When The Garamuts Beat A Memoir of Fifty Years in Bougainville

This is a memoir about adventure, faith, and peril that will interest anyone captivated by Pacific history, the impacts of WWII, and the social change that ensued. WWII brought catastrophic hardship to Bougainvilleans. Missionaries such as Miltrup, who remained behind after nearly all the European civilians fled the islands, experienced those same hardships. Being a German national was no guarantee of safety. During his years of captivity under Japanese occupation, Miltrup narrowly avoided execution twice before making a dramatic escape in 1945. With the aid of Coast Watcher Paul Mason and his Bougainville commandos, Fr Miltrup walked barefoot across the mountains to the Allied forces based at Torokina. This memoir also deals with the tumultuous changes that followed the war, as PNG and Bougainville embraced self-determination in the closing years of Australia's colonial administration. There's a lot in the book about Buin culture and a way of life pre-WWII. Franz Miltrup's life was one of total commitment and love for the people he chose to spend his life with.

About the Author :
Christine is an Australian indie author who is drawn to social history and life writing, Christine is a regular blogger with the Genealogy Society of Queensland and other family history sites. Her first book is on the Wall family, featuring William Wall, who was transported in 1835 to the colony of Van Diemen's Land. Titled The Wall Family: weaving the threads of memories, the book is in its second print run with E-books available through Kobo and the Leonard Stories website.Another project saw Christine editing and contributing with additional stories to the memoir written by the late Fr Franz Miltrup sm, a German priest who spent 50 years in Bougainville from 1938. Fr Miltrup died in 1996 after writing his memoir in Tok Pisin. Christine helped Fr Harry Moore sm translate the manuscript into English after which she edited it, to publish When the Garamuts Beat-A Memoir Of Fifty Years In Bougainville. This title is available through the Leonard Stories website. A PDF version is also available.Christine has also contributed chapters in two anthologies. One published in May 2025 by Convict Women's Press, is titled 'Convict Lives: Mothers' Trials and Triumphs', edited by Alison Alexander and Ros Escott. The second anthology is titled The Dinner, published by Women Writers Queensland in 2024. She also writes blogs and short stories for the Queensland Genealogy Society.

Review :
"In the early hours of this morning, I finished the wonderful book that you spent so many months organising. It is a real credit to you Christine. Franz would be thrilled with what you and Harry have done. I found it hard to put down and read it in a few days. So thank you so much from the bottom of my heart". Margaret T. "It was a mighty good read, especially concerning his relationship with various Japanese officers who treated him with respect....The other thing that hit me with the book was the dedication of so many people to their mission for their whole life. I knew many such people from my time as a didiman around New Britain and New Ireland so the catalogue of those who spent their life on the mission was very interesting. Miltrup seems to have lived in a degree of poverty, maybe a Marist habit." Jack B. "For all of us who are familiar with Bougainville and with mission life, it is indeed a fantastic read. I hope it is a best seller. Once more congratulations". Edmund D. "I have finally started reading Franz Miltrup's memoir. I just seemed to always have a reason for not starting it; but I finally have and now I sit up late at night. It is a fabulous story and wonderfully edited. I am now finding reasons to pick it up and continue". Dennis D.