Australia.
p. 13 · Read in the full issue
Yams Flourish In
THE yam may yet become a staple article of diet in Australia; and, if the vegetable should find its way into the menu of the average house holder, the credit, or the blame—it de pends on the viewpoint of the dietician of the future —will lie upon the shoulders of Mr. A. J. Vogan.
That tireless traveller, nearly two years ago, was impressed with the yams he found growing in the Trobriands, off the north-east coast of New Guinea, and, aided and abetted by Mr. Lumley, of that group, he brought a consignment of the roots southwards with him. The minions of the Customs and Agricultural Departments did not like the things at all. They broke the hearts of the Cus toms men—probably because they could not classify them for some sort of super-taxation!—while the agricultural officials directed a hymn of hate against them and accused them of carrying dis ease, or committing lese majeste, or something. They tried to keep the yams out of Australia.
Opposition is as the breath of life to A. J. Vogan, and he entered with zest into the resulting war, which finally broke around the person of the Minis
ter for Agriculture (Mr. Hugh Main), Mr. Main not only permitted the entry of the yams, but displayed keen interest in the possibility of the roots being profitably cultivated in New South Wales.
Officialdom vanquished, Mr. Vogan took his beloved yams to Mr. A. H.
Joubert, of Terranora, on the Tweed River. They have grown and flourished, and Mr. Joubert now writes that “the finest and biggest yams ever grown in Australia, which is from this Trobriand stock, has been named “The Vogan,” and he has sent it to its godfather in Sydney. Mr. Vogan, with grateful memories of Ministerial courtesy and consideration, has presented the monster to Mr. Main.
Twenty or thirty years ago, the article we call “sweet potato” was not known outside of Polynesia. To-day, no roast joint in Sydney or Auckland is really properly embellished without it. Maybe, the yam will come and con quer in similar fashion.
Mr. A. Coleman arrived in Sydney by the “Nankin” at the end of October. He has been seeking gold in the eastern districts of Papua and is believed to have found some encouraging prospects.