I grew up in Rabaul and attended Court Street primary school finally leaving with my parents in 1974.
My father John Irvine ran Nonga Base Hospital from 1966-1974
I would welcome the opportunity to share photos of my happy times in Rabaul and I was devastated to see the damage created by the volcanic eruption.i would love to see it returned to its former status as the capital of New Britain.
Cheers
John

I was looking at a photos on your website and saw what was to me an almost unrecognisable photo of Charles Blake.

My presumption is that it is Charles Arthur Blake whose father was a coastwatcher in World War II and an explorer in the Wau goldfields.

Charles and I were friends in Rabaul when he was a plantation owner and a ships captain.

Could you please pass on my email address to him to see if he would like to correspond.

I am now living in Bandung Indonesia.

[email protected]

I was very pleased to read that the Rabaul Historical Society is to raise funds to publish the Rev Neville Threlfall's manuscript, 'History of Rabaul'. I can strongly recommend this as a worthy effort.

I recently obtained a copy of this book and used it as a reference while writing my book, TUUM EST - The History of Keravat National High School and its Students 1947-1986.

My book has been greatly appreciated by the people of the Gazelle as it tells them a lot about their recent history and is a great help in their search for understanding their own family history.

The Rev Threlfall's book, 'From Mangroves to Frangipani - The Story of Rabaul', would be an even greater asset!

It is an amazing book with a phenomenal amount of detailed information on Rabaul from the 1700s to the 1980s. It also includes the 1994 eruptions.

The book will be greatly enjoyed by all the expatriates who "fell in love with the Gazelle" but more importantly, the book will be greatly appreciated by the indigenous people of the Gazelle and give them a better understanding of all the forces that have shaped their contacts with the rest of the world, especially over the last 200 years.

Threlfall, who spent 19 years in the New Guinea Islands region, has used old books, newspapers and magazines, government archives and private letters, papers and diaries, colonial records, mission papers, war histories and naval, military and air force files and talked to people of many races in three languages,in order to write this book. It will be a great asset for future generations of Papua New Guineans.