"I will stay with the Fathers and Sisters."
AT SANGARA mission station in Papua New Guinea there stands a
row of graves: two of Australian women, Mavis Parkinsonand May
Hayman, and a third of Lucian Tapiedi.
Tapiedi was born in 1921/2, in the village of Taupota, on the
north coast of Papua. His father was a sorcerer, who died when
his sons were still young. He was taught at mission schools and
then, in 1939, he entered St Aidan's teacher training college.
Here Tapiedi became known as a diligent and cheerful presence,
fond of physical recreation but also musical. In 1941 he became
part of the staff at Sangara as a teacher and evangelist.
In December 1941 Japanese forces attacked the American fleet
at Pearl Harbour. In the same month they invaded Malaya. British
forces capitulated in Singapore in February 1942. The
missionaries who lived in New Guinea watched events anxiously,
and feared the worst. In January 1942 the Anglican bishop, Philip
Strong, had broadcast an appeal to them to stay at their work,
come what may. Many of the missionaries themselves wished this,
and had already resisted calls to turn to safety.
On 21 July 1942 the Japanese invaded the island near the
mission station at Gona. Three of the residents, Parkinson,
Hayman and James Benson, fled inland and there encountered other
Australians in hiding. But they were soon caught. The soldiers
murdered Hayman and Parkinson at Popondetta.
In Northern Papua, meanwhile, a second group of missionaries
struggled to evade capture. Among them was Lucian Tapiedi, who
was determined not to abandon the missionaries with whom he
worked. In a few days this group swelled to ten people. They came
to a village inhabited by the Orokaiva people, and found
themselves escorted away by men of that tribe. One of the
Orokaiva, a man named Hivijapa, killed Tapiedi near a stream by
Kurumbo village. The remainder of the group perished soon after;
six of them beheaded by the Japanese on Buna beach.
333 Christians lost their lives in New Guinea during the
invasion and occupation of the island by the Japanese forces. The
greatest number of those who died - 198 - were Roman Catholics.
But there were also Methodists, Salvationists, Lutherans,
Anglicans, members of the Evangelical Church of Manus, and
Seventh Day Adventists among the dead.
Now a shrine marks the place where Lucian Tapiedi died. His
killer later converted to Christianity. He took the name Hivijapa
Lucian, and built a church dedicated to the memory of his victim
at Embi.