Chapter Seven
Timber!

There are two kinds of timber in the islands, coconut and the other kind. Since we have writhed under the label of 'Coconut Bombers' it is only fitting that in a work on the coconut engineers the noble palm should have its due meed of praise. Be it understood that no true engineer could content himself with just sitting under a coconut tree and drinking plain coconut milk. We have, we believe, added to the manifold uses of this plant, as known to the native peoples, and record for posterity its value as timber along with its potentialities as a source of 'plonk.'

In view of the general use of local timber, particularly coconut, in island operations, for bridge and other constructions, and in view of the lack of knowledge of the capacities of the various timbers, tests were carried out to determine the fibre stresses in bending of both coconut and some of the native jungle timbers. Several sappers did a lot of measuring and carrying of buckets of water on Nissan in an attempt to establish finally that coconut timber is really tough, can take it, and is, in short, typical of the 'coconut bomber' at his best. Official estimates reveal that dark red coconut timber, preferably from the bottom of the tree, will have a breaking strength of 10,000 pounds to the square inch. There is no available data for estimating what a sapper on an embarkation net will stand but it must be pretty near this. From the first Fijian days when the startling call of 'Timber! 'was to many a hair-raising experience, to the days which saw us with a full sawmill platoon conducting woodchops, we worked like Kipling's elephants a-piling teak (or some other wood) in the sludgy, spudgy creeks. But even within the depths of island page 41forests it was remarkable how short we often were of necessary timber.

The heavy construction programmes which were continually on our orders made the timber situation always difficult. In Fiji the Fiji Kauri Timber Company at Nandarivatu and the Forestry Department came to the rescue with supplies, but in those days we often found that we had little or no adequate transport to bring the timber out. Light bush timber was hacked out from stands on the Lambau and Princes Road reserves for the Suva defence lines. Sandbag frames were made for the respective headquarters from these and the forest props were carted for the fencing of the camps and the strengthening of defence posts. At Singatoka we cut light stuff for the revetting of gunpits, and begged, borrowed or stole the needful from local contractors or from the CCU. Problems of costs were reduced one-sixth by the use of native timbers such as the very durable buabua, but the general problem of durability was not always so easily met. Work done, particularly in the defence lines, could not be left to the eager ravages of the toredo worm which would effectively deal with any post left in a tidal area within three months. Even when creosoted it was thought that six months would be a long life for mangrove swamp posts; but the situation being urgent, we went ahead and wound barbed wire around the donga stumps, with stakes and concrete posts alternating.

It was largely in connection with timber shortages that there grew up among the engineers a society of mutual help known as the 'Burglars Union.' This most praiseworthy society contrived, we know not how, over the course of years, to maintain a small stock of timber, yes, even for crates! From furtive attempts on the air services stocks in Fiji down to such indefensible proceedings as getting down on the CRE's private supply-in-reserve the true engineer adaptability to circumstances was abundantly illustrated.

We found that in New Caledonia we again had to fall back on local products. Mess rooms, tables, chairs, cupboards were largely constructed from dunnage, she-oak and local French timbers. Some of these like the tamanou and acacia (or gaiac) were beautifully figured woods and never bettered for furniture and inlay work; others, like the acajou, carried in their black hearts a vicious sap which produced the most alarming skin irrita-page 42tions. Bamboo was in great demand. With it we tucked the sergeants and officers up in their messes, made comfortable seats for orderly room stooges to sit upon, and created gonophones. We were denied the pleasure of cutting down the 200 foot Caledonian pines (Araucaria Cooki) which stick up like hatpins on the crests of the mountains, but we made up for this on Norfolk where the kindred Norfolk pines had to go down in hundreds to make room for aeroplanes.

Norfolk was one place therefore where there was no shortage of logs. The first logs were taken from the airfield there to the mill by a horse team (borrowed) but later on by a small tractor. The mill itself was operated by repairing the disused equipment

On Guadalcanal engineer units were widely scattered but only the 37th Field Park Camp was permanent

and gasoline engine already at the plant; and, although we were severely handicapped for belting and saws, the mill was in operation from the first week of the arrival of the engineers. A good class of timber was cut from the logs and within a fortnight of our arrival a building 60 feet by 22 feet was put up for force headquarters administrative purposes. Later on a second disused mill was put into operation and an average amount of 65.000 super feet cut in each month. The number of logs sawn by the page 43mills average 120 a month and all the later building for air force and army requirements was carried out from this timber.

Memories of timber on Guadalcanal are for some confined to the topless coconuts which greeted us on Kukura Beach, decapitated by gunfire in the American attacks. Others may recall the sudden and eerie cracklings of the topmost branches above one of the fighting areas about Le Sage Trail. These large trees were so riddled by naval gunnery that a slight breeze might give the finishing touch to a tall dead stock or to the broken off branches suspended in mid air. Neither tent nor truck was guaranteed safe from their sudden falls. A similar experience was the lot of Div engineers at Nissan. Here in the Torahatup area the 25-pounders had shelled the Jap headquarters and the results, at least as far as the betel-nut palms were concerned, proved disastrous when a wind blew. We were hardly surprised when an American QM tent (acquired) failed to stand the combined weight of three betel-nut palms across it.

The clearing of fields of fire for the ack-ack batteries and field artillery developed into a big job when we hit the thicker jungle of Mono and Nissan. Here the big trees had to be felled or blasted out of the way in order to let the bofors boys see where they were aiming. A rather similar task on Barakoma airfield, Vella, was the efficient work of 'Hone Heke's' braves, who in topping palms to save planes, earned the special commendation of the US commander.

In November. 1943, Guadalcanal saw the formation of the sawmill platoon of the 37th Field Park Company. At last there was to be an official engineer timber company. Twenty-five men came from Field Park itself and the full quota of 63 was made up by an appeal for specialists or would-be specialists from the whole of the division. From this date onward the history of timber is largely that of the sawmill platoon. It would not do, however, to forget the part played by other companies. While the sawmill might or might not get enough timber for the engineers as well as for other units, it was just as well to rely on one's own initiative, The most effective use of timber in making bomb-proof shelters was in no way dependent upon the sawmillers as such. With raids occurring up to nine and sometimes twelve times a night 'it is obvious' says the CRE 'that two courses are open to personnel. They either leave their beds and go to the shelters page 44where they await the all clear, or they remain in their unprotected bedcots where they are liable to injury from bombing and AA splinters.' The provision of a blast-proof and splinter-proof shelter using coconut logs was therefore a common precaution. These original shelters were gradually improved according to the taste and energy of the occupants, some even being converted into use as sleeping quarters for the most exalted in rank. Similar types were developed and built by us for use of telephone exchanges and observation posts. Eight sappers working four days of 10 hours with TNT and accessories, 500 sandbags, number eight wire, and a very small quantity of nails, with coconut logs of 10-inch diameter, could turn out quite a reasonable little shanty guaranteed to stop anything short of a direct hit.

There was on Guadalcanal an RNZAF sawmill which had seen much better days. It milled mahogany and a wood known as 'rubber-wood,' both excellent in quality. Shrapnel unfortunately had spoiled a lot of this and with only a small saw it was not possible to manage the bigger trees. The suggestion that 3 Div's long expressed desire for a sawmill might be met by the 'air force's cast-off was not, however, kindly received hut, as usual, it looked as if we might be glad to father the bairn rather than ourselves be left destitute. Assistance was actually given to the RNZAF mill for some four months by men of the sapper units, two gangs helping with log supply from the bush in terrible conditions of mud and wet, and one shift working in the mill. This ensured an increased supply of timber for the army until we were finally able to enjoy the advantages of a fifty-fifty share in the Nissan Island mill run by the 37th CBs. Here our genius for sawmilling had free rein at last. The CBs, of whose courtesy and co-operation we have the happiest memories, worked one shift on the mill and we worked two. These were five-hour shifts covering 15 hours a day. We also worked two shifts in the bush since our job was to supply the logs for the mill and the CBs were unable to supply the necessary personnel. All the bush work was for us 'jigger' work, a method of attack unknown to the American lumberman who, having first cut the many sucker supports of the Pacific maple and the rubber wood, the typical Nissan timbers, preferred to push over the forest giants, shallowly rooted in coral, with a bulldozer. The tractor brought the logs from the bush, we cut them to the length required, and then they page 45were hooked up to an ingenious device which swung the whole log over the mud right into the mill. This was another of the many tricks of the trade which Sergeant Hohneck introduced.

A record turnout of 19,600 feet in a 15 hour day and a total of 800.000 feet for the period on Nissan (three months) is evidence of how much sweat we lost. Forty-two thousand feet of maple logs kept the 26th Field busy on Salipal pier; but since it was impossible to meet the demands of the multitude who sought 'just a few boards' we had on occasions, especially with the negro units, to try such frightfulness as hurling fuseless grenades in order to shoo them away. Our great day was the Allied Axe-men's Carnival held at the south end of the Nissan bomber strip on Sunday, 2 April, 1944. An earlier wood chop competition had been staged by 37th Field Park on Guadalcanal in January and its success emboldened us to back the 37th Battalion's Nissan carnival with both wood and choppers. Since of the 400 dollars of prize money on this occasion 300 dollars went to the engineers we didn't lose much on the day and the general enjoyed himself immensely. Liquid refreshments were supplied by the YMCA.

When the move to return south was started, the sawmill plant ordered for the Third Division was actually crated in Wellington, awaiting shipment forward. From the foregoing therefore it is piain to see that with this mill in being the New Zealand engineers really would have shown the world a thing or two.