The New Guinea Volunteer Rifles (NGVR) was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was initially raised as a unit of the Militia from white Australian and European expatriates in New Guinea upon the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, before being activated for full-time service following the Japanese landings in early 1942. NGVR personnel then helped rescue survivors of Lark Force from Rabaul in February and March 1942. Between March and May, the NGVR monitored the Japanese bases which had been established in the Huon Gulf region, being the only Allied force in the area until the arrival of Kanga Force at Wau in May. The battalion subsequently established observation posts overlooking the main approaches and reported on Japanese movements.
Later, it inflicted significant casualties on the Japanese in a series of raids, and led them to believe that they faced a much larger opposing force. On 29 June, the NGVR and the newly arrived 2/5th Independent Company carried out a highly successful attack on the Japanese garrison in Salamaua, killing at least 113 men. When the focus shifted to the Milne Bay and Kokoda Track battles of August and September, the NGVR continued to man its posts overlooking the Japanese base areas. The Japanese were subsequently defeated in the Battle of Wau in January and February 1943, relieving the pressure on the NGVR. The battalion was disbanded in April 1943 due to attrition.
In the years immediately following the war the Australian Army considered re-establishing a military presence in Papua New Guinea (PNG), although there was some opposition among white settlers to the raising of native units. As an interim measure, the re-establishment of the NGVR was approved in July 1949. The unit reformed as the Papua New Guinea Volunteer Rifles (PNGVR) on 16 March 1951, initially as a whites-only reserve unit of the Citizen Military Forces (CMF). In March 1951 a PNGVR detachment assisted in relief operations following the eruption of Mount Lamington, which killed 3,466 people and left more than 5,000 homeless. Between 1951 and 1953 PNGVR elements were established in all the main centres of Papua New Guinea.
Meanwhile, in addition to its other responsibilities the PNGVR fostered the raising of the regular Pacific Islands Regiment (PIR) and Headquarters Area Command Papua New Guinea. During the mid-1960s the enlistment of Papua New Guinean and Chinese personnel had finally been authorised, with the unit evolving into a multi-racial battalion. By 1969 only one-fifth of PNGVR members were Europeans. Yet amid concerns about the ability of the fledgling nation of PNG to finance a large military capability on its own, and with the need to maintain a CMF-type unit in the army of an independent PNG being questionable, the PNGVR was ultimately disbanded in 1973, shortly before independence, leaving the PIR as the only infantry unit in the new Papua New Guinea Defence Force.
History
Second World War
Formation
By 1939 the eastern half of the island of New Guinea was divided into the territories of Papua in the south, and the former German colony of New Guinea in the north, both of which were administered by Australia. Due to the provisions of the League of Nations mandate under which German New Guinea had been entrusted to Australia in 1920 following its capture during the First World War, little in the way of defensive preparations had been made in the mandated territory, even as global conflict became more likely. Following the outbreak of war in Europe the raising of a Militia battalion in New Guinea, known as the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles (NGVR), was authorised on 4 September 1939. Early arrangements for the raising of the unit were undertaken by Lieutenant Colonel John Walstab, with the unit's initial establishment limited to just 21 officers and 400 other ranks. As Superintendent of Police, Walstab's influence ensured a close link between the police and the NGVR, with the police stores organisation controlling the issue of arms and equipment and police guards manning the NGVR's store and parade ground.
The men were all white Australian or European expatriates and were drawn from a wide range of civilian occupations, although the majority were longtime residents and included gold miners, planters, traders and government officials. Most had lived in the territory for years, and many were quite old, with men between the ages of 18 and 50 accepted. Yet they were familiar with the terrain and the local inhabitants, even if they were poorly armed and equipped. Due to the paternalistic concerns of the civilian administration regarding native welfare and unease about providing the indigenous population with arms and military training they were not recruited into the NGVR, although they did serve in the Papuan Infantry Battalion (PIB) from June 1940. Enlistment was for a period of two years and was unpaid except for a one pound annual allowance, unless called up for active service. Uniforms consisted of khaki shirts and trousers made from material sent from Australia, while felt hats, bandoliers, leather belts, boots, puttees and brass NGVR shoulder badges were also worn. Weapons included First World War-era .303 rifles and some Vickers and Lewis machine-guns.
Initial preparations On 21 December 1939, Major Ross Field, a former officer in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and Director of Public Works at Rabaul, took over command of the unit. A headquarters was subsequently established at Rabaul, while sub-units were located at Wau, Salamaua, Lae and Madang. In the event of war the NGVR would be dispersed at strategic points on the mainland and the islands of the territory. If mobilised, the NGVR would come under the operational command of the 8th Military District which was in the process of being raised under the command of Major General Basil Morris. One of the unit's first tasks was to provide an armed escort for enemy aliens, mostly Germans and Austrians, who were being deported to Australia by ship to be interned. Contingents departed on 29 September 1939, 9 November 1939 and 31 May 1940, with each escort party consisting of a non-commissioned officer and six private soldiers. Meanwhile, on 12 December the compulsory evacuation of all European women and children in Papua and New Guinea was ordered. In June 1940 the NGVR's establishment was increased to 23 officers and 482 other ranks, although this proved difficult to achieve due to the demands of recruitment for overseas service with the Second Australian Imperial Force, which resulted in a large turn-over of men. At this time contingency plans for the defence of Papua and New Guinea envisioned the deployment of Australian forces to Rabaul and Port Moresby, while the defence of Lae and Salamaua would be left to the NGVR.
The atmosphere in the battalion in the early days was one of enthusiasm, with many of the older members taking a leading role. In April and June two regular instructors from the Australian Instructional Corps were sent to Rabaul in order to improve the standard of training in the unit. By July 1940 it was spread thin, with an authorized strength of 226 men based at Rabaul, 151 at Wau, 85 at Bulolo, 39 at Salamaua and 19 at Madang, for a total establishment of 520. As the war with Germany and Italy continued in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, Australian fears of Japanese intentions in Pacific grew. Yet with the bulk of Australian military and naval forces in the Middle East, defensive preparations remained limited. Two brigades from the 8th Division were subsequently dispatched to Singapore and then Malaya in February 1941, while a Militia battalion would be stationed between Port Moresby and Thursday Island, an AIF battalion would garrison Rabaul on New Britain, and the 8th Division's third brigade – less the battalion at Rabaul – would be dispersed piecemeal in Timor and Ambon. In July 1941 the 1st Independent Company was deployed to Kavieng on New Ireland in order to protect the airfield, while sections were sent to Namatanai in central New Ireland, Vila in the New Hebrides, Tulagi on Guadalcanal, Buka Passage in Bougainville, and Lorengau on Manus Island to act as observers. In early 1941 volcanic activity in the Rabaul area forced the government to move its administration to Lae, and NGVR's headquarters also moved at this time.
Rabaul
The 2/22nd Battalion subsequently began arriving in Rabaul in March and April 1941, while additional units added to the force. Designated Lark Force, it was directed to garrison the town. Tasks included protecting the airfields at Lakunai and Vunakanau and the seaplane base in Simpson Harbour, as well as forming "an advanced observation line" to provide early warning of Japanese movements. Following its arrival the role of the NGVR in Rabaul became a secondary one, and as a consequence the 80 men stationed there were not mobilised and the detachment was largely subsumed by the AIF battalion instead. Occupying defensive positions around Simpson Harbour the Australians were widely dispersed, with companies at Praed Point, Talili Bay, Lakunai airfield, and another inland at Vunakanau airfield, while other elements covered the coastal approaches, near Vulcan crater. Meanwhile, the NGVR spent the following months preparing defensive positions around Lakunai airfield. Lieutenant Colonel John Scanlan subsequently took over command of Lark Force in October.
Yet with the position increasingly viewed as untenable, the garrison was reinforced with four Lockheed Hudson bombers and ten obsolete CAC Wirraway reconnaissance aircraft from No. 24 Squadron RAAF, and by December had grown to 1,400 men. Despite Lark Force being considered too weak to repel the expected Japanese attack, no plans were made for its withdrawal and instead the Japanese were to be made to fight for the island. In September the administrator of the Mandated Territory, Sir Walter McNicoll, and his staff transferred to Lae. The Japanese began aerial reconnaissance over Rabaul soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December, while the compulsory evacuation of all remaining European women and children to relative safety in Australia was ordered on 12 December. Meanwhile, scattered across the islands to the north, the 270 men of the 1st Independent Company were all that lay between Rabaul and the large Japanese base at Truk in the Caroline Islands.
On the mainland the NGVR formed independent detachments at Wau, Salamaua, Bulolo and Lae. By mid-1941 it had lost many of its youngest and most dedicated members, many of whom had left to join the AIF instead. Those that remained found the difficulties of making the journey from their remote home locations to the training centres increasingly onerous, while many were disappointed by the lack of ammunition and equipment for training. In September NGVR's headquarters was transferred to Bulolo on the mainland, while Field relinquished command and was replaced by Major (later Colonel) Bill Edwards. One of more enthusiastic of the early volunteers, Edwards revitalized the unit on the goldfields and many new recruits came in. By December, with war against Japan seemingly imminent the strength of the NGVR was 12 officers and 284 other ranks in total, with just 170 to 180 men on the mainland. On 8 December 1941, the day after war began in the Pacific, Morris was authorised to place the battalion on full-time duty, although only a small number were ultimately called up at this time.