by John Algate
Some of the churches in other areas here in Irian that are not affected by the drought have sent potatoes, peanuts and corn. Our church gave bags of corn seed which was divided out between the drought-stricken areas. The people are really keen to plant anything that will make a quick harvest. MAF is really hard pressed to keep up flights with supplies to the affected areas. They asked for help from the Australian MAF in Papua New Guinea, They sent over two pilots with the Twin Otter for two weeks to help shift rice. It made sure everyone had rice for Christmas. We had to upgrade our airstrip by doing a lot of work on it to allow the wider wing span plane to land safely. You can imagine the mounting excitement when it actually landed. Most of the people have never seen a twin-engine plane before. It could shift 1800 kilos in one load whereas the Cessna can only shift 400 kilos.
The Christmas celebrations were a little different this year. Instead of eating the usual sweet potato, pork and vegies at the feasts, it was eating rice off a banana leaf with very little else. But it was a good time for fellowship.
The past week we have all come down with a bump as a new strain of flu has hit the valley. So many are sick. Because of their weakened condition they are not bouncing back as usual. Pneumonia and chest complaints have plagued the babies and older folk. The in-between age groups have had vomiting and diarrhoea with flu symptoms. I succumbed to it, and it knocked me flat for three days. I’m not sure what age bracket I should be in???
It takes a long time to recover from a drought of such gravity but people are resilient. Another 21 months passed before Jessie could report:
Yesterday an excited man came to tell me to praise the Lord that the pandanus nut trees are loaded with fruit. They should have a bumper crop this year. Many trees died or were burnt during the drought. This will be the first good crop since then. It will be a great blessing to everyone as they are short of potatoes and the nuts are rich in protein and oil.
25. Jessie’s two worlds
I did not drive in Sydney. I chickened out and caught the train. Much safer for everyone.
The missionaries helped bring the outside world to remote parts of West Papua changing forever the world of the Indigenous population caught at the interface between cultures and beliefs. Yet the missionaries were also crossing a cultural divide, particularly long-term placements like Jessie. They lived in remote villages close to the people they were there to serve.
They had their own small, but tightly knit expatriate community which they relied heavily on for mutual support, particularly in time of crisis, ill-health and other personal difficulties. Most had home countries that they returned to during year-long furloughs that fell due every four years. Jessie was a Melbourne girl, and that became her base during the extended stays home in Australia. West Papua was modernizing at a steady but gradually increasing rate, from stone-age to a more modern society with a growing Christian community and the steady introduction of both Indonesian and western customs and concepts. Australia too was changing from the insular, inward looking, overwhelmingly Christian, Anglo-Saxon country Jessie left in 1966, to the modern, vibrant, increasingly confident, secular and multicultural society it is today. Jessie worked hard to maintain her Australian links with family, friends and supporters, traveling extensively and sharing her experiences whenever she returned to the country.
Time is flying fast as I get back into the swing of living here in Australia again. I have had the use of the mission car which has been a great help in getting round to visit people and also to take meetings. The little yellow ‘colt’ and I are getting broken in together. After four years of not driving it isn’t easy to get back into the hurly burly of traffic again. When I got home it was suggested that it would be a good idea for me to join the ambulance fund! I’ll let you decide on the reason why.
After a very busy time of deputations in Victoria I am now in central New South Wales. I have been so thankful for caring friends who offered to drive me north of Parkes to Nyngen, Bourke, Wee Waa, Gunnedah and Dubbo as they are long hours on the road with only the kangaroos and emus for company. I have just spent time in Sydney but was not brave enough to drive through it. I decided to leave the car at Katoomba and go by train. I set aside a day so that I could be at my niece’s wedding which was a special day as I usually miss out on most of the family special times because I am too far away. I would value your prayer as I continue to travel around the Sydney area and then fly onto Queensland in July and back to Tasmania in August. I am planning to have some time off in September before flying back to Irian Jaya. (June 1992)
It is 30 years since I had a Christmas in Melbourne so it is special for me. Just six weeks before I left (West Papua) I was out taking the dog for a walk one evening when I slipped and fell. I guessed I had fractured my wrist. Of course it was too late to contact anyone that night so I bandaged it up and waited until morning to contact the mission doctor. He suggested an x-ray but first I had to get a plane to fly the one-and-a-half hours to get to Senggo Hospital. After the x-ray the doctor put me in plaster and I had to wait four days before I could get back to Korupun. (December 1996)
While homecomings were always eagerly anticipated they didn’t always bring the rest and recreation Jessie expected.
The saga all started when I returned home and some of my friends spoilt me by making some very special meals with lots of cream cheese in them. My poor old gall bladder wasn’t used to coping with such rich food and rebelled by giving me some uncomfortable nights. Then to add insult to injury one of the gall stones decided he wanted to move house and got stuck in the bile duct. This caused great concern and pain until it moved on and lodged somewhere else. Medical advice was that if it happened again whilst I was in Irian Jaya it would be quite dangerous, so I am happy to leave them behind me. It was quite a different experience to be on the other side of the sheets for a change. I was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn’t as bad as expected. The new ‘keyhole’ surgery certainly makes convalescence much quicker as they don’t cut through any muscles. I was out in two days. At the moment I am still recuperating and have been thankful for all the good nurses and the open homes to help me convalesce.
It is always hard to get back into the traffic again after not driving for four years. Lots of new road rules and highways to get me confused. I have finally learnt how to negotiate the new ring road without causing a major traffic jam. (June 1997)
Jessie prudently planned for eventual retirement back in Melbourne and as the years crept by, that planning was bearing fruit.
Some of you have been asking about the status of my unit for my retirement. I have had tenants in it helping to pay off the mortgage and I do praise the Lord that it is now paid off. I will need some alterations, new carpets, etc. before I move in, but I am not exactly sure when that will be. (June 1997)
Vera had long been the conduit between Jessie and her Australian network, retyping hundreds of her sister’s prayer letters and other news from West Papua, and mailing them out on Jessie’s behalf. Later that year Vera shared more information on Jessie’s retirement plans.
‘A big decision for us as well as Jessie. Ken and I have decided to have our home demolished and have two units built on the block – one for us and one for Jessie. Both homes needed to be updated and this way we will both end up with homes that hopefully ‘will see us out!’ Plans for both units are with the local council waiting for approval to build. Jessie will sell her existing unit to finance her new unit. Many of you have spoken of contributing to her unit when she retires. Now is the time to do it as extras cost money – i.e. curtains, carpets, light fittings. Another sister, Jean Dundas, is overseeing the building of Jessie’s unit. If you would like to contribute please send gifts to Jean but made payable to ‘Jessie Williamson’ so that they can go directly to Jessie’s account.’
The transition to retirement always takes some adjustment - much more so when the two worlds you inhabit are so wide apart.
This year will also hold a lot of changes for
me as I will be retiring from Irian at the end of the year. I will probably be working in the mission office a few days a week, as well as doing deputations when I get home. Do pray that I will make this year count for His glory and that everything that has been planned will get done. Pray too that I will be mentally and physically prepared for the transition. (March 2000)
Sue and I are praising the Lord that our new visas have been granted for another year. I was particularly glad to receive mine so that I could come home for my annual medical and also to see my sister Vera who has just recently been diagnosed with leukemia. She has just had one course of chemo and is due for another next month. She is in remission at present. (June 2000)
While Vera battled leukemia, Jessie moved towards inevitable retirement from the field.
I would value your prayer as I start to clear out 30+ years of stuff I have accumulated, wither to send it, lend it or give it to whoever has the biggest need. It all takes time. I guess I will have a big bonfire in the end. I hope to be home in January. Do pray for me in these last few months that I will be able to do all that I have planned. Pray for all the different ones who will be taking over new responsibilities in the next three months as we plan to close the station. I will need your prayers in a new life as I try to settle into life at home in Melbourne. It is always a traumatic experience to get back into a car and into traffic plus learning my way round the new freeways and highways. Thank you so much for your support over the past 35 years. I will continue to need your support for a couple more years yet as I plan to be working part time in the Mission Office. (September 2000)
26. Earthquakes
I woke at 12.15 am (19 January 1981) to find my bed rocking violently, the house shaking, cracking and moaning.
Geologists now believe the earth’s crust is comprised of a series of about 40 mostly large plates that crush against each other with incredible force. The northern edge of the Australian Plate runs from Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean in the west to New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean to the east where it turns south towards New Zealand. The route of this seismic belt is commonly referred to as the ‘Pacific Rim of Fire’. It is one of the most seismically active zones on earth, experiencing a third of all recorded earthquakes on our planet. The ‘Rim of Fire’ virtually dissects the island of New Guinea from west to east. Somewhere close to Korupun the northern rim of the Australian Plate presses flush against the mighty Pacific Plate, the largest of the crust plates covering a touch more than 20 per cent of the earth’s surface. Over eons of time the pressure of these plates pushing against each other created the mighty mountain chain that runs along the spine of the island of New Guinea.
Jessie probably gave no thought to the powerful forces shifting beneath her when she bedded down on the night of Sunday 18 January. To that point the forces moving deep within the earth’s surface would have been imperceptible even though, in geological terms, the Australian Plate was pushing north-north-east at a breakneck speed of six to seven centimetres a year. The pressure was building and something was about to give. At 15 minutes after midnight a large earthquake registering 6.8 on the Richter scale shook Jessie’s mountain domain.
Before I was properly awake I was out of bed and headed toward the back door. It was like trying to walk on board a ship in a gale. Things falling off the shelves, with plates and cups tumbling out of cupboards made my progress an obstacle race. Such a mess to clean up later. As I tried to open the door I was flung against it, banging my nose and spraining my wrist. At last I was outside the house and wondering if the house would hold together. Shivering in my pyjamas with bare feet and the rain pouring down, made life rather uncomfortable. After what seemed a long time to me, in reality a few minutes, it settled down somewhat, and I ventured inside to get a torch, coat and gumboots to go down and see how Elinor had fared. She had polio as a child and is a little unsteady on her feet. She stayed in bed. We turned on the radio to see if anyone else had been affected. Lolat (Seng Valley) and Holowon both came on to say they were shaken but OK. The centre of the earthquake was between Lolat and Korupun in the Solo Valley. So our two stations were the most shook up. Others barely felt it.
We continued to have tremors and aftershocks about every 15 minutes all night so we didn’t get a great deal of sleep. Just as I was dozing off about 4 am there was a terrific roar from the mountain near my home. Then the sound of tearing and rending as part of the side of the mountain gave way in a large landslide. It hit the river with a tremendous thud, sending dust and spray billowing 200 feet into the air. The next morning we looked around the valley and there were about 10 landslides. One has come perilously near the village. Two women were reported missing but were later found.
The earthquake’s epicentre was in Yali country between the valleys of the Seng River to the west and its tributary the Solo River to the east. This placed the epicentre some 25-40 kilometres west of Korupun. Where Korupun was badly shaken the Solo Valley was devastated. Official figures put the death toll at about 300, though it may well have been higher. Thousands of others were hurt, lost their homes and crops and many were forced off their land.
Although it was bad here, it is nothing to the devastation in the Solo Valley. They say the whole valley is denuded of vegetation and looks very like the Grand Canyon. Ten villages were either swept away or destroyed and most of the people from all of these villages have disappeared under the landslides. A few people have been miraculously saved and the helicopter has picked them up and placed them all together. Thus in a valley of approximately 2000 population there are now very few. In the next valley from us one house and family were swept away by the landslide. The father managed amazingly to escape. The next morning as they were viewing the scene of the disaster they suddenly heard a child crying. Investigating, they discovered the child still alive under the landslide and they were able to dig her out. They said she was curled up like a little worm in the earth with no injuries except fright. In another incident a boy was buried up to his neck and was safely dug out the next morning. Ones and twos here and there but the majority suddenly swept into eternity.
Two of our villages closer to the Solo Valley were badly affected and a runner came in next day with news that the people were stranded between landslides with no food. Their gardens had been swept away, the landslide is still moving and it is unsafe to travel. They were hungry. Elinor and I went by MAF helicopter to take them food and to check the injured. We took rice, potatoes, vitamins, soup and pots to cook in…. One lady had been killed by a falling rock and another badly injured after her house collapsed on her. We brought her back with us in the helicopter. (January 1981)
Les Henson also has vivid memories of the earthquake and its aftermath:
‘The sides of the Seng Valley, I think south of Lolat, collapsed with landslides and formed a large lake, which burst open about two to three weeks after the initial earthquake and sent a mini tsunami into the lowlands. The Akin River on which we were located at Sumo rose 20 feet inside one hour.’
It was a difficult time in the quake zone with the missions, as always, playing a central role in relief efforts. Jessie kept her network informed on progress.
My sincere thanks to those of you who were able to help us with our earthquake needs….We hope to slowly start phasing out the rice supplement after the next six weeks. Their gardens should be producing sufficient then. We have had a very long dry season this year and that has been very helpful for those needing to build new homes and gardens. (May 1981)
Earthquakes were an unfortunate fact of life in West Papua. On 1 August 1989, at 9.17 am local time, another earthquake – this one registering 6.0 on the Richter scale – struck in Dani and Yali areas in the Lower Grand Valley west of Korupun. This quake also caused serious landslides and flooding which claimed 120 lives. All of the dead were recovered from the villages of Holowon, Pasema and Soba where Jessie’s friend Sue Trenier lived.
Last month we had an earthquake and its centre was at Soba which is
30 air-miles from here. We were all down at the airstrip saying goodbye to some visitors when the ground started to heave and rock under our feet. The plane started to sway and the pilot thought it was a pig in the pod jumping around until he saw his passenger absolutely terrified covering their heads with their arms. We had no real damage here but the Soba area was devastated. Sue was in her office when it struck. She said it felt like a giant hand had hit the side of the house knocking them off their feet and sprawling across the room. Books and papers were flying around and Sue lost her glasses in the melee. They all rushed out to the airstrip for safety. The other mission house fell down and Sue’s was leaning at a 45 degree angle. Then one by one the landslides started to rumble and gather momentum on all sides. The mountains were quickly divested of all vegetation, people, gardens and houses. The debris from the landslides blocked up the big Baliem River and dammed back the water making a big lake. This was a concern in case it broke and took more villages with it.
The MAF helicopter happened to be in the area and the plane that had taken off from here was there in 10 minutes. As soon as he got back to Wamena David (the pilot) jumped out of his plane into the other helicopter and took off. He had picked up John Wilson to act as eyes and MAF swung into action as a search and rescue operation as soon as the dust settled from the initial landslides. John said the pilots were fantastic as they hovered over with just one skid on a rock on the steep mountains. They had to be careful not to hit the mountain with the rotor blades. John would then jump out and check the people, and if alive, help them into the helicopter. The people they found stranded or injured were then taken to Sue for assessment and either taken to hospital or taken to a safer village which had not been affected.