ON VELLA LAVELLA

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 64, 18 December 1946, Page 2 (Supplement)

ON VELLA LAVELLA

CHRISTMAS IN THE SOLOMONS

A PADRE'S MEMORIES

In a setting far different from anything they had known before, some thousands of New Zealand soldiers spent one Christmas season on Vella Lavella Island in the Western Solomons. The thoughts of the Servicemen in this densely-jungled tropic isle turned to the Homeland more than two thousand miles distant across the wide Pacific during this period so full of happy memories of the past. Early on Christmas morning many soldiers were awakened by the harmonious singing of a native choir which, under the direction of their Missionary, made a tour of the camps, singing in their own stirring and inspiring manner the muchloved Christmas carols. The unexpectedness of the visit of these coalblack, fuzy-haired island Christians was a thrill in itself, but as one saw the happiness and radiance of their faces as they sang, one could not but rejoice in the knowledge that the Christ of Christmas was a reality to these people to whom the message of God’s great Gift had come forty years before and who had by His power been transformed from a savage cannibal race into a lovable, friendly and religious - minded people. , My first service ,had an attendance of about fifteen hundred Servicemen (New Zealand and American) who had come to worship. The Native Choir sang in their own tongue some familiar carols as well as the “Hallelujah Chorus” in English, while my Christmas Choir of twenty voices also sang several numbers. One will / not forget the singing of this great congregation nor the rapt attention with which they listened to the" Christmas message as they sat on the cocoanut palm log seats in this spacious amphitheatre in a jungle clearing on the side of a hill.

At the conclusion of this service we travelled some five miles by coast road, then into the jungle for a further 'mile for the second engagement. This time two hundred and fifty men were awaiting us and they joined in the carol singing with marked enthusiasm. No sooner had this service ended than a terrific downpour came upon us, and whereas a few minutes before we had been sweltering in the blazing sun we were now drenched. However, my little convoy of three vehicles conveying my carol singers had to proceed and through roads now thick with mud we journeyed to the next camp, which was an American timber mill, and before we arrived at our destination we emerged from the rain belt and travelled once more on the dry road and enj-oyed the hot sunshine as our clothes steamed on us.

Seated on work benches, logs and sawn timber, an all-American congregation enjoyed a very happy and profitable Christmas Service. We then turned south to return to our own camp and on the journey back we had a pertinent reminder that the sanctity of Christmas Day made no difference' to the visits of enemy aircraft, for the three warning blasts of sirens were heard above the noise of our vehicles and we were forced to take shelter for a period until the “All Clear” sounded.

Arriving back in our own area again, it was my privilege to visit the various units under my charge, to greet the men on behalf of their loved ones at home, to hand out extra comforts and to ask the Divine blessing upon their Christmas dinner. By availing myself of speedy transport, I was able to visit four mess huts on this greatly appreciated mission prior to having my own meal. At night I was able to contact two’more units for their dinner celebrations before the Carol Service in the Recreation Room, which attracted a splendid number of men and which also provided a very fitting conclusion to a memorable Christmas Day.