 Raymond subsequently returned to Australia, but later died of malaria in Melbourne in May that year.Serong deployed to New Guinea in November 1942 as a major, posted to the operations staff of the 6th Division in Port Moresby, just as the Australians halted the advance of the Japanese at the height of the Kokoda Track campaign.In 1943 Serong served as General Staff Officer 2 with the combined 6th and 7th Divisions on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland, where they were resting and retraining prior to conducting further operations.