28/04/2022
KNOW YOUR PAST
“LEST WE FORGET” Driving along Idubada road, you will notice the old ship wreck off the coast but few know the history behind it. MV McDhui was bombed by the Japanes during WWII and was hit 14 times from the wharf on the top of the harbour to here where it finally sank. MV Macdhui was a 4,480 ton passenger and cargo motor vessel that was sunk during the Japanese air raid on Port Moresby, 80 years ago, on 18 June 1942 during World War II.
During the war the McDhui was used by the Aussies to transport troops and supplies for the defence of New Guinea. Japanese aircraft attacked the Macdhui at Port Moresby while members of the 39th Battalion unloaded aviation fuel from her hold. The ship suffered a direct hit that killed four men. The next day the Japanese bombers returned. This time the bombs destroyed the ship's steering gear and when fierce fires broke out the ship's Master ordered the crew to abandon ship. The Captain tried bravely to escape or give the bombers a harder target. But a number of bombs hit the ship. One landed directly on top of 5 gunners from the 39th. They all died. The ship was hit again and caught fire. Abandon Ship order was given and the burning hulk drifted all night in the harbour and it came ashore at Kanudi and can be still seen there today.
