W.J. (Jack) Read joined the Australian administration of the Mandated Territory of New Guinea as a Cadet arriving in Rabaul on the SS Montoro on 11 July 1929. During his long and distinguished career Jack Read worked in most parts of the Territory:
Jul 1929-Mar 1931 – Cadet PO New Britain
Mar- Dec 1931 – Sydney
Mar 1932-Jun 1933 – Patrol Officer, Ambunti, Sepik River
Jun-Dec 1933 – Patrol Officer, Madang (Bogia)
Mar 1934-Dec 1935 – Assistant District Officer, Madang (Bogia)
Nov 1936-Sep 1938 – ADO, Madang
Jan 1939-Dec 1940 – ADO, Wau
Nov 1941-Feb 1942 – ADO Buka Passage
Feb 1942 – Sergeant, ANGAU
Apr 1942-Jul 1943 – Lieutenant, RAN, in Northern Bougainville
Aug-Sep 1943 - Lieutenant, RAN, in Guadalcanal
Sep 1943-Sep 1944 - Lieutenant, RAN, in Noumea and Brisbane
Sep 1944-Jun 1946 – Major, ANGAU, in Bougainville
Jun-Oct 1946 – District Officer, Bougainville
Oct 1946-Dec 1949 – Dictrict Commissioner, New Ireland
Jan-Dec 1950 long leave and retirement
… - Oct 1952 – Naval Office, Melbourne
Oct 1952-Mar 1975 – Native Lands Commissioner / Land Titles Commissioner, Rabaul (brief spell in Madang).

These papers mainly consist of W.J. (Jack) Read’s pre-World War II patrol reports and associated papers, as follows, together with five photographs:
• Kokopo Sub-District and adjacent areas, New Britain, 1930-1931;
• Ambunti, Sepik District, 1932;
• Bogia, Cape Gordon to the Ramu River, Ulingan, Dugumor, Manam, Boisa and Karkar Islands, and elsewhere in the Madang District, 1933-1938
• Wau and Lae Sub-Districts, Morobe District, 1940
See Finding aids for details.

See also PMB 1245 for Report by W. J. Read on coast watching activity Bougainville Island, 1941-1943.

Jack Read joined the Australian administration of the Mandated Territory of New Guinea as a Cadet in 1929. He worked as Patrol Officer in most parts of the Territory, having covered New Britain and the mainland from the Sepik River to the Morobe Goldfields, but had not been located in Bougainville until his appointment in November 1941 as Assistant District Officer in charge of the Buka Passage Sub-District, under District Officer Merrylees. Following the Japanese entry into the War on 8 Dec 1941, Read helped evacuate most European residents from Buka, established inland dumps of emergency provisions and shifted his administration to Bougainville island just before a Japanese attack on the Sub-District HQ on Sohano island on 24 January 1942. Following the winding up of civil administration in February 1942, Read, the only remaining government representative, was appointed Lieutenant in the Australian Navy under Lt Commander Feldt with instructions to remain in Bougainville as a coastwatcher.

Photocopy of original typescript. Parts I-XI and appendices A-L, includes detailed contents list; Ts., foolscap, 148pp. Appendix M, ‘Map of Bougainville’, missing. Front sheet signed by Jack Read and dated 9 July 1974.