN ISLANDS
SOLDIER’S IMPRESSIONS
CUSTOMS AND TRADE
An interesting description of a soldier’s life on one of the Pacific Islands is given by Sergeant W. G. Lawson, of Frankton, in a letter to a friend in Hamilton. Sergeant Lawson writes:—
“My impressions of this fair land as we lay off in the roadstead on the evening of our arrival were not very favourable, nor have I up to the present had much reason to modify them. For the most part the country is barren and rugged, the vegetation stunted and uninteresting, though the brilliant crimson of the flamboyant trees provides a welcome relief to an otherwise drab countryside. Many of the local plants display an unmistakable Australian origin, and there is no profusion of growth such as we are accustomed to find in our New Zealand forests.
“Most tropical fruits occur, though nowhere in abundance, coconut products providing the exports in this field. Coffee is grown extensively, the flavour of the local brew being excellent. Cotton and sugar cane also do well, but the market for these has almost vanished and they are rapidly being abandoned. It makes one’s heart bleed to see the rum factories all standing idle. There is a good deal of fruit about just now, and one is sorely tempted by its freshness, but owing to the virulence of epidemics in this climate, coupled with the unsanitary methods of soil cultivation, it is unsafe to eat anything grown on or near the ground.
Sanitary Standards
“The settlements of New Caledonia are, of course, typically French, with their drab, even squalid buildings and a total lack of sanitation as judged by our standards. The drains run openly through the streets, the rubbish is left in heaps in the water tables for the elements to dispose of, while some of the smells encountered in the back streets after a shower of rain literally beggar description. At the same time, one or two of the towns boast the customary conveniences, though I have confined my associations with these edifices to an outside view.
"The French population display none of the vivacity usually associated with their race, and the people as a whole are confirmed devotees of the siesta. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily all the shops and houses are closed and heavily shuttered, and the streets are totally deserted. One is often forcibly reminded, at that part of the day, of Noel Coward’s observation concerning mad dogs and Englishmen. The marketing time is just after daylight, so that one needs to be an early riser to secure a grandstand view of proceedings at the kerb-side emporiums.
Trade Diminution
“I witnessed one such spectacle, and found it well worth the trouble. Trade has diminished almost to the vanishing point since the war began, probably as previously many of the tradespeople were Japanese and the bulk of the island’s trade was done with Japan. Today the shops that are open at all display a very poor selection of purchasable goods, the price of which is high. Naturally we do little business with the local vendors, indeed there is little to buy except tobacco and cigarettes, which are so ridiculously cheap at the American canteens as to render ‘rolling your own’ an unprofitable business.
“The weather was delightful when we first arrived, but latterly it has grown much hotter, and very humid, therefore somewhat enervating. Indeed it would be well-nigh unbearable on occasions but for the tempering effect of the steady trade winds. As the hot season is also the rainy season, it is accompanied by hordes of flies and mosquitoes, our worst troubles at present, with the Japanese running a bad third.
“Most of the troops found the settling-down process a bit difficult, owing to the new diet of canned provisions. Many of the usual disorders are, however, now passing away so that the Kiwi will soon be thoroughly acclimatised in its strange environment and quite inured to whatever it may encounter further on.
“Like a good many more places in this part of the world, New Caledonia began her colonial history as a penal settlement. All the areas of population bear eloquent testimony to the activities of the unfortunate convicts and to the skill of their workmanship, enforced though it was. Many buildings, the fruit of their labours, are still in a perfect state of preservation.
“It is upon her almost limitless mineral resources that the country bases her claim to recognition, and therefore there is little of the glamour and fascination usually associated with these Pacific ‘paradises.’ Here are produced one-eighth of the world’s supply of nickel and one-tenth of chrome, practically all other metals being found. As the majority are surface yielding the labour of obtaining the raw materials of wartime industry is greatly simplified. No doubt Japan included ideas of these in her general scheme of things, but she can’t do much about it now the Kiwis are here, can she?”
In a later letter Sergeant Lawson said the rainy season had come, and there was mud and slush everywhere. The roads were well-nigh impassable, and difficulties of transport added to the trials of the troops.
WAIKATO TIMES, 20 MARCH 1943
SOLDIER’S IMPRESSIONS
CUSTOMS AND TRADE
An interesting description of a soldier’s life on one of the Pacific Islands is given by Sergeant W. G. Lawson, of Frankton, in a letter to a friend in Hamilton. Sergeant Lawson writes:—
“My impressions of this fair land as we lay off in the roadstead on the evening of our arrival were not very favourable, nor have I up to the present had much reason to modify them. For the most part the country is barren and rugged, the vegetation stunted and uninteresting, though the brilliant crimson of the flamboyant trees provides a welcome relief to an otherwise drab countryside. Many of the local plants display an unmistakable Australian origin, and there is no profusion of growth such as we are accustomed to find in our New Zealand forests.
“Most tropical fruits occur, though nowhere in abundance, coconut products providing the exports in this field. Coffee is grown extensively, the flavour of the local brew being excellent. Cotton and sugar cane also do well, but the market for these has almost vanished and they are rapidly being abandoned. It makes one’s heart bleed to see the rum factories all standing idle. There is a good deal of fruit about just now, and one is sorely tempted by its freshness, but owing to the virulence of epidemics in this climate, coupled with the unsanitary methods of soil cultivation, it is unsafe to eat anything grown on or near the ground.
Sanitary Standards
“The settlements of New Caledonia are, of course, typically French, with their drab, even squalid buildings and a total lack of sanitation as judged by our standards. The drains run openly through the streets, the rubbish is left in heaps in the water tables for the elements to dispose of, while some of the smells encountered in the back streets after a shower of rain literally beggar description. At the same time, one or two of the towns boast the customary conveniences, though I have confined my associations with these edifices to an outside view.
"The French population display none of the vivacity usually associated with their race, and the people as a whole are confirmed devotees of the siesta. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily all the shops and houses are closed and heavily shuttered, and the streets are totally deserted. One is often forcibly reminded, at that part of the day, of Noel Coward’s observation concerning mad dogs and Englishmen. The marketing time is just after daylight, so that one needs to be an early riser to secure a grandstand view of proceedings at the kerb-side emporiums.
Trade Diminution
“I witnessed one such spectacle, and found it well worth the trouble. Trade has diminished almost to the vanishing point since the war began, probably as previously many of the tradespeople were Japanese and the bulk of the island’s trade was done with Japan. Today the shops that are open at all display a very poor selection of purchasable goods, the price of which is high. Naturally we do little business with the local vendors, indeed there is little to buy except tobacco and cigarettes, which are so ridiculously cheap at the American canteens as to render ‘rolling your own’ an unprofitable business.
“The weather was delightful when we first arrived, but latterly it has grown much hotter, and very humid, therefore somewhat enervating. Indeed it would be well-nigh unbearable on occasions but for the tempering effect of the steady trade winds. As the hot season is also the rainy season, it is accompanied by hordes of flies and mosquitoes, our worst troubles at present, with the Japanese running a bad third.
“Most of the troops found the settling-down process a bit difficult, owing to the new diet of canned provisions. Many of the usual disorders are, however, now passing away so that the Kiwi will soon be thoroughly acclimatised in its strange environment and quite inured to whatever it may encounter further on.
“Like a good many more places in this part of the world, New Caledonia began her colonial history as a penal settlement. All the areas of population bear eloquent testimony to the activities of the unfortunate convicts and to the skill of their workmanship, enforced though it was. Many buildings, the fruit of their labours, are still in a perfect state of preservation.
“It is upon her almost limitless mineral resources that the country bases her claim to recognition, and therefore there is little of the glamour and fascination usually associated with these Pacific ‘paradises.’ Here are produced one-eighth of the world’s supply of nickel and one-tenth of chrome, practically all other metals being found. As the majority are surface yielding the labour of obtaining the raw materials of wartime industry is greatly simplified. No doubt Japan included ideas of these in her general scheme of things, but she can’t do much about it now the Kiwis are here, can she?”
In a later letter Sergeant Lawson said the rainy season had come, and there was mud and slush everywhere. The roads were well-nigh impassable, and difficulties of transport added to the trials of the troops.
WAIKATO TIMES, 20 MARCH 1943
