Early Papua.

[To the Editor.] Sir,—Your contributor’s witty men tion of the R.G.S. of A’s, “Bonito” ex pedition of 1885, which discovered the Strickland River, and the first gold found in historic times, in Eastern New Guinea, has unhappily permitted the effacement of the more prosaic facts.

Our exploring party of scientific ex perts and others, having discovered that the leader appointed by the typic ally town-tinctured committee of the Society was a curiously ignorant, loquacious creature, utterly incapable of commanding men or taking observa tions, the matter was laid before the famous Hon. John Douglas, R.M., Thursday Island, who represented the R.G.S.A. He appointed our second in command, Captain Hemsworth, as leader—replacing Everill, whose shock ing death in Melbourne later seemed to justify our action! There was no fric tion, quarrel, and want of discipline— which latter is the unforgivable sin upon exploratory parties, ships, or in armies.

I never found Everill other than a gentle, lovable man, whose most dan gerous fault was his rashness, which several times imperilled our lives. Yet to-day his name is immortalised at the junction of the river we discovered with the Fly, whilst the place-names given by, and to, others who made the expedition a success, have been re moved in favour of those of friends of officials, and much later voyagers. Such is life! W. W. Froggatt, Dr. Haacke, Senior, and others, as well as our in trepid leader, Geoffrey Hemsworth, surely deserved to have their names re tained.

But what I want to emphasise is, there is no want of discipline. Every thing was done without friction; and, under the famous magistrate’s direction, when our leader was superseded.

I am, sir,

Arthur J. Vogan.

Sydney, June 25, 1932.

EDITORIAL NOTE. —We regret that our brief reference to the 1885 expedition to the Upper Fly River (Papua) gave a wrong impression.

However, it was not entirely useless, because it brought out this interesting historical item from Mr. Vegan.