Surprise Trip by Prospectors

Across New Guinea Surprise Trip by Prospectors Valuable Exploration Work

THE inland of New Guinea is still largely a terra incognita, and it can play queer tricks on even the most experienced bushmen.

This was shown only the other day when two prospectors from the Edie Creek, New Guinea goldfields, who had set out to explore the head waters of the Sepik River, on the northern side of the great island, found that they had crossed the great island from north-east to south-west, and had ar rived at the mouth of the Purari River, in Papua.

These two miners, Messrs. M. J.

Leahey and M. Dwyer, who have been gold-seeking for four years in the Morobe District, were sent out to pros pect in central New Guinea, as the result of a fund subscribed to by resi dents of the goldfields. They left Sal amoa on April 12 with 14 natives and established a camp at Kaigurin, on the Ramu River, about 100 miles from Salamoa. It was their intention to prospect the country around the head waters of the Sepik and Ramu, and north along the Valley of the Sepik.

After travelling a short distance the party struck a stream, which they sup posed to be a tributary of the Sepik, and they decided to follow it. Seeing that it ran in a westerly direction for a considerable distance, they began to doubt the route, but, possessing no maps, they had no way of checking up. They walked on for about 150 miles before they became convinced that they were on a stream emptying

on to the southern coast (Papua). A further 130 miles was covered by canoe and then the prospectors reached Port Romilly Saw Mills, near the mouth of the Purari. The trip overland had taken six weeks. They sailed to Port Moresby and later left for Morobe, walking via Kokoda and Ioma. Their intention is to return to the bass camp at the head of the Ramu and start again for Sepik Valley.

The prospectors report that the country in the Ramu and Sepik water sheds looks promising for minerals, but on the Purari they saw nothing what ever to warrant the belief that min erals might be found there.

As a result of the trip they have been able to provide much valuable geographical information concerning a vast tract of country previously un explored.