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He took a trip to Guadalcanal - these are personal photos taken on the trip.... Amazing stuff.

I want to thank everyone for the encouragement to "more, more, more". I am a TV news photogragher by profession and part time still photographer when on vacation and such so I tend to overshoot compared to "normal" people taking vacation pics. Was alittle worried that the detail that I shoot might be alittle much for you all but pleased you all have enjoyed my vacation.......terry

After the Vouza Memorial we drove straight west on the coast road for over a hour to get to the the Open-Air Museum. A local family found and maintains the collection which sits on 2-4 acres. It is mostly wrecked a/c(and wings) with some ground equipment.

Some IJA arty

A gun believed to be a Pistol Pete type. Thoughts are welcome! These guns were left behind when the Japanese withdrew from the island.

Closeup on barrel showing Japanese manufactoring marks.

Another gun.

closeup

Some stray ammo. On closer inspection you could tell there was NO explosives in these and they has been dis-armed.

They had apparently moved some abandoned monuments to the property.

different angle, notice the wings leaning in the background

A Japanese stone with no english translation. This is the only Japanese stone that I saw that did not have a translation. John told me that on some of the trails that the IJA used to move their men there also are some markers with no translations.

Canberra

Many a/c and some other stuff to come, probably not till Tuesday. Time for [>:]

Mark, Thanks again for doing this for us [:)]

I found some info on the ethnic tension in Solomon Islands.

Just your normal human conflict. The islands were very competitive and head-hunting and cannibalism were very common up to WWI. When the British chose Guadalcanal as the capital that attracted people from the other islands because extra work there and most royalties were spent here. Forestry, paper pulp, and coffee were the main exports. The new-comers were in smaller numbers than the original islanders at first. In 1978 the British left SI after it became independent. Corruption and mismanagement wasted much money. Also SI had to compete with other world traders instead of just Commonwealth. So coffee sales fell and farmers went broke! Worse- many of the islands were so over-exploited for forestry resources that virtually nothing can grow on the sand boxes that remain and peolpe were forced to leave!!!

Now the migrants from rest of SI on Guadalcanal teamed up politically and economically against the original Gualalcanalians forcing their numbers in the democratic govt. The originals feared the laws would be changed to give land rights and other concessions to the SI migrants. So the ethnic tensions exploded into murders and mayhem as the Gualalcanalians weren't giving up their "superiority" without a fight. Now with the Gualalcanalians in minority in govt the Si migrants fought among themelves in factional frictions. Crime and killings were common and the islanders divided into their family factions. The Gualalcanalians now regained supremcy in the govt.

To prevent another bloodbath, soldiers from Aust and NZ were invited to restore peace to the troubled lands. Australian federal police have been active too, investigating crimes and arresting some big crime bosses. Many weapons have been confiscated. One AFP was shot dead ealier this year in Honiara. Work is being done on improving the economy and over-coming prejudices in the SI.

Hope you don't mind.

Thanks for sharing the photos.


Oops. PS
When we look at SI on the map we see a group of small islands that would seem like a nice place to live. But the SI sees themsleves as all separate and competitive countries- just grouped together under British rule. So they couldn't/ didn't work together for common good, just their own island nation.

Sorry, bumping this for my parents.

Sorry for the long delay to finish up my trip to the Canal! Resuming where I left off at the Open-Air Museum in Western Guadalcanal.

A SBD. Remember, these aircraft came to grief some 60+ years ago. They laid somewhere in the jungle till discovered by the caretakers of this property. How long they have been found I don't know. But the collection of aircraft, Artillery and stone markers is just amazing....terry

Dive flaps of the SDB. When I saw this I knew what A/C it was.

Notice the bullet holes in the tail.