KEITH JACKSON
AT the request of a group of four former kiaps, the honour roll of patrol officers and related district administration personnel who died in the course of their duties has been removed from PNG Attitude.
The more eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed its absence.
Paul Oates, Ross Wilkinson, Bill Brown MBE and Peter Turner ML BEM were concerned that some of the comments from readers were “sullying the real importance of the Roll” by including, for example, claims of paternity and disputes about historical incidents involving kiaps.
“Could we accord the Roll, and those who names have been entered on it, more dignity, respect and recognition?” asked one ex-kiap, and it was proposed that comments made subsequent to the Honour Roll be relocated to a new section of the blog.
I do not believe the comments “dishonoured" the roll. My view was that they were part and parcel of public commentary, discourse and conjecture and should remain.
Furthermore, given the mechanics of the blog, the task of extracting particular comments from some years of reader activity would be time-consuming and I did not want to commit to this.
By mutual consent, therefore, it was amicably agreed to remove the roll from PNG Attitude.
However, when the day comes that this blog reaches its end, as it inevitably must, in the interests of the historical record the roll and its associated comments will be offered to the National Library of Australia to join the annual NLA imprint for posterity of all that PNG Attitude publishes.
It only remains to thank Paul, Ross and their colleagues for the fine work they have done in researching and organising the names and details of those kiaps who gave their lives in the building of a nation.
They spent their time well.
The honour roll can still be found on the ex-kiaps website here