The District Commissioner
Addendum 14: Lieutentant Colonel Sydney Elliot-Smith
Additional information for Chapter 3 - A new chum in Papua and Yodda, gold, rubber and cattle
and Chapter 28 – On the Sepik and getting used to being a Dad
Syd Elliott-Smith (10 August, 1900 to 1974) came to Papua in 1928 as a Patrol Officer, and was the Resident Magistrate at Samarai before the war.
He was the Head of the Papuan Civil Administrative Unit (PAU) in Port Moresby February 1942 to April 1942, and went on to play an important part in the formation of ANGAU. He was Commanding Officer of the 1st Papuan Infantry Battalion from 1944 to 1946.
He served as a District Commissioner of the Sepik District. He was sworn in as Acting District Commissioner of the Northern Division on 12 March 1951 to work on the recovery and resettlement after the Mt Lamington volcano eruption.
His final rank in the Australian Army was Lieutenant Colonel, Service Number P196, PX134.
The Myola Lakes were named by Bert Kienzle after his wife Mrs Myola Elliott-Smith.
The photo is of Native Affairs Officer Sydney Elliott-Smith in July, 1949 per the website The Pilbara Aboriginal Strike www.pilbarastrike.org
The document above was sourced from the Australian War Memorial website at www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1571700
The photo above is of Syd Elliott-Smith in his pilot’s garb
It is most likely dated in the early 1950’s and is from the PNG Attitude Keith Jackson & Friends newsletter 8 August, 2016 written by Bill Brown MBE “A Kiap’s Chronicle : 11 Vanimo” sourced from www.pngattitude.com/2016/08/a-kiaps-chronicle-12-vanimo.html