Escorted by a platoon of ex-servicemen, the wreath party marched to the monument. Rev. A. R. McVittie said a prayer of thanksgiving, and the Dean of Newcastle (Very Rev. A. D. Morris) offered prayers of commemoration. Flags were lowered while the fresh wreath was set in position among the faded flowers of Anzac Day and a bugler sounded "The Last Post."

A brief silence while soldiers of another generation stood shoulder to shoulder with soldiers of this war, remembering absent comrades; while mothers and fathers, young wives and small children waited with bowed heads until "Reveille" broke the spell. The flags were raised, a shaft of sunshine fell across the wreath, turning dewdrops on it into sparkling diamonds. Victory had come. The names engraved on the stone and in the hearts of the men and women who stood there was its price.

Messages from the British Prime Minister (Mr. Churchill) were received by the Acting Prime Minister (Mr. Chifley).

They were addressed to the Prime Minister (Mr. Curtin) and were later communicated to him in hospital, where he is maintaining his progress.

Mr. Churchill said: "Today we celebrate the final defeat of the first of our two chief enemies. On this occasion, on behalf of the Government and people of the United Kingdom, I convey to our brothers in Australia our cordial congratulations on their part in this great achievement. The people of these islands now, after five years and eight months, are relieved from imminent danger, remember with gratitude the steadfast support which throughout their ordeal has come from Australia and are resolved to persevere to the end in all measures needed to destroy our second enemy. We do not forget the contributions which the armed forces of Australia have made nor the immense exertions with which, despite the close approach of war to their shores, the people of Australia have continued to produce the supplies of munitions and food necessary to maintain our joint efforts. We can look forward with confidence to the day, not far distant, when once again we can turn all our energies to the arts of peace and to the building of a new prosperity founded on freedom and security."

The Minister for the Navy (Mr. Makin) announced that, in the five and a half years of war against Germany at sea, 871 R.A.N. personnel were killed or died of wounds, or were missing, and presumed dead. Another 26 were wounded.

Those figures, Mr. Makin said, did not take into account naval casualties in the war against Japan. In that sphere 472 R.A.N. personnel were killed or died of wounds, or were missing and presumed dead, including 30 who died while prisoners of war. Those now known to be prisoners of war in Japanese hands totalled 265.

Out of 26 Royal Australian Navy personnel taken prisoner by the Germans all but three are known to be free, said Mr. Makin. He added that, considering the Royal Australian Navy's contribution to the war against Germany, the total of 26 taken prisoner was remarkably small.

Plans for an invasion of the Japanese homeland are now being drawn up by the Allied Chiefs of Staff in Washington. The mass movement of troops from Europe to the Pacific is about to begin.

"Japan will be hit with everything we have," Admiral Nimitz told correspondents at Guam. Ground holdings in the Pacific would be expanded to provide for great fleets of bombers from Europe. There were not enough airfields available at present to support them, he said.

A U.S. War Department spokesman indicated that transport planes and all available surface ships would be used to accelerate the movement of troops from Europe to the Pacific. General MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief of Army forces in the Pacific, hailed the prospect that his command would be reinforced.

"By those vast, powerful resources of war that have been employed on the battlefields of Europe," he said, "the Japanese Empire will the more speedily be vanquished and with greater economy in American and Allied lives."

Catalinas had done more than any other type of aircraft in aiding the winning of the war in the Pacific, said Wing Commander W. K. Bolitho DFC MID USDFC, speaking at Newcastle Legacy Club.

Wing Commander Bolitho speaks from experience. He was 17 months with No. 11 Catalina Squadron, which bombed Rabaul when Hudson and Catalinas were the only opposition to the Japanese. His 3000 operational flying hours are the highest for any R.A.A.F. pilot in the South-west Pacific area. He has taken part in low-level mine-laying trips to the Dutch Indies and other islands. Friends say he finished one mine-laying trip by flying down the main street at 150 feet as Japanese left a picture show. There was little glamour attached to Catalinas, he said, and many Air Force officers looked on them with scorn. They had few patches of glory such as came to other planes, but they were well in the front when Japan entered the war, and they were even farther in front now.

"The people in Moresby said Catalinas and Hudsons saved Australia," he said.

Wing Commander Bolitho told how, long before the Japanese came into the war, Catalinas had a chain of bases round Australia for reconnaissance and survey work.

When Japan entered the war they were engaged in more intensive reconnaissance work. They also bombed Rabaul when Hudsons and Catalinas were the only opposition to the Japanese.

It was at this time that the sguadrons benefited from having the Qantas pilots who were with them, he said. These men were not only experienced fliers, but they passed on their spirit to the less experienced R.A.A.F. men. "They did not know what it meant to turn back," said Wing Commander Bolitho.

Catalinas were also engaged on reconnaissance work over the Coral Sea. "At one stage only one 'Cat' was serviceable in the South Pacific area. A second was later made serviceable, but when the skipper of this became ill the captain of the first 'Cat' took over both crews. In a month he piled up about 280 flying hours," said Wing Commander Bolitho.

The Coral Sea reconnaissance ended with the Coral Sea battle, and Catalinas began raids against Tulagi. These were followed by nuisance raids over the islands and then by the "milk run" flights over the Bismarck Sea.

Catalinas were now engaged in low-level mine-laying, said Wing Commander Bolitho. "This is the biggest work they have tackled yet," he said.

In a combined land and amphibious operation, troops of the Australian Sixth Division have captured Wewak Peninsula and Wewak airfield in an all-out assault aimed at the seizure of the major Japanese base in New Guinea - the town of Wewak itself. In the face of strong enemy opposition, says the Department of the Army, the Australian assault forces have driven halfway across the shoreline of Wewak Harbour toward Wewak Mission Point.

The Sixth Division was supported by ships of the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy, and planes of the R.A.A.F. and U.S. Army Air Corps. The Australian drive has resulted in an advance of approximately 100 miles, despite extreme difficulties of terrain and unprecedented weather conditions. For the first time, as a result of the Wewak operation, a substantial enemy force in the area has been isolated from contact, except by radio, with any other Japanese base. The final assault along the coast synchronised with the amphibious landing on a sand beach in Dove Bay, about 10 miles east of Wewak.

The coastal force captured the entire peninsula and drove to within a few hundred yards of the airstrip. The amphibious operation comprised the Sixth Division, commandos and infantry, supported by machine-gunners, artillery mortars and engineers, and covered by intensive shelling from the Royal Navy cruiser H.M.S. Newfoundland, and H.M.A.S Hobart, Warramunga, Arunta, Swan, Colac and Dubbo.

The beachhead was secured within an hour of zero, and the landing party immediately cut off the Japanese escape route.

Japanese casualties are believed to be heavy.

The capture of Wewak will provide a protected harbourage and greatly relieve the supply problem. There were no wharfage or port facilities at Aitape, and all supplies had to be brought ashore by barge through a heavy surf, which frequently compelled the complete suspension of lighterage.

General MacArthur's communique covering this operation said that portion of the Sixth Division landed on the coast of north-west New Guinea, east of Wewak. Simultaneously other units of the Sixth Division drove rapidly along the coast toward Wewak.

"The success of this operation, aimed at the seizure of Wewak and the capture of the airstrips, will drive the remnants of the enemy's already isolated forces back into the mountains.

"Systematic neutralisation of isolated enemy remnants in the Solomons and New Ireland continued," the communique disclosed.

No Australian Army force has ever been so well equipped for a particular operation as the Ninth Division in Borneo, the commander of the First Australian Corps, Lieut.-General Sir Leslie Morshead, reported to the Acting Prime Minister (Mr. Chifley).

General Morshead added that he was more than satisfied with the achievements of the forces from every aspect. This report was one of two sources of information quoted by Mr Chifley in the House of Representatives in answer to criticisms attributed to American naval observers on the equipment of the Ninth Division.

Mr Chifley said he had now been informed by General MacArthur that he had received a message from Vice-Admiral Barbey, saying that the statements attributed to him were not correct.

Admiral Barbey is General MacArthur's chief amphibious expert, and his name was linked with the original criticisms of the equipments.

Mr Chifley said General Morshead had reported that the criticisms were unfounded.

General Morshead had said that the heavy equipment was essentially the same as that used by the Americans, and that the quantity was not less than that used by them in an operation of the same size. All requirements for amphibious shipping and equipment were met from United States sources. The types and quantities of shipping supplied were suitable and adequate for the task, and compared favourably with that provided for a United States task force of similar size in this type of operations.

A large A.W.A.S. contingent, the first to serve outside Australia, is now stationed at a big New Guinea base. All are volunteers and are between 21 and 35, with the exception of the officers, for whom the age limit is 40.

Aubrey Richard Train, Merriwa; Clarence George Weller, Pelaw Main; Wilbur Lloyd George Flowers, Wickham; Desmond Green, Cooks Hill; Ronald Edward Jones, Mayfield; Percy Nelson, Hamilton; Robert John Shaw, Cessnock; Edna Jean Cronk, Hamilton; Ruth Kingston, Dungog; Eric Robert Stevenson, Cessnock; Eric Albert Broadbent, Adamstown; Charles Douglas Dewey, Tighes Hill; James Flavin, Scone; Douglas Reginald Gulliver, East Maitland; Allan Geoffrey Street, Mayfield.

Private Jack Dudley Collison, Moonan Flat; Private Clarence Joseph Murphy, Murrurundi; Gunner Robert Arthur King, Cardiff. POW; Sergeant Frederick Maitland O'Loughlin, Holmesville.