Soldiers celebrate anniversary

THE first battalion royal pacific islands regiment (1RPIR) based in Port Moresbys’ Taurama Barracks celebrated their 69th anniversary yesterday with military drills including Trooping the Colour.
PNG Defence Force chief of staff Capt Philip Polewara was the parade’s reviewing officer.
He went through a brief history of how the battalion started and said the 1st Papua infantry battalion and the 2nd New Guinea infantry battalion were PNG’s native units established in early 1942 during the height of World War II to support allies in South-west Pacific.
He said the units were disbanded in 1946 but with growing tensions within South-East Asia in the early 1960s, the Australian army made the decision to establish a unit in PNG under the northern command and that was when Pacific island regiment was established at Eggy’s Corner on March 11, 1951.
Capt Polewara said Eggy’s Corner is known today as Taurama Barracks in Port Moresby and it is the home of 1RPIR.