Sepik River tour for Mr Lynch DPR/TV/1140

A short tour of the Sepik district of Papua and New Guinea highlighted an inspection by the Minister for the Army, Mr Phillip Lynch, of military installations in the northern half of the Territory last weekend. The Minister, accompanied by his wife, had already toured Army units located in the Port Moresby area. While at Wewak, the home town of many of the part-time soldiers belonging to the Papua and New Guinea Volunteer Rifles, he opened a new drill hall for the unit. Mr Lynch told a parade, formed up for the official opening, that the unit was continuing to carry its traditions and standards with which it had fought with distinction during the Second World War. He said the aims of the unit were in line with the Australian Government's objective of unifying a country which was developing towards self government and independence. The new hall for the unit, opened by Mr Lynch, was built for the Volunteer Rifles' "D" Company. It contains a drill hall, lecture rooms, offices, a store and messing facilities. The tour through the Sepik district took Mr and Mrs Lynch to many points of interest in the area, including high schools, war memorials and a number of villages. At the Yarapos Girls' High School, eleven miles from Wewak, they were the toast of more than one hundred and fifty teenage girls, gathered from throughout the northern half of the Territory. At the school, the Minister and his wife were welcomed by a guard of honour, visited the various school rooms, and were entertained by a mass choir. A visit to war memorials in the area was of particular interest to Mr Lynch. The first he visited, erected only last month by a party of Japanese officials, commemorates the Japanese presence in New Guinea during World War Two. Part of the inscription expresses regret for the New Guinea campaign, and carried the wish that Australia and Japan never find each other on opposite sides in battle again. Later, Mr Lynch inspected a memorial on the actual site of the official Japanese surrender at Wewak, on September the thirteenth, nineteen forty-five. This was the Minister's third official tour of the Territory. Also identified: Commander Brigadier Eldridge; Warrant Officer Class Two Harry Patch; Second Lieutenant John Guy of SA; Sister Brian Mary.