''Jungle Patrol'' is a 1944 Australian documentary narrated by

Peter Finch Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio. Born in London, he emigrated to Australia as a teenager and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudeville ...

, which follows eight Australian soldiers on patrol in New Guinea during World War II.

Plot

It starts with their initial deployment from Port Moresby on board a US plane called the ''Honeymoon Express'', then covers their flight over the

Owen Stanley Range Owen Stanley Range is the south-eastern part of the central mountain-chain in Papua New Guinea. Its highest point is Mount Victoria at , while its most prominent peak is Mount Suckling. History Owen Stanley Range was seen in 1849 by Captain Owe ...

and Kokoda Trail to an airstrip at Dumpu in the Ramu Valley ten miles from the frontline. The eight troops them march through the Ramu Valley to

Shaggy Ridge Shaggy Ridge is a long razorback (stratigraphic) ridge in the Finisterre Range, in north eastern Papua New Guinea. Its highest point is above sea level. The ridge is located between the valleys of the Mene and Faria Rivers and culminates at ...

in the Finisterre Range – which the foreword claims was the nearest point to Tokyo reached by Allied troops. Some of the film was shot under fire. En route the patrol encounters enemy fire from a Japanese machine gun crew in a bunker and enemy sniper, which the Australians kill. Then they take part in a battle to take Shaggy Ridge.

Cast

* Corporal A C Pierson * Private F C Northcott * Private A B Graffin * Private M J Driver * Corporal R A Box * Private J H Adams * Private E Barmby

Depiction of local people

New Guinea natives are depicted helping carry supplies for Australian soldiers and are referred to as "

boong The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or oth ...

s", with narrator

claiming, "You couldn't fight the war without the boong, the steady, patient boong".

Production

The film was made by the Australian government to demonstrate the contribution of Australia to the New Guinea campaign, which they felt had not received sufficient acknowledgement. It was shot over five weeks and was widely distributed in Australia and overseas, including in newly liberated European countries. Writer-director Tom Gurr, who worked on the film without pay, estimated it was seen by fifteen million people.

References

{{reflist

External links

Complete copy of film
at

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

Complete copy of film
at

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...

''Jungle Patrol''
at Australian Screen Online
''Jungle Patrol''
at

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...

Films set in Papua New Guinea Australian World War II propaganda films 1944 films 1940s war films Australian documentary films 1944 documentary films