Bulolo’S Progress

Shown on Films Mr. Waterhouse’s Enterprise

EXTREMELY interesting moving pictures, showing the progress of Bulolo Gold Dredging Co., in New Guinea, from the “early days” of a few years back, up to the present, were privately screened in Sydney last month by Mr. L. V. Waterhouse, a technical director of the company. Mr. Water house had taken the “movies” on his visits to the Territory during the last three years.

Aerial views were a feature of the films. Lae, Salamoa, Bulolo and many rivers, including the Markham, Francisco and Watut, were seen, and the large audience was thus given a splendid opportunity of studying the topography of the rich New Guinea gold fields.

The first pictures showed the Bulolo as thick jungle country. Then work was seen to commence on the clearing of the aerodrome. Trees were felled, the timber was burnt off and in a subsequent film the fine Bulolo ’drome was shown. Mr. Waterhouse explained that this ’drome represented good dredging ground and it would later all be dredged.

Back at Lae, the headquarters of Guinea Airways Ltd., the arrival and The interior of one of the G 31 Junkers in New Guinea, loaded with an engine for the Bulolo workshop

erection of a locomotive crane were seen. This crane now unloads the steel barges and runs on a line to the Lae ’drome, where it loads direct into waiting planes.

An historic event for the company was the arrival of the first G31 tripleengined Junker plane, which arrived at Lae by the M.V. Temeraire, direct from Germany. The landing operations and the assembling of the machine were shown, and then the successful initial flight. The big plane, which has a wing spread of 100 feet, weighs nine tons when fully loaded. It has a landing speed of 85 miles per hour.

More recent films were screened showing the company’s progress up to May of this year. The commencement of the building of the first dredge was seen and also construction work in connection with the hydro-electric project.

It is expected that electric power will be available early next year.

“Loading” The Kukukukus

An interesting sidelight of the films showed the six Kukukukus, who were captured by District Officer Feldt, in connection with the murder of Hellmuth Baum, arriving at Bulolo ’drome, and the loading of them into the big G31 plane, which took them to the coast. This provided a humorous interlude. The fear in their eyes told how frightened these primitive kanakas were of this monstrous “pigeon.”

They were first chained in couples to a police boy, who led them towards the plane; and then they anpeared to be lifted bodily into the cabin of the plane, as though they were so many bags of rice.

These pictures, taken by Mr. Waterhouse, have been already shown by him at Bulolo and Lae, and also before members of the New Guinea Club, at Rabaul. They have been greatly appreciated wherever screened. ... ===