MEMORIES OF PINOCHIO”

Observation Post, Volume 1, Issue 5, 19 June 1942, Page 1

MEMORIES OF PINOCHIO”

(By

If the O.C. 2nd. Survey Troop N.Z.A. was in the habit of issuing communiques, that of the 27th May, 194: would have read after this manner: — “The Troop has just completed u most successful trek northwards to Po keno an important town 40 miles south of Auckland. All the lessons of the month’s encounters were well assimilated. Notwithstanding some desperate skirmishes with examinations every Saturday morning, all our surveying personnel emerged from the ordeal of fire unscathed. ■ It is regretted however, that casual- , ties among the civilian (female) population are believed to be high. Neutral observers report many cases of broken hearts after 'Monday 25th May. Gaily we waved goodbye to Linton mud, the R.H.Q. boys and the cookhouse. The convoy rumbled northdestination vague— somewhere about Pokeno. One convoy trip differs little from any other. That night as we bivvied ’ at Raurimu we fell asleep to the sound of snorting trains puffing asthmatically up the Spiral. Reveille came at 5 a.m. sharp (ask Sergeant Ryan). Seven sorry 0700 hours and still rubbing, col - j webs from their eyes the troop turned [ their backs and their trucks on the I three mountains silhouetted against a I glowing sky and framed by the crooked I limbs .of, the dying bush. , I

While the, convoy roared through Te Awamutu the population gazed open mouthed—not at this new manifestation of New Zealand’s military might, but at the sight of a red headed Sergeant (remember? sth Battery) his face well lathered, a razor waved nonchalantly in one hand • and -g mug balanced on the other. ' ■ \ V x

Journey’s End”

Tucking away the trucks beneath the giant oak trees, we congratulated ourselvesa fine hall to mess in, a piano, and m dance in that very hall the same night in honour of our arrival. Well wouldn’t it fair rotate yer!? By midnight several of -our members were well organised, in fact they departed into the moonlight as escorts to their respective damsels. - Baffled the Don Juans of Ist Troop turned away-. to drown their sorrows in Ginger?.' Ale while the manly misogynists of our troop sought stronger consolation. Wine Women and Song The dances . that were held in the hall— ask our sergeants if theywere a success. ' , •' That small dance (organised by the troop in return for the hospitality shown by the residents of “Pinochio”) “fulfilled every- expectation.” That is every , expectation save that of a maiden who toiled by day- . in the local Post Office. Alas the ’ dark and handsome ' Sergeant made a premature farewell in the morning for -that night his presence was required on the Limited bound for Dannevirke and O.C.T.U. Good luck! Boyd.

Highlights of That Farewell Evening—

uur jovial shipper and his partner , performing a solo military two-step - with vigorous abandon; Ah Fang’s i rendering of “Three Blind Mice’,’; our . i sober married men all bedazzled by the . I charms-of the fair-haired lassie from : Hamilton; Tomato' Blonde gazing jpto the eyes of his latest, a young lady who ; had just received her first Social Se- ■ curity book. 1- 1 Despite all the above goings-on we Despite all the above goings-on we worked hard. Will we ever forget that ! first lecture?—clutching now note books and sharp pencils we filed into the hall. “Sandy’’ (Lt. Neville Sanderson, O.C. Ist Survey Troop) gaily splashed Sines and Tangents; as one line after another appeared in lightning time the faces of the surveyors-(would be), lengthened still longer. S' I

_ However after that first breath-tak-ing dive into the seas of surveying, we regained breath. Struck out bravely through the stormy waters of Resection —-— Semi-Graphic, and All. At night Forms, G.S.G.S. 23, G.S.G.S 15 etc. floated before our eyes in dizzy circles; in the daytime with screws adjusting we gaily proceeded to level the jigger or theodilite by means of the bubble spirit and With face right, swing right to the mighty pinnacle Trig Muriel. . „

Did the ex-specialists blush at Sandy’s tales concerning some members of their species. The ‘spec’ who lightheartedly fixed, his R.O. on the backside of a cow, .but the . wretched animal wouldn’t play and walked away. ' The officer who “seated astride the ruddy gum trail,” compass prismatic in hand proclaimed his pivot gun to be correct

to a degree. An. entire regiment turned out to hunt for a missing pivot artillery. . * Memories of field work return; our first thrill on an unknown . hill as the first .trig'was‘at last shoved, tugged, talked and argued, into position; the bewilderment of two observers whose . round of angles "to one trig disagreed i by 4 degrees. A sigh of relief— had ■laid on different trigs. ' I remember “Old Bill” c,usuallyinforming the Boss, “by the way we left the jigger in the field ! ! ! triumphs, over Ist Troop when our results were accepted in preference. , ' ■* ■ . •’ z 7 • -i’ . The tales that were told on return from our first equivalent of an “B- and O”. 'How our Daniel ; raced his heavy trucks under enemy fire along the Whangarata straight; gas alarms at the computing centre; observing parties lugging theodilites and stands crawling close (too close sometimes) to gorse hedges, mindful of the Great One’s hatred- of skylines’ and finally, the verdict: “finite a good show. Day " and night, night and day, the cry' went'bill all out for lecture.” Clear and concise lecture notes' were elaborated ,by explanations -whichl dispelled “any points not quite clear. (We hope.) We all will remember Sandy’s lectures and these made the starting point for our real job of work, now about to begin.