Eilanden River, Dutch New Ginea. c. 28 December 1944. Kaja Kaja village huts used as ...

Eilanden River, Dutch New Ginea. c. 28 December 1944. Kaja Kaja village huts used as accommodation for Australian Intelligence Corps personnel stationed at Post 6. Huts are made of bamboo and sheathed with attap palm leaves. The bamboo floor is approximately three feet above the ground to cope with "king" tidal floods. This view is looking upstream (east). The duckboards are necessary because of the constant rain during the wet season. The mound of dirt topped with logs formed a defensive position which was manned before dawn to repel enemy attack. The Field Security Section (FSS) of the Australian Intelligence Corps stationed at Merauke, Dutch New Guinea (DNG), seconded members, usually one or two, to the Army units in forward areas on intelligence duties. Post 6 was an army outpost on the Eilanden River, DNG, equipped with Bofors guns for river defence and the defence of a radar station manned by RAAF personnel. FSS members attached to the Army unit interrogated itinerant natives about Japanese activities as well as conducting patrols by small boat, using the river systems and/or the open sea, to visit native villages close to the Japanese military establishments at Japiro, gathering intelligence about the enemy's movements. Usually three men made up these patrols which could last from seven to ten days. (Donor G. Phillips)