Private Harold Edward Newman, TX1192, of the 2/33rd Australian Infantry Battalion stops for a drink during a patrol between Nauro and Menari, Papua, New Guinea, November 1942.
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Harold was born in Hobart, Tasmania, in April 1916, and grew up in the township of St Mary's, on Tasmania's north-east coast.
He enlisted the day after he turned 24 in 1940. Eight weeks later in June, the close-knit community held a farewell party for Harold and another local, Private Robert Cooke.
The 2/33rd Infantry Battalion was one of three formed in the United Kingdom on 27 June 1940 to create the 25th Infantry Brigade. It initially saw action in the Near East, in Palestine.
It was likely as a result of action here - possible during the northward push in Lebanon and Syria in June 1941 - that Harold was reported as missing. Further details would come to hand a few weeks later that he was no longer missing, but rather had been wounded in action.
The 2/33rd returned to Australia for a period of leave and training before embarking for Papua in early 1942 to reinforce Australian units already fighting along the Japanese along the Kokoda track.
It was here, high up along the track in the Owen Stanley ranges, that Harold was caught by photographer Thomas Fisher in this casual photo, as he fills an empty tin from a stream near Menari, along the Kokoda track.
The remainder of his wartime experience beyond this image remains unclear, largely owning to his service records not having been made accessible. The WWII nominal rolls however note that he was made a Prisoner of War, though this is not verified by other databases. If it was true, he survived the ordeal, for he was discharged with the rank of corporal on 29 March 1945.
Aged 72, Harold died on 8 Feb 1989 and was buried in his home town of St. Mary's, Tasmania.
The original black and white photographic of this evocative scene has been used as the cover image for the latest edition of the Australian War Memorial's 'Wartime' magazine, always well worth a read:
http://ow.ly/3ZmE50JVtZN
Photographer: Thomas Fisher
