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Never more to rise
MALUM NALU pays
tribute to the man who composed the PNG National Anthem
Papua New Guinea celebrated 30 years of Independence last
September 16, as citizens proudly joined hands to “sing of our joy
to be free”, there was little thought for Thomas Shacklady the man
who composed our National Anthem.
The least the Government - through the National Events Council –
could have done was to bring Mr Shacklady up from Australia to
share this momentous occasion with all Papua New Guineans and be
the guest of honour at the flag raising ceremony as the National
Anthem was sung.
Apart from a fleeting mention of him in a brief press release from
the Prime Minister’s office, there was no official acknowledgement
of what he had done for PNG.
And perhaps now and future generations will never know of the man
who composed our National Anthem.
Thomas Shacklady who was living in an old people’s home at Durack,
a southern suburb of Brisbane, passed away quietly on January 25.
He was 88.
Mr Shacklady is remembered by many Papua New Guineans as the
legendary bandmaster of the Royal Royal Papua New Guinea
Constabulary Band from 1964 to 1982.
The RPNGC Band gained international acclaim under Shacklady’s
leadership and toured many countries including Australia, New
Zealand, the United States, South East Asia, other Pacific
Islands, and in 1970, the Edinburgh Tattoo in Scotland.
But it is through the words of the Papua New Guinea National
Anthem that Shacklady has been immortalised.
Shacklady was a World War 11 hero who fought with distinction for
the British Royal Marines.
For his war service he received the 1939-45 Star, Italy Star,
Africa Star, Defence Medal and War Service Medal.
Like thousands of others discharged from the forces, Shacklady
found work not easy to find and had several jobs over the next
three years; night-watchman, butler, and working as a freelance
musician.
He worked with several private dance bands, while playing bass
trombone with the BBC's Scottish Orchestra.
In 1951 he responded to an ad in a London newspaper calling for
volunteers for the Australian Defence Force and was enlisted into
the Australian Army in September that year.
On December 1 his family set sail aboard the RMS Asturius from
Southhampton for Melbourne, Victoria.
They were sent by train to Adelaide in South Australia where
Shacklady joined the Kensington Central Command Band based at the
Inverbrakie Camp, Woodside.
Over the next six years Shacklady trained three bands a year from
the National Service intakes.
In 1953 he was promoted Corporal and added the EIIR Coronation
Medal to his awards.
Two years later he was promoted to Sergeant, and was awarded the
British Empire Medal for his service to the formation of NS bands.
In 1957, Shacklady was transferred to the Papua New Guinea Army
band based at Port Moresby and was promoted to Warrant rank.
He returned to Australia in 1959 and for the next five years was
Bandmaster of the Enogerra Base, Army band, in Brisbane.
He was discharged from the Australian Army on March 6, 1964, and
on the 14th, commissioned into the Papua New Guinea Constabulary
as Bandmaster with the rank of Inspector.
One of Shacklady’s fondest memories occurred at the Mount Hagen
Show in 1965, an annual event involving the gathering of tens of
thousands of New Guinea's tribesmen in the highland township.
The event was officially opened by the Earl Mountbatten of Burma
who was reported in the press as being highly surprised and
delighted that the Band of the Papua New Guinea Police, in one of
the most primitive and remote locations on Earth, was playing the
Earl's personal march, the Preobrajenski.
The official procedures were halted while the Earl walked over to
the Band to congratulate Shacklady and comment that he had
correctly assumed that the Bandmaster must be an ex Royal Marine.
In April 1970, he was transferred to general police duties at
Rabaul on East New Britain for a year and then returned to Kila
where he remained as Bandmaster until 1975 when PNG gained
Independence.
With Independence, Shacklady was promoted to Chief Inspector and
Bandmaster and as such was responsible for transferring the Band
to a new training establishment at Bomana, while the new
independent nation of Papua New Guinea adopted “Arise All Ye Sons
of the Land”, composed by Shacklady, as its National Anthem.
The national song calling the sons (and daughters) of Papua New
Guinea to arise and to “sing of our joy to be free” was adopted by
the Constituent Assembly to be sung on Independence Day.
Unlike the National Flag and Emblem which were adopted four years
earlier, the National Anthem was not decided until just a week
before Independence Day.
It was even mooted that there would be no national song until
after Independence, even though this song and others had been
submitted in a nationwide competition well ahead of Independence
Day.
The National Executive Council decided only on September 10, 1975,
to adopt the song whose words and music were composed by Chief
Inspector Thomas Shacklady, the then bandmaster of the Royal Papua
New Guinea Constabulary Band.
On June 11, 1977, for his services to PNG he was invested a Member
of the British Empire (MBE), and received the PNG Police Service
Medal and PNG Independence Medal.
1978 saw him promoted to Superintendent and Director of Music
RPNGC.
In 1979, Shacklady purchased some $A5.00 tickets in an Art Union
(raffle) run by the Mater hospital in Brisbane, the grand prize
being a fully furnished luxury home.
It turned out that the winner of that home in the brand new suburb
of Springwood was one Superintendent Thomas Shacklady BEM MBE!
Shacklady promoted to Chief Superintendent, Director of Music
RPNGC in 1980, a position he held until 1982 when he retired and
returned to Brisbane to settle with his family in his prize home
at Springwood.
Three years later they sold the home at Springwood and moved to an
ocean side home at Redland Bay. It was here that his wife Danae
passed away.
With both his sons married Tom sold the family home in 1991 and
purchased a small but comfortable unit in the Forest Place
retirement village at Durack, a southern suburb of Brisbane where
he lived till his passing.
Shacklady is survived by his two sons and five grandchildren.
“Arise All Ye Sons of the Land” by Superintendent Thomas Shacklady:
O arise all you sons of this land
Let us sing of our joy to be free
Praising God and rejoicing to be
Papua New Guinea
Shout our name from the mountains to sea
Papua New Guinea
Let us raise our voices and proclaim
Papua New Guinea
Now give thanks to the good Lord above
For His kindness, His wisdom and love
For this land of our fathers so free
Papua New Guinea
Shout again for the whole world to hear
Papua New Guinea
We’re independent and we’re free
Papua New Guinea
 
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