PNG WANTOK

Hi everyone,

Here are the dates of the activities the Wantok Club and some other organisations are holding in the next few months, along with some background information. I hope you have the opportunity to come along and join in.

Regards,

Tom Neeson

Sydney Papua New Guinea Wantok Club Incorporated.

Peter To Rot Mass – Sunday 5^th July

There will be a Mass at 12:30pm to celebrate the Life and Death of Blessed Peter To Rot at St Martha’s Church, corner Churchill Ave and Homebush Rd, Strathfield. This will be followed by lunch and refreshments. All are welcome. If you are staying for the light lunch you might like to bring some food to share. Note: there will be some people coming a long way to attend including a busload of members of the Canberra PNG community so some extra food would be appreciated.

(Peter Torot was the son of first generation Catholics on the South Pacific island of New Britain. At the age of twenty-one Peter was appointed catechist to his own village of Rakunai after three years of training. At twenty-four he married one of his own catechetical students and the couple had three children. When during the World War II occupation of the island by the Japanese all missionaries and missionary workers were arrested, Peter was left alone to maintain the Catholic life in his village. He led prayer services, administered baptism, and safeguarded the reserved Blessed Sacrament for the sick and dying. When Peter openly opposed the Japanese forces’ attempts to re-introduce the pagan practice of polygamy among his people, he was arrested. Of his imprisonment he observed, “I am here because of those who broke their marriage vows and because of those who do not want the growth of God’s kingdom.” Aware of the fate that awaited him, he asked his wife to send him his best clothes in preparation for martyrdom. Only July 17, 1945, he was given a lethal injection and died after several hours of torment.)

Wantok Picnic – Saturday 25^th July

We will be holding another picnic on the last Saturday in July at Centennial Park. Everyone is welcome from 10am onwards. We will meet at the Ash Paddock, which is between the Randwick Gate and the Children’s Cycle Track (or at the Children’s cycle track if Ask Paddock is occupied or too windy). Please bring some food and drink to share.

Battle for Australia Commemoration Service Wednesday 2^nd September

This will be held at 11am at the Cenotaph in Martin Place. The public are welcome to attend.

(This annual event honours those who served on land, sea and air in the battle for Australia, from 1942 to 1945. These battles included direct attacks on the Australian mainland, particularly in Darwin, and battles in the Coral Sea and Papua and New Guinea, including Milne Bay and the Kokoda Track. The first Wednesday in September was chosen as it represented the first defeat of Japanese forces on land at the Battle of Milne Bay.  Australians had fought for the British Empire before, but this was the first time there was a direct threat of the invasion of mainland Australia.      Papua New Guineans courageously supported Australians in the war. The courage and efforts of these civilians – the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels – of Papua New Guinea are also remembered and honoured. Each year we have children from the PNG community represent the children of PNG by laying flowers to remember and thank those who gave so much.)

Independence Sports Day – Saturday 12^th September

Everyone is welcome from 10am onwards. We will meet at the Ash Paddock, which is between the Randwick Gate and the Children’s Cycle Track. Competition Events will include Softball, Touch Football, Volley Ball, 100m Dash and special events for children. Please start organising your teams. We will organise some pigs so please bring some other food and drink to share.

With most families feeling the effect of the Global Financial Crisis the Wantok Club committee decided having a Sports Day to celebrate Independence would not exclude anyone in the community due to cost. 2010 will be the 35^th Anniversary of PNG Independence for which we intend to hold a sit-down meal with live entertainment. We are looking into other fund-raising events before then to help offset the costs and raise money for costs we need to meet before the event. If you are really organised you could even start putting a few bucks away each payday ready for next year’s event.