Bet and Hank are en-route to Sydney aboard a steamship, MV Reynella, which seems to want to visit just about everywhere else. A stop in Lae, New Guinea, affords Bet the opportunity to catch-up with an old school friend, Jeanette Leahy and her husband, Mick. (Image: Lae War Cemetary)

Bet and Hank are en-route to Sydney aboard a steamship, MV Reynella, which seems to want to visit just about everywhere else. A stop in Lae, New Guinea, affords Bet the opportunity to catch-up with an old school friend, Jeanette Leahy and her husband, Mick. (Image: Lae War Cemetary)

Bet and Hank are en-route to Sydney aboard a steamship, MV Reynella, which seems to want to visit just about everywhere else. A stop in Lae, New Guinea, affords Bet the opportunity to catch-up with an old school friend, Jeanette Leahy and her husband, Mick. (Image: Lae War Cemetary)
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Episode 54 - 5 February 1947: Port of Call, Lae, New Guinea

This series tells the story of UNRRA, The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, the first and largest international aid effort in human history. It's told through the eyes and letters of one of its staff, 29 year old Australian girl, Betty Souter.

Few people now living have ever heard of UNRRA or the extraordinary urgent work it performed as the tide of World War 2  turned in favour of the allied nations. Millions upon countless millions of people were displaced, starving and homeless. They had no water, no power, and no hope.

Interestingly, It’s a story that’s just as relevant today as our world faces its own challenges of political divisions, inequities, hunger, pandemic, and impending displacements of whole populations due to changing climate and rising sea levels.

History

This series tells the story of UNRRA, The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, the first and largest international aid effort in human history. It's told through the eyes and letters of one of its staff, 29 year old Australian girl, Betty Souter. Few people now living have ever heard of UNRRA or the extraordinary urgent work it performed as the tide of World War 2 turned in favour of the allied nations. Millions upon countless millions of people were displaced, starving and homeless. They had no water, no power, and no hope. Interestingly, It’s a story that’s just as relevant today as our world faces its own challenges of political divisions, inequities, hunger, pandemic, and impending displacements of whole populations due to changing climate and rising sea levels.

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Episode 54 - 5 February 1947: Port of Call, Lae, New Guinea

Episode 54 - 5 February 1947: Port of Call, Lae, New Guinea