On the night of Friday 17th of July, an offshore earthquake generated three tsunamis (tidal waves), which rolled along a twenty kilometre stretch of the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The first of the waves ran parallel to the coast and surged inland for some 500-700 metres. With only a 3-5 second warning, in the form of a roaring “like a jet plane” (or “jet balus” in Pidgin English), some ten villages were destroyed with the loss of 2,202 confirmed dead, of which the bodies of many were never recovered. Another 4,000 villagers lost everything but their lives, and live as displaced persons in sanctuary village’s inland, which provide succour.

The Australian emergency response took the form of an immediate military response with backup from the emergency desk of AusAid. The military response consisted of the Parachute Surgical Team, together with a ward element from 1st Field Hospital, all located a Holsworthy; and were supplemented by a Medical team from 3RAAF Hospital and a civilian orthopaedic team from MonashUniversity. The team was on the ground as Vanimo (some 56km to the west) with in 56 hours of the disaster.

 The team worked indefatigably, to the point of exhaustion, over the next six days and then worked continuously for a further seven days thereafter. This exemplary service took the form of the establishment of a Field Medical Unit under canvas in Vanimo, operating teams at the VanimoHospital, medical teams in the village’s inland from the disaster site and consultation and harbouring and other services. The New Zealand Army provided doctors and medics, and the combined ANZAC team was joined by two members from the United States military, based at the Triplar Medical Facility on Honolulu. In all, more than 120 operations were conducted and 117 ward patients were managed in the first eight days of the medical response.

Wounds included both open and closed fractures, some sustained up to four days before rescue and evacuation from the disaster site to the Medical Unit in Vanimo. An exemplary record is that there were no surgically related deaths amongst the survivors treated by our military team. Two deaths occurred – both on the first day and both following aspiration pneumonia from the near drowning which affected hundreds of survivors.

Members who served in the disaster have continued, at the highest level, the spirit and traditions of the 1st Australian Field Hospital; and the Aitape Disaster has added to the proud “Battle Honours” of these exemplary units who took part.