H A U R A K I N E W S

M^y 2004- Issue No 35

Hauraki 106th Birthday See inside for details

"Man, when I get my leave I ain't gonna do nothing but loaf."

Annual General Meeting Sunday July 4th 2004 starting HOOhours

See inside for details Official Newsletter of the 6th Battalion (Hauraki) Regimental Association Incorporated

Compiled Py T.J.Archer Edited Py Mrs.Lynn Archer Secretary: Mrs M Kareko, 91 Windsor Road, Tauranga

Upcoming Events

ith 4 8 th

11 18th

th

25th Friday night

Friday night Tuesday Night Friday Night Friday Night

June 2004 Garrison Club, from 1600 hours. Nibbles

Committee Meeting 1900 hours. Garrison Club from 1600 hours. Nibbles Garrison Club from 1600 hours. Nibbles Garrison Club from 1600 hours Finger Food

2 n d Friday Night 4 th Sunday morning 9 t h Friday 13th Tuesday Night 16th Friday Night 23rd Friday Night 30th Friday Night

July 2004 Garrison Club from 1600 hours Nibbles Garrison Club A.G.M starting 1100 Garrison Club from 1600 hours Nibbles

Committee Meeting 1900 hours Garrison Club from 1600 hours Nibbles Garrison Club from 1600 hours Nibbles Garrison Club from 1600 hours Finger Food

6 t h Friday Night 10th Tuesday Night 13th Friday Night 20th Friday Night 27 th Friday Night

August 2004 Garrison Club from Committee Meeting Garrison Club from Garrison Club from Garrison Club from

1600 hours 1900 hours 1600 hours 1600 hours 1600 hours

Nibbles

Nibbles Nibbles Finger Food

Remember these Dates Annual General Meeting Jury 4 t h

Your Committee is planning a weekend event in Tauranga..

Des Anderson,% tel: 07:571 U

Vice President Bm^&^M^iM Ted Dean S#%M:i^^45444^^^k

Mariol Kareko't t e ^ ^ i ^ o ^ ^ W l i ?

warm :-nm^^mm^m^$ Welfare Officer ?4r *F#t'fiP Pemr^Burg^ . V"-i*.'̂ '.'•••'0*3'."'--'* y-*"* .'" xVf/r*̂%̂"̂ Committee:

A i ^ A R E P S ; Auckland:

Paddy McFarland Pruce Beckett

BobMack A ,ph;09-4453242^ Thames; m^^h^nfmm:-M Tauranga: See Committee

^laifimata ph 07- 8886314

Jim McBmry JfSsfcjt*.. . *

Hamilton: Stu ph; UV-S-i :

Te Awamutu: Peter Croucher S 3 07-87l436<

Presidents Report With the high profile memorial for the Battle of Casino by the Government, I thought it appropriate to remind you of our small ceremony to all "Hauraki" who served in any of the Battles that are on our colours. Ten of which, were awarded during WW11.

The Saturday before Anzac Day, I went to a presentation in Tauranga, organized by the Mt.Maunganui RSA. The theme was Anzac, and the speakers were from the Waikato University. I asked the question of the part Territorials have had, and will have in the future. The reply was the TFV in NZ and CMF in Australia have had significant influence in all conflicts even as units, parts of a unit or as individual soldiers attached to other units. The speaker believed the voluntary soldiers would play an even bigger part in the future, particularly as NZ. follows the Peace keeping role.

It was good to see the Volunteer Employment Protection Amendment Bill being passed in Parliament. {This will give job protection to the TFV who deploy overseas.} It has a long way to go yet. This is where we and organizations such as ourselves can assist. We can petition MP's and attend select committees, where as, serving soldiers are restrained from political activities.

On a final note, I wish to thank Trevor and Lynn for the time effort and commitment they have put in over the years for producing the <eHauraki News." Thanks Trev.

KiaKaha Des Anderson President.

2

Penny's Corner

Last Post Pleased to mention there is nothing to

report.

Sickness Pleased to mention there is nothing to

report

Garrison Club Sing along 8 t h April

For those of you who forgot, on the 8 of April the Garrison Club hosted a great evening of songs, chatter and good food.

Linda Elliott bought her group, Afternoon Delight, to entertain us. A good mix of songs and then our own Aubrey Balzer got up and sang.

Two groups of cadets were assembling to go away on their camps so were delighted to have Honorary Colonels, Alan Coster, and Aubrey Balzer go down to farewell them. One of the boys Grandmother works with me and she told me that her grandson said -"Gran two bigwigs came down to say goodbye to us!"

Further excitement when the alarms starting ringing and would not stop!! One of the children had played with the gate setting them off - luckily Marion knew how to silence them

All in all a very entertaining evening, and we look forward to seeing you all at our next evening.

By Penny Burgess

Hauraki 106 t h Birthday Celebration

Proposed programme Friday 2 n d July 2004

Registration Time at the Garrison Club will bel830

Saturday 3 r d July 2004

a. BBQ Lunch b. Presentation to the cadets and

other interested persons. c. To present a prize to the "Best

Essay" from a Cadet on the Hauraki Battle Honours.

d. A display of weapons and equipment used by today's Army. Also the Museum to look through, and a Display by Paul Selby.

e. Garrison Club - pre dinner drinks.

f. Move off to the venue for the presentation and dinner.

g. Back to the Garrison Club.

Sunday 4 t h July 2004

a. Church service at Holy Trinity Church, Devonport Road.

b. 6 Hau Association AGM will be held at the Garrison Club.1100.

c. A BBQ lunch will follow. Please bring a plate.

For this event to be a success, we need numbers of those intending to participate. Please advise Marion the Secretary or any Committee member as soon as possible if you wish to attend the weekend or part thereof. {Dinner}

Kiwi News 1943

Steady Bombing of Jap Bases

The steady bombing of Jap bases and strong points continues in New Guinea, New Georgia, New Britain and on Vila Kahili and Faisi in the Solomons. Allied Command HQ announced Saturday hitting a 5000-ton Jap vessel with a 500 lb bomb in a low flying attack by Allied raiders of Wewak on the North New Guinea coast.

*****

New German Tank

Details are given of the new German Mark 4 tank now operating in Tunisia. Weight 55-60 tons. Armament 1 x 88mm gun, 2 x 7.92 mm machine guns. The main gun weighs one and a half tons, uses a 331b shell 3ft long. The front armour is over 4 inches thick.

From The Archives 1977

The Anti Tank Platoon spent a long weekend braving the winter conditions at Waiouru recently on a continuation training exercise.

The weekend covered the Anti Tank Platoon's role in defence and withdrawal and revision on the basics of the weapon. Live firing was the highlight of the weekend, with night firing on the Saturday night. The Mortars provided illumination but they lived up to their reputation of "Drop Short." It was too cold for them to sleep out in the field so they were taken back to warm beds etc in an A.P.C. Pte. Danny Collins was our Gunner and he was assisted by Pte. Gerard Mathews and Tony Carter as

loader and driver with Cpl John Dick as Detachment Commander.

As usual the Hau's had the best turnout of men, so Cpl. Len McKinnon and Pte's Mike Agnew and Mike Dahm were seconded to 5 Bn to assist their crew of one.

All in all it was an excellent showing by the 6 Hau's who were not only the best shots, but also the fastest crew on action drills. The only problem was Radio procedures, but I am sure we can iron this problem out soon, can't we John!! (Dick?) (Abridged)

Regards Lloyd Harman (Sgt)

How about this one.

During training exercises, the Lieutenant who was driving down a muddy back road encountered another car stuck in the mud with a red-faced Colonel at the wheel. "Your jeep stuck sir?" asked the Lieutenant as he pulled alongside. "Nope" replied the Colonel, coming over and handing him the keys, "yours is."

******

So I got home from work and the phone was ringing. I picked it up, and said, "Who's speaking please?' and a voice said, "You are."

New Recruit Early Days 1943 Part 3

While we were in Papakura, the 8th

Reinforcements were formed and that of course took a lot of experienced NCOs. I was sent to Narrow Neck for a course on field craft and small arms, under the tutelage of Captain Bill Bates who up to that stage had been an R.S.M. He was a soldier of great notoriety. No one tried him on!!! He was a very tough soldier to whom you could approach and get a fair decision. We were doing drill on the Bull Ring one morning when a "Hudson" bomber flew down the Auckland harbour and of course we were curious. Realising this, Capt Bates shouted, "eyes up" and after the aircraft had passed on he shouted, "eyes down". That sort of thing typified the man and we appreciated.

After this course, I was promoted to Sergeant. We were due to shift from Papakura, so Ben Lodge took me to visit relatives on the north slopes of MtAlbert. While we were waiting for a tram to take us down to the Railway Station, we saw a tremendous flash out in the direction of Whenuapai. We assumed that the Air Force was out practicing bombing.

Next morning we boarded trucks and moved off to our new camp. We were never told to where we were going but at the compulsory stop, at ten minutes to the hour, we happened to be directly above Whenuapai Aerodrome. It was then that I saw what that tremendous flash had been.

It was years later I found out that an American B17 Flying Fortress had flown into the top of a hill while on take off. All that was left were the engines and a huge burnt out area. A house nearby had all the glass blown out of it, and the near sidewall pushed in. We found a flying boot, complete with a part leg lying in the fern on the side of the road. The Air Force denied us the possibility of viewing the actual crash site, so, (in an effort to help) presented them with the boot!!! I have a feeling that the Airman who received it, did not bother with any lunch that day.

Our convoy moved on and we eventually ended up at Warkworth. Our own company was situated at the entrance to the Dome Valley. The Company Commander at this stage was Capt. Wheelin who, in civilian life was headmaster of the Ngaruawahia High School. Our Platoon Commander was Lt. Duncan Ross.

The first Saturday, every one with the exception of the guards etc, were given leave in the Warkworth township- and what a shambles that developed into!! One thousand troops loose in a country village with just one pub. We stood and watched the "scrum" for some time, but we moved out smartly when Brig. Dittmer appeared on the scene. He moved everyone back to camp and ordered that an orderly leave system be installed immediately. Order was restored, but the Americans made the same mistake when they arrived. Their method of sorting it out was to turn their M.P.s loose. Grim, but effective.

There were twenty of us selected to go through an "Officer Suitability" course, which was conducted at Bde. H.Q. I managed to pass the test.

About this stage, Maj. Parfitt who had been sent home from the Middle East to direct training of reinforcements joined us. He was what I regarded as a real soldier, tough, but with the right idea of handling men. While at Warkworth, the Army recalled all of the officer's .45 calibre pistols, and they were replaced with Smith and Wesson .38 revolvers. Duncan Ross took me with him up one of the valleys and he proceeded to fire off all his ammunition. When queried, he told the Q.M. that he had fired it all at the Japs.

Most of our work here consisted of building and establishing camps which were later taken over by the arriving American Troops who were coming back from the Islands for a rest.

In 1942, along with 140 others, I was sent off to take part in O.C.T.O. course, which lasted about twelve weeks. At the end of this fiasco they had to get rid of sixty as

Q>

they were overloaded. There were some very hard things said about the Army Chiefs after that event.

The Northern Group were entrained to Auckland and spent the afternoon lying on the grass at the Teachers Training College (Army HQ) waiting for onward orders. What's new? Eventually we were issued with our rank, and sent on seven days leave with instructions to report back to our respective units. As it transpired, they did not want us either!!

Around this time I had 'inadvertently' read a report of my training and had been described as 'ordinary'. This so incensed me that I worked the platoon very hard with the object of changing someone's mind. It certainly worked, as we were given some pretty difficult jobs to accomplish. I explained to the fellows, that the only way to get the pressure off was for them to give us their best, and let us prove that we could do the job. One of the compensations was to send out a 'Recce Patrol', twice a week to 'clear' the area around Hikurangi. If they got caught in the pub down there, then it was their lookout. They were willing as could be and we worked up a great team. At this time my Pl.Sgt. was Dick Te Paa who was a really great person.

During the summer, there were several bush fires further north, and we were transported up there to fight them. That was a useless and dangerous operation. One night while trying to hold the spread, the wind turned and roared back up the valley. The chaps had to hang over the opposite cliff while the flames roared over *" heir heads.

Later on it was decreed that they hold Bn exercises up towards Kerikeri. The area on which we were deposited was some runoff, which the farmer had burned off several acres of gorse. Of course it had rejuvenated to a height of about 2 feet. There were pine trees in the plantation at one end, under which we made our camp. Thanks to C. Murdoch for this article.

****

Letter From The Editor

This is my last Newsletter for the Hauraki Association, and I wish to thank all those who have assisted me over the past 9 years or so.

Our first Newsletter went out in mid 1996.1 took over the task of doing the newsletters shortly after, from issue number 3, having now done 33 issues.

Special thanks must go to Hugh Harrison and the late Ian Still who allowed me to copy and print "Kiwi News 1943," and to R.W.Burton for his Motor cycle platoon 1940 article, CMurdoch for his ongoing article "New Recruit Early Days, R.Skeet for his Historical articles, and Mick Parker for his poems.

There are many others whose names slip my memory and others who have lent me photographs from their collections and last of all, the Committee who turned me loose with a pen.

T.J.Archer {Retiree}

Thought for the H/toitth I f the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?

" / told that joke last week and nobodv lauahed then."

THE MAGIC OF FIGURES

During the Second World War, there were five National Leaders whose names -whether for feme or infamy - will go down in world history. They were; CHURCHILL, HITLER, ROOSEVELT, IIDUCE (Mussolini), STALIN and TOJO. Take for each; the year they were born, the years they lived, the year they took office and the years they held office, add them together and each make the same total.

Churchill Hitler Roosevelt Educe Stalin Tojo Year Born 1874 1889 1882 1883 1887 1884 Age 70 55 62 61 57 60 Took Office 1940 1933 1933 1922 1924 1941 Years in Office 4 11 11 22 20 3 TOTAL 3898 3888 3888 3888 3888 3888

3888 is the magical number, for half of this is 1944. The half of 1944 is 972 - the 9 t h

month, 7 t h day and the 2 n d hour. The end of the war was declared at 2 o'clock on the 7 t h day of September. Another amazing fact from this puzzle is while each of those leaders made their impact on the worlds history, for the man whose life had the greatest influence on our world; take the first letter of each name.

CHURCHILL HITLER ROOSEVELT HDUCE STALIN TOJO c p >• •:/;- R---^y. • ' I ;-v

Sent in by G.Eagleson

"Seen anything of the new Intake*."

1 1

HAURAKI SCRAPBOOK Cadet Camp Dip Flat January 12th to 23rd 2004

6 HAURAKI ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED APPLICATION FORM FOR

NEW MEMBERSHIP ONLY

Regimental No Date of Birth

Full Name

Partners Name (If App)

Full Postal address

Telephone Number(Home) Business

Brief resume of Service with 6 Hauraki (Include dates and appointments)

Highest Rank Held Service in other Units

OFFICE USE ONLY

Date Joined Receipt no Membership no

This information is collected for the purpose of the 6 Battalion (Hauraki) Regimental Association Inc. and is strictly Confidential. It will not be supplied to any other person or organisation in compliance with the Privacy Act.

Post Subscription of $20.00 to Secretary M. Kareko 91 Windsor Road Tauranga

Mk IV 01/99

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