General Wisdom

Retires.

General Griffith goes to Rabaul.

JT has been officially announced

that Brig.-General Wisdom,

C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., has decided to retire from the post of Adminis trator of the Mandated Territory of New Guinea, which he has held

since February 3, 1921, and that

he has entered upon long leave

prior to retirement. An acting Ad

ministrator has been appointed.

GENERAL WISDOM left Rabaul by the “Macdhui” on June 13, and is due in Sydney on June 22.

Brig.-Gen. Thomas Griffiths, C.M.G., C.B.E., D.S.O., has been appointed Act ing Administrator and is to leave Syd ney by the “Macdhui” for Rabaul on June 30.

General Griffiths is well-known in Rabaul. He held important adminis trative posts in the A.I.F. and was Commandant at Horseferry Road, in London, in 1918. Soon after he returned to Australia, he was appointed Military Administrator of the Territory of New Guinea and assumed duty there in 1920.

He held office there until General Wis dom took charge under the Civil Ad ministration in 1921, and, in that short period he gained an excellent reputa tion as a firm, just and capable Admin istrator. General Griffiths was ap

pointed Administrator of Nauru in February, 1921, and remained there for some years. Subsequently, he held ex ecutive positions in the Commonwealth service, and was a member of the War Pensions Appeal Tribunal, when asked to go temporarily to New Guinea.

Owing to the probable retirement of Sir Hubert Murray, Lieut.-Governor of Papua, and the retirement of General Wisdom from New Guinea, the oppor tunity is being taken by the Federal Government to review the whole ques tion of administrative organisation in those two Territories. No hurried de cision will be made. The objects which the Federal Government has in view, have been referred to previously in this journal, and are dealt with elsewhere in this issue. It will be seen that a problem of considerable magnitude has to be considered, and it is not likely that any hurried decision will be reached. In these circumstances, it is likely that General Griffiths will re main for some time at administrative headquarters in Rabaul. It is noted that General Griffiths is 67 years of age, and, therefore, is not seeking the permanent position of Administrator.

The announcement that he is going to New Guinea for the present was re ceived with marked approval in admin istrative and commercial circles inter ested in New Guinea.

General Wisdom’s decision to retire immediately was not unexpected. He has had a hard and gruelling ten years in the Territory, during the change from German to British administration and from military to civil occupation; and his task has been complicated by the serious economic depression, which has affected all countries of primary production. The strain has been accent tuated by the establishment in New Guinea of a new and very vigorous industry—gold-mining—which is likely to be a dominant factor in administra tive considerations in the early future.

General Wisdom had a severe bereave ment last year, in the untimely death of his wife, and this probably hastened his decision to retire.

General Wisdom leaves New Guinea with the best wishes of all interests there. He has at all times shown him self to be a kindly, just man, who has carried out very difficult duties fear lessly and efficiently. He has met a certain amount of hostile criticism, but that was to be expected in the cir cumstances —and that fact never de flected him by a hair’s-breadth from what he conceived to be his duty. He retires with an enviable record of ad ministration in Australia’s tropical ter ritories.

General A. E. Wisdom.

S.S. “Malinoa,” as she lay on the reef at Aoba, New Hebrides.