Department of Veterans' Affairs 2010
The Japanese objective in 1942 - Port Moresby, as it is today.
[On a point protruding into the sea, high-rise buildings stand near a tropical harbour. Wharves stretch into the blue water. Buildings cover the tree-clad slopes of nearby hills. The coastline curves inland. Cargo ships sit between Port Moresby and the tree-clad hills across the bay.]
VOICEOVER: Today, Port Moresby is a peaceful place. With a thriving port, and central business district, it is nothing like it was in 1942. Then, as the main objective of the Japanese in Papua, it was bombed from the air over a hundred times. More than its airfields, storage facilities, and a fresh water supply, the Japanese desired this harbour. From here, should the Japanese so decide, their fleet could launch an invasion of Australia. Without this harbour in their hands, that was not possible.
[Further into the harbour, houses on stilts crowd the shallow waters of a cove. Many houses in the coastal village have rusted roofs. A cargo ship waits nearby. Across the harbour, the sea is visible beyond the tree-clad slopes.]
VOICEOVER: Allied anti-aircraft positions still lie on the surrounding hills. The wreck of the MV Macdui. sunk by air attack on 17 June 1942, can still be seen in the harbour.
[A painting of a burning warship fades into the blue waters of the modern-day harbour.]