Memorial to Pacific War Dead

New Zealand Listener, Volume 32, Issue 821, 22 April 1955, Page 19

Memorial to Pacific War Dead

At a small cemetery near Bourail, New Caledonia, 287 soldiers are butied, all but two of them New Zealanders. They were brought down there from various South Pacific theatres of war where they died-from the Solomons and Guadalcanal, and one or two from New Guinea, A monument commemorates more than 200 New Zealand soldiers and airmen who have no known grave. Qn Sunday, May 8, a Cross of Sacrifice will be unveiled at a combined New Zealand-French ceremony at this, the only distinctively New Zealand cemetery, outside the Dominion, of the two world wars. Bouquets of flowers will be placed on the graves by children and wreaths will also be placéd.on a memorial to the dead of the town of Noumea. The Right Honourable Sir Harold Barrowclough, K.C.M.G.,, C.B.,. D.S.O., M.C., former officer commanding the Second Expeditionary Force in the Pacific, and now Chief Justice, will unveil the monument, and the French High Commissioner in the Pacific, M. René Hoffher, who is also Governor of New Caledonia, will pay a tribute to the dead, The official New Zealand party of 20: people will include Parliamentary, official, R.S.A., Service and religiotis representatives, # \ Two members of the NZBS will b going with the official party to cover the ceremony. They are E. V. Spencer, commentator, who for about three years

was oOfficer-in-charge of the NZBS Mobile Unit in the Pacific; and J. H. Ensor, engineer, who spent 12 months on Norfolk Island during the war working on radar, and later served in the Middle East and Italy in the signallers. The difficulties of radio coverage are considerable. The ceremony will be recorded on tape at Bourail and the tapes will then have to be taken to Noumea 120 miles away, where Radio Noumea, "The Voice of France in the Pacific," has its studios. There the tapes will have to be edited and the programme arranged, As the ceremony Will not be completed till 5.30 p.m. (New Zealand time) it is not expected that the programme will be broadcast by Radio Noumea until at least 10.30 p.m. (New Zealand time) on May 8. The equipment taken to Noumea will include. tape-recorders, amplifiers and associated equipment, including microphones. cables, batteries, and so on, In all, the equipment: will weigh about 280lb, Documentaries on New Caledonia will also be made and played later, The broadcasting arrangements are that the YA stations and 4YZ will broadcast a full report of the ceremony the same night, Sunday, May 8, at 11.15 -the stations will be kept open later than usual to do so-and on Monday there will be a short edited version at 7.18 am. and a repeat of the full broadcast in’ place of Radio Newsreel at 6.45 p.m,