REMEMBER
our lines?—rows of
tents— sometimes leaky. Duckboards or timber
boards for flooring. One single light bulb 2nd
tour (no light bulb part of first tour).
Pathways were outlined with stones. These
identified where you were on extremely dark
nights, when it was necessary to move to/from
piquet posts or the individual Company Command
Posts. The photo from the first tour was taken
before all tents were fortified with sandbags,
to allow some protection from mortar attacks. |
REMEMBER
our water heaters? A
44 gallon drum on a stand sometimes over a bed
of sand. Fuel was poured into the sand bed,
ignited, and the heat warmed up the water in the
drum. A warm shower -- something all the diggers
dreamed of. Sometimes, if a bath was available
at a Fire Support Base, it was in a trailer,
shared with some mates, and if things went real
well, a cold beer at the same time.
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REMEMBER
your laundry number? All our laundry was sent to
Baria for washing and return to Nui Dat. We each
had a number painted on the tails of our shirts
and waistbands of our trousers. I remember mine
was PC15. I am told that the laundry number
system was initiated by 7RAR (hence the P for
Pig), and indicated the battalion. 1RAR and 5RAR
followed and used the "P" prefix. The "C" was
for C Company, and an individual number was
allocated to each soldier. This picture shows
the primitive laundry facilities, constructed by
the first tour diggers, prior to laundry being
sent to Baria. |
REMEMBER
Choofa's? These were these great box-like things
that were located in most company messes, and
occasionally at fire support bases. They were
fuel-fired - what was it? -- probably kerosene.
When hot, they could turn out a reasonable meal,
but this was always dependent on the ingredients
that were placed inside. They were known to blow
up from time to time -- hence the requirement
for the Q Store to keep extra ration packs on
hand. The ability to blow up probably gave us an
extra tactical advantage -- depending where you
were standing. Right is a typical photo of a
mess serving point -- not quite the same as
home! |
Remember
Pissaphones? These
were ingenious constructions, located throughout
company lines. A pit was dug (don't know how
deep -- nobody dared to find out). Part of a 44
gallon drum was dug into the ground, and covered
with fly-wire. This was secured around the top
of the drum. Another section of a drum was dug
in above the ground, in a half-circle. The
soldier would stand in front of the
half-circular drum, and urinate into the
fly-screen covered circle. No matter how much
lime and disinfectant was scattered in the
vicinity of the "pissaphone", the stench was
stronger than all of us. Anyway, it probably
prevented the over-watering of rubber trees. The
picture right shows how primitive toilet
facilities were—a bit of a screened
enclosure—seating for about four (with no
privacy divisions), and minimal protection from
mosquitoes. |
Remember
your tent furniture?
They say the Aussie Digger was a pretty
ingenious bloke. If anyone had seen how old
ammunition boxes could be fashioned into tables,
wardrobes, cupboards, chairs and entertainment
units, they would be impressed. Even the sandbag
walls made great shaving stands -- a mirror,
water dish, and it was almost as good as the
bathroom at Mum's. A digger is shown enjoying
all the comforts of home, lounging about on his
" IiLo" Bliss! |
Remember
a bit of gardening?
This photo from the first tour depicts the
quickest and easiest way to "rake up leaves" in
our rubber plantation base at Nui Dat. |
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