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From the producers of
The Tragedy of the Montevideo Maru

Never before seen interviews covering the fall of Rabaul and Kavieng!
Over four hours of engaging footage on a 2 Disc set!

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The DVD of The Fall of Rabaul and Kavieng is now available to purchase.

This 2 disc set features no less than 4 hours of riveting material including extensive coverage of the events at Parliament House Canberra on the 21st of June 2010. Includes all the speeches in the House of Representatives and Senate plus interviews at Parliament House gauging the reactions of relatives and veterans attending this historic occasion. There are “no punches pulled” when it comes to criticism by some interviewees of those whose bungling decisions resulted in tragic, significant and unnecessary loss of Australian lives. 

The second 2 hour disc features detailed interviews with those who survived the 1942 invasion of Rabaul and Kavieng combined with rare archival film and stills.

Extensive unseen interviews and the coverage of multiple events makes The Fall of Rabaul and Kavieng unbeatable value for money and a “must have” for anyone interested in the events in Rabaul and Kavieng in 1942.


The Directors of Schindler Video Productions have pledged to make a donation of $3 per unit sold through PROCAM and PAYPAL to assist the Rabaul & Montevideo Maru Society with the building of a monument in Canberra dedicated to those lost.


 

If you would like to order via other means, please contact us here.


 

THE FALL OF RABAUL & KAVIENG

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

4 hours over a 2 disc set. All interviews shot in High Definition Television format meaning superb quality especially for those viewing on larger screens.

One disc runs for just over 2 hours and is titled CANBERRA 21 June 2010. This disc contains all the speeches made in Parliament House on the day which referred to the events in 1942 through to the present day.

We start the day with an interview with Mark Dale (Turner brothers relative) about what he hopes the day will achieve and we interview Mark again the following day the 22nd. Mark is eloquent when explaining his feelings regarding a subject of interest to many and that is whether or not a search should be mounted for the wreck of the MONTEVIDEO MARU.

Fred Kollmorgen has the last quiet, humble say when asked on the 22nd of June if he thinks his lost mates were present on the previous day in Parliament House. In their interviews Alley Martel and Patricia Poircuitte certainly felt their loved ones were present and a number of relatives and veterans speak with emotion about how they felt on the historic day.

Inside Parliament House there is an interview with Independent Member of Parliament Bob Katter. Bob is well versed on the happenings in the South Pacific War and gives his opinion on some of the decisions made at the time. Bob does not pull any punches when giving his opinion on subjects such as the decision to place crack Number One Independent Company troops in Kavieng. We also asked Bob the question “Have we learnt from our mistakes ? Relatives will find solace and comfort when they listen to Bob’s answer to the question “Did they die in vain ?”

There is coverage of the speeches to the relatives attending the function hosted by the Society. There is even a touch of humour when at Parliament House Fred Kollmorgen relates to Dr. Les Drew the Townsville incident (the story of the 2 eggs) This story details in a humourous way just how little the Australian public knew of the sufferings of those men and women caught up in those tragic years. Australians have reason to be proud of the Australian talent of being able to keep our sense of humour even in the most awful of circumstances.

Rabaul veteran Stanley Cooper summed it up for his fellow veterans when he made this wonderful comment during his interview in Parliament House shortly before going inside to listen to the speeches “I am honoured to be able to be here today to represent my mates who did not get the chance to grow old”

The second 2 hour disc is titled THE FALL OF RABAUL AND KAVIENG and includes a significant amount of interview material not included in THE TRAGEDY OF THE MONTEVIDEO MARU.  These are fascinating accounts by those who survived the Japanese attacks on Rabaul and Kavieng in 1942. These interviews were recorded over the last 3 years and include Paul Metzler who describes in precise detail being shot down and taken prisoner. There are no punches pulled about how he feels about his former enemy. As a balance to this we have Australian Journalist Andrew McKay and his wife Ryoko (Ryoko is married to Andrew and was originally a Journalist from Japan) discussing with former Coastwatcher Jim Burrowes the attitude of young Japanese today. Jim Burrowes lost 2 brothers one was bombing Rabaul and the other brother was lost on the MONTEVIDEO MARU. There is a lengthy and extensive interview with the beautifully spoken and ever so modest John May MBE, Sister Berenice talks about bravery and her feelings about the Japanese, Lorna Johnson was a young Australian Army nurse at the time and the only Australian woman POW still alive today who experienced a journey in a hell ship. Lorna details some of her experiences when Rabaul fell. Lex Fraser OAM talks about the fight at Kavieng and life as a POW in Rabaul, Colin Butterworth (Wirraway survivor) tells of the day he and 5 other Wirraway crews took on 120 Japanese carrier based aircraft. Albert Speer MBE pays tribute to Justice David Selby and his friendship with Gunner David Bloomfield.

THE FALL OF RABAUL AND KAVIENG disc also features the combined Ballarat and Delacombe band playing several really stirring hymns including an Arthur Gullidge composition at a special service in Ballarat in 2008. There is a very good speech by Doug Kollmorgen and a number of wonderful photos of band members in Rabaul interspersed throughout Doug’s speech. The speech by Norm Furness in Ballarat on the same occasion was superb and has been included in it’s entirety in THE FALL OF RABAUL AND KAVIENG. It is a most moving and fascinating personal account of the events that occurred in Rabaul in 1942. Norm and Beryl both displayed courage in attending as they were both unwell.

There is a mini documentary “within the documentary” when our Executive Producer Ian Bates covers the helicopter journey by Phillip “Hooky” Street and son James to the Toll Plantation. Ian filmed Matapui billowing smoke from the helicopter and in Rabaul you’ll be taken inside Admiral Yamamoto’s bunker and the Rabaul Museum.

Robyn Wheeler talks to her Father Ray about working with the elephants on the Burma Railway and his rescue by the USS QUEENFISH after 5 days on the ocean following the torpedoing of his hell ship RAKUYO MARU.

Extensive unseen interviews shot in high definition television format combined with coverage of multiple events make this 4 hour presentation of engaging footage excellent value for money and a “must have” for anyone interested in Pacific War.