The Nipa Palm.
p. 34 · Read in the full issue
Another Attempt to Use Papuan Product.
From Our Own Correspondent
Pt. Moresby, Nov. 28.
IT is rumoured that another attempt is to be made to utilise the vast quan tities of Nipa Palms in Papua.
The project, this time, is concerned not with motor spirit but with the manufacture of paper; and an Aus tralian Syndicate is considering taking up large areas in the Delta Division.
Ample areas are available, with suit able factory sites close at hand. There are hundreds of square miles of Delta country carrying a dense growth of Nipa and intersected by innumerable creeks, navigable by light draft vessels; while deep water channels offer safe ac cess from the sea, to excellent anchorages.
Nipa Palm has, so far, been one of Papua’s waste products. A very small quantity of the leaf is used for thatch ing native houses, and the nut-like fruit is only eaten occasionally by some na tives. But the vast majority of the palms rot unused.