One of the many surprises in the wide ranging library of the Genealogical Society of the Northern Territory , Darwin , is a small holding of the Guinea Gold newspaper produced for Australian and American troops in New Guinea .
The above front page is dated May 23, l943. A nurse is shown looking after a doctor suffering burns , a survivor from the Australian hospital ship Centaur , sunk by a Japanese submarine off Moreton Island on May 14,1943 , with the loss of 268 lives . The Guinea Gold photograph was supplied by the Brisbane Telegraph
The following shots show the production line within the paper from editorial to the linotype setter and the flatbed press being prepared with the help of a Papuan . Those named below , from the left ,are Major R.B.Leonard (standing), editor , from Melbourne , and Lieutenant J.D. Holdsworthy, of Sydney .
Reginald Byron Leonard (1907-1986), a seasoned political reporter and former Melbourne Herald deputy- chief of staff , also headed RAAF public relations.
In 1942, in Papua as a war correspondent , he suggested a four page paper be started by the Army in Port Moresby for troops cut off from reliable news . This resulted in him being made a major and given the task of launching the paper . In later life he was deeply involved in radio, television and newspapers, eventually knighted.
The caption said Guinea Gold helped keep the morale of troops high in New Guinea . Consisting of two editions - Australian and American - the latter included one page of home news from the USA.
