East New Britain town set for Anzac day services

AUSTRALIAN have gathered in Rabaul for Anzac Day services to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Japanese invasion of the New Guinea islands, and the sinking of the Japanese prison ship Montevideo Maru.
A total of 1,053 Australian prisoners of war and civilian internees died when the unmarked Montevideo Maru – sailing from Rabaul to Hainan Island – was sunk by an American submarine off the Philippines on July 1, 1942.
It was not until the war ended in 1945 that relatives learned of the death of their loved ones.
In a private service on Sunday, the ashes of Pte Bill Harry of the 2/22nd Battalion were scattered by his family on Rabaul’s Simpson Harbour.
In 1942, Harry helped coordinate the escape of many Australians. He died last year aged 94.
On one occasion, Bill Harry walked and canoed some 120km through enemy lines to provide rescue plans to a group attempting to escape.
He was given four days to complete the task. He did it in less than two.
His son Frazer Harry of Wodonga, Victoria, said the family had observed his father’s wishes.
“He wanted to be back here in Rabaul with his mates,” Harry said.
Rabaul, which was virtually destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 1994, has organised a warm welcome for the Anzac Day visitors.
In the official programme, there is a dawn service at the Rabaul waterfront, and an 11am service at the Bita Paka War Cemetery where more than 1,000 Allied servicemen are buried.
At twilight, there will be a service aboard a vessel on Simpson Harbour to remember those who died on the Montevideo Maru.
Some of the visitors are relatives of the bandsmen of the 2/22nd Battalion. The band was made up wholly of Salvation Army members, mainly from the Brunswick Citadel Band in Melbourne.
All but one of the 25 bandsmen died on the Montevideo Maru.
They included the bandmaster Arthur Gullidge, whose music is still played regularly by brass bands throughout the world.