January 2017 – Edition 142

Briefly, Laurel and Laurie grew up in the Kogarah/Brighton Le Sands area in the southern coastal suburbs of Sydney. They met in 1953 at the Brighton Le Sands Congregational Church, where Laurie had been studying to be a Minister and was carrying out his student pastorate work.

In 1956 they were engaged to be married, their aspiration being to become missionaries in Papua New Guinea. Initially Laurie commenced training in the London Missionary Society in Port Moresby while Laurel completed her nursing training in Sydney.

After they were married in Sydney in April 1957 they spent 10 years at the Mission Station at the village of Saroa, on the south coast of PNG and 35 miles east of Port Moresby.

Historical context of PNG

Briefly, when Laurel and Laurie went to PNG it was a protectorate of Australia. Although it had been explored quite thoroughly by the end of the Second World War (the most recent discovery being the Baliem Valley in 1938) there were still many primitive tribes.

Some of the outlying tribes, including those in the Gray’s area, still practised sorcery and “payback”, and their health was poor, thanks to nasrt maladies like yaws, leprosy and malaria. I remember three friends who trained to be Patrol Officers and served at the time in remote areas in quite dangerous conditions.

Owing to the rugged nature of the hinterland between Port Moresby and Saroa, access to Saroa and its neighbouring villages was gained from Port Moresby by launch and the occasional Government trawler on weekdays, however the service was somewhat erratic, depending on the weather and availability of the launches. Their main role was to carry cargo. Adding to the erratic nature of this “service”, if the cargo included petrol they could not carry passengers.

The “wharves” were very rudimentary, mostly being built with bush timber.

For practical purposes the only access to Saroa was therefore by boat. The result was that for all intents and purposes Saroa could have been a hundred miles from Port Moresby rather than its actual distance (in a direct line) of 35 miles (50 kilometres)

Saroa did not have any access to telephones, hospital facilities or mechanics. Until they obtained their own radio transmitter the only source of contact with Port Moresby for the Grays was through messages given to them by plantation owners in the area who had transmitters. Laurie carried out all his own mechanical work on his vehicles.

The prevailing language in the area was Motu, the lingua franca of PNG. In due course Laurie became so fluent in Motu, giving sermons in that language in particular, he found it difficult to give sermons in English when he visited Port Moresby. Laurel also became proficient in the language.

River crossings

River crossings could be quite hazardous in the Saroa area. Here is a photo of Laurie, Laurel and baby David waiting to cross the Kemp Welsh River.

Laurel expects her first baby

Laurel fell pregnant in early 1958. This was not helped by a bout of malaria, which left her very tired and full of aches and pains.

There was no neonatal facility near Saroa and travelling to Port Moresby depended on the availability of a motor launch, so it was decided that Laurel would go to Port Moresby and stay at the Mission Station there until the baby arrived. On a Tuesday Laurie took Laurel down to the wharf at Gabagaba but there was such a nasty gale blowing that the boat didn’t go out that day and the captain asked all passengers to come back the following morning early so they could set out at 6am when the weather was usually a little calmer.

They returned the next morning but their enthusiasm was dented by the fact that Laurel fell through a hole in the wharf and had to be helped up!

I am sure that the medical instructions for pre-natal care issued to delicate expectant mothers did not include “at all costs avoid falling through wharves”!

Laurie is concerned about Laurel

Laurie was concerned about this trip for he was leaving Laurel to go to Port Moresby on her own in such bad weather and he was also worried about Laurel’s fall on the wharf. Later that day, in the comfort of the homestead on the Mission Head Station at Port Moresby, Laurel knew that her fall had not seriously harmed her or the baby, it had only bruised her leg.

The beginning of May was a difficult time for Laurie, for at the back of his mind all the time was, “when will the telegram arrive?” ” “Was he a father already and did not know it?”

May was far more difficult for Laurie than Laurel, who was resting and being well looked after at the LMS head station in Port Moresby.

The news is not good

The news, when it came, was not good news. Laurel had had the baby. She had been in hospital on Thursday night when her waters had broken and she had started labour at about 10pm. She was later taken into the labour ward and David was born at 2.15am on Saturday morning. Laurel was all right but the doctor had a struggle to get young David to breathe; his heart had stopped just before birth and the baby was struggling to breathe now. The doctor had placed the baby onto oxygen but he was not sure whether he would survive.

This information was passed onto Laurel’s friends by radio transmitter. They immediately contacted Laurie and told him that his son was born but not expected to survive, and to come quickly if he wanted to see him. This was disastrous news for Laurie when he heard it. He wanted to be with Laurel in the next five minutes but how was he to get to Port Moresby?

Laurie finds another way to get to Port Moresby

It was the weekend; there would be no boats until next week. In desperation, Laurie made the only decision that he thought was feasible because waiting for a few days for a boat would have been unbearable. Fortunately a military road had been constructed between the nearby village of Rigo and Port Moresby during the Second World War. Fifteen years later it was now unused and very overgrown, but to try and get to Laurel that way was better than waiting. Laurie prayed, got petrol for his sturdy Land Rover, put in a few supplies, asked for some help from the station boys (the term used for native men) and then set off to find the track to Port Moresby.

A terrifying ride

It was a terrifying ride. There had been a lot of rain, the track was very overgrown and Laurie needed the help of the station boys to clear away dead branches and trees that had fallen onto the track.

The Landrover, one of the few Four Wheel Drives available in those times, was tested to its limit.

It was a hair raising drive, at one stage Laurie was going up a very steep hill and the only way he could stop the truck from flipping over backwards was to get the “boys” to sit on the bonnet of the truck. Much of the track followed the coast where there were low lying and swampy areas so the boys also needed to dig him out when he got bogged.

On Saturday night he realised he was hopelessly lost and had to stop and wait until daylight before he could start his journey again.

The redoubtable Laurie resumed his trip at dawn on Sunday morning and arrived at Port Moresby an exhausting 18 hours later, where he was given the good news that the baby had survived and that by now the worst was over.

Laurie learned that when the doctor came to see the baby (who had been given the name David) early on Saturday morning, he said there was a 50/50 chance of survival. However, soon after this David was taken off the oxygen and by the time Laurie arrived at this hospital, David was crying heartily, drinking well and the doctor could safely declare that he was now a strong and healthy baby.

Laurie was taken into the nursery to see his son and he wasn’t difficult to spot. There were five babies in the nursery, four were dark brown and one was a pale colour with very blond hair. Laurel was thrilled to see Laurie and pleased that the reason for the urgency in his coming had passed.

Laurie returns home by road

When Laurel came out of hospital Laurie picked her up and took her to the Mission Station homestead, where she would be carefully looked after until a boat came that could take both Laurel and David back to Saroa. Laurie then left to take the Landrover back to Saroa by the hair-raising road.

He was hoping to get back to Saroa before nightfall, in place of the earlier 30 hour trip. To make his trip easier he took with him bush knives, axes and ropes. He also bought a winch that fitted on the long-suffering Land Rover and he collected some iron sheets (called Marsden mats) that he piled on top of the Land Rover so that he and the boys could lay them down when they got to the swamps.

Laurel returns home by boat

The boat trip to Gabagaba had been very relaxing. David slept peacefully in his basket and Laurel dozed in a deck chair. When they arrived at the wharf, the tide was low and Laurel had to pass up the basket to a helper while she climbed out of the boat. She had a moment of panic because her last memory of this wharf was of her falling through it while she was waiting to go to Port Moresby.

Laurel and David were then taken on to a nearby village and waited at the District Officer’s’s house for Laurie to come and pick them up. This was a fair while because Laurie had not been expecting the trawler to come to Gabagaba Wharf until 4 o’clock but it had rather uncharacteristically arrived early at 1.30pm.

A royal welcome

When Laurie finally arrived, the car was scarcely visible because it was festooned with flowers placed by excited well-wishers. Laurel and Laurie started off for Saroa but had to stop at intervening settlements for friends to inspect the new baby.

Touchingly, there were flowers and banana leaves laid along the bush road (a traditional form of greeting) to welcome them and when they got to Saroa there was a big banner saying, “Welcome to our mother” and the house (shown in the above photo) was full of flowers.

Eventually Laurel was able to get David bathed and fed about 6 o’clock. It had been a long day, but it had also reminded Laurel, after several weeks’ absence, of the bond she and Laurie had developed with the local population.

Laurel’s parents visit Laurel and Laurie

Here is a charming early photo of Laurel and her mother Jessie Jerrems (nee Hetherington) preparing to celebrate Christmas with some of the Saroa Village children.

Later article

In a later article I will tell you about Laurie’s patrols in the hills behind Saroa, which had the backdrop of the towering Owen Stanley Range, so famous during the Second World War for the Kokoda Trail. I will also tell you about Laurie’s second posting, to an estuary west of Port Moresby where most travel was undertaken by canoe and the wildlife included numerous crocodiles and snakes.

Farewell to Laurie

On 26th March 2016 Laurie went to be with the Lord, who he had served so faithfully for so many years, and his memory was celebrated at the Uniting Church in Gerringong. Included in the large throng of people (including Church dignitaries) were his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, and, by coincidence, Doctor Andrew Dalley who was one of my Senior Scouts in the 1960s.

Below  is a photo of Laurie’s casket. Although it is not easy to see them, Laurie’s walking boots are at the left hand end and his hat is at the right hand end. Very fittingly, these symbolise the thousands of kilometres that Laurie covered in patrols as a missionary.

Perhaps one of the topics of “reminiscences at the funeral was Laurie’s epic trip from Saroa to Port Moresby by “road” which I have described.

We extend to Laurel (a senior member of the Jerrems “clan”) our condolences and best wishes.

Donations

When they were in Port Moresby Laurel and Laurie visited a leprosy hospital on nearby Gemo Island. Some of the patients (including children) had come from Saroa. Laurel has requested that any donations be made to The Leprosy Mission Australia to assist it in looking after people suffering from this unfortunate disease.