The Romance Of The Bulolo.

Ion Idriess Tells Fascinating Story In “Gold-Dust and Ashes.”

TEN years ago, the interior of British New Guinea was literally a howling and inaccessible wilderness. It was (and is) the most broken and inhos pitable bit of the earth’s surface; and it was peopled by ferocious and treacherous cannibals.

To-day, up on the Bulolo tableland, there is a large white population, enjoying daily the amenities of Euro pean civilisation. There, is regular com munication with white communities elsewhere, there are thousands of tract able native servants, and the cannibals are gone further back into the still un tamed interior.

This miracle—for it is nothing else — has been accomplished by Australian grit and daring and enterprise, acting under the stimulus of the thing that has so often led mankind into hazardous adventure and epoch-marking achievement —gold. Nothing else could have solved the apparently insoluble problems of establishing a settlement, transpor ting heavy machinery and maintaining communications in this nightmare country of New Guinea.

Nearly three years ago, writing in this journal, I said that an account of what had been done on the New Guinea goldfield would make an extraordinarily fine and creditable bit of Australian his tory. Last year, I was delighted to learn that the job had been undertaken by the one man in Australia best quali fied to carry it out —Ion Idriess.

To-day, his new book, “Gold Dust and Ashes,” lies beside me: and I want to say at once that in 30 years of reading I never met a more fascinating story of adventure and achievement. I have read it slowly, from cover to cover, studying every detail in the light of my personal knowledge of New Guinea and of the men who developed the goldfield: and is not only a live and moving human document —it is also historically accurate, in its facts, in its chronolo gical arrangement, and in the ingenuity and knowledge with which important happenings and developments have been placed in relationship to each other.

I have always regarded this Ion Idriess as a somewhat marvellous per son. Any industrious man can write a lot of books; but how any man can, like Idriess, produce so many good books, at the rate of about four a year, each attractively written and each dis closing an amazing knowledge of “Aus traliana,” is a source of constant won der to me.

And now he has out-Idriessed himself.

“Gold Dust and Ashes,” with its charm ing narrative style, its rapid movement, its sharp local colour and its irresistible humour, is a book typical of this truly great Australian author; but how, in the name of wonder, did he find time, among all his other literary occupa tions, to gather this huge mass of his torical data, and lick it into shape, as one of the most delightful books that has yet come off the Angus and Robert son press? It was a colossal task, but it has been carried out by this literary craftsman in a way that I cannot fault.

The book has been written around the story of a man who, in his modest way, deserves to rank among the Empire builders —the story of C. J. Levien, who was there in New Guinea when payable

gold was discovered; who envisaged its possibilities, both in the enrichment of men and the development of a savage country; who devised a way (aero planes) of overcoming the apparently insurmountable problem of transport; who worked like a navvy and existed like a native in giving shape and body to his plans; and who lived just long enough to reap a great reward, and see the new goldfield become a mighty, pal pitating, nation-building thing. The last scene in the book shows Levien’s close friend, C. V. T. Wells, travelling in an aeroplane over the Markham Val ley, scattering in the sunlit air the ashes of the man who had seen and so gloriously followed “the vision splen did.” Gold-dust —and ashes!

To me, three figures stand out sharply in these pages, from among a host of really live men and well-etched char acters. They are “Sharkeye” Park, the grim, fierce, rather terrible old pros pector who lived alone among the natives in those black mountains and found the goldfield; Levien, man of sweeping imagination and dynamic energy, who envisaged this huge indus try and wonderful, new country; and Wells, the young, quiet-spoken business man, whose belief in Levien never fal tered, and whose steady faith and out standing organising ability gave shape to Levien’s plans, and brought mining companies, dredging industries and that remarkable creation, Guinea Airways Ltd., into being and into successful operation.

This book will become a standard reference on all matters dealing with the early development of New Guinea. But it deserves a permanent place in litera ture because of the fascinating story it tells, because of the fidelity of its char acter sketches, and because of the tes timony it bears to Australian enterprise and achievement. New Guinea will love the book. All the old hands are there, presented with astonishing accuracy— Park and Matt Crowe, Frank Pryke, Captain Detzner, Levien, Joe Sloane and

Ernie Dover, Nettleton; then Bill Royal, Herb. Wilson, Chisholm. James, Arnold, Burke, Glasson, Smart, Collins, Money; Mrs. Doris Booth; Bishton, pioneer A.W.A. man, Captain “Taffy” Williams; Grose, early mining warden, and a host of others.

It is a fitting record of a romantic and mighty achievement. Heartiest congratulations to Idriess on a splendid job of work.

—R. W. Robson.

“Gold-Dust and Ashes,” the romantic story of the New Guinea Goldfields, by lon Idriess. Our copy from Angus and Robertson, Ltd., Sydney. Price, 6/-.