Exploration In New Guinea

By R. W. Robson.

A NEW map of the Territories of New Guinea and Papua has just been issued by the Prime Minister’s Department, Can berra. I have before me, also, a similar map issued by the same authority in 1928. A comparison between the two gives a remarkable revelation of what has been accomplished by the Common wealth and by private enterprise in ex ploration of these two great Territories within the last few years.

The 1928 map shows, in the interior ot New Guinea, to the extent of about one third in Papua and two-thirds in the Mandated Territory, a huge blank space, marked simply “unexplored.” The Sepik and Ramu river systems, and the chain of mountains which parallel the northern coast of New Guinea are outlined; but from the mountains southwards, right across the Papuan border and down to the headwaters of the lesser Papuan riv ers, the extent of the geographers’ know ledge of six years ago is shown simply by a blank. In the 1934 map, this un known inland area is much shrunken.

It was always assumed that this huge inland area was broken, mountainous, jungle-clad and practically impenetrable.

Until very recent times, no white man had been into the country—except Cap tain Detzner. That German officer escaped into the interior from the vicinity of Finschafen, when the Great War broke out, and he was at large there for some years. He claimed to have penetrated this mysterious interior, in a vain at tempt to get across to Dutch New Guinea —but his descriptions of the interesting people and country which he saw were not taken seriously. We now know that they were almost literally correct.

Some ten years ago, mining interests began to open up the Morobe goldfield, which was then represented by the east ern end of this unexplored territory. For some years mining and prospecting were confined largely to the Morobe area; but, since 1931-2, gold seeking expeditions, following the trail of the precious metal, have pushed out from Morobe towards the west and north-west, penetrating ever more deeply into hitherto unknown coun try.

Many explorations have been carried out by private expeditions, assisted and complemented by the vigorous enterprise of the Administrations of New Guinea and Papua. Government patrols, going in westward from Morobe, southwards from Madang, and northwestwards from the Kerema and Kikori districts, in Papua, have mapped much new country during the last five years.

One of the most important of those ex

peditions was carried out last year, when Assistant District Officer Taylor, of the New Guinea service, and Messrs. Mick and Dan Leahy, representing a goldseeking syndicate, marched out from Morobe, around the Kratke Range and, assisted by aeroplanes, penetrated about 100 miles to the north-west, right to the summit of Mt. Hagen (13,120 ft.). The report they made on their return, after several months’ absence, was astonishing.

Instead of rough, broken mountains and gloomy jungles, they discovered a beautiful and fertile tableland, varying in altitude from 3000 to 5000 ft., with an equable climate, magnificent park-like valleys, clear, sparkling rivers, and inhabited by an attractive people, with a comparatively high degree of culture. These people apparently are skilled agriculturists—photographs taken by Messrs. Taylor and Leahy show large areas of land

carefully irrigated and planted, laid out on a rectangular plan and disclosing luxuriant growth. Moreover, these people for the most part do not crowd into vil lages—they are real farmers, living on their farms which are scattered thickly over this attractive country. The region is now called the Benna Benna-Wahgi plateau.

Turning, now, to the 1934 map, we see the result of all this activity in explora tion. A large part of the eastern portion of the region, previously marked “unex plored,” now carries names; but the west ern and larger part (which lies between Mt. Hagen and the river systems of the Fly and the Sepik—that is, along the boundary between the British and Dutch Territories) is still unexplored and, on the map, is a blank.

The new features which have been added to the map, apparently as a result of the Taylor-Leahy expedition, disclose a mighty and hitherto unknown river system, which drains the plateau referred to. The river system is divided really into three main tributaries —the Purari, the Kornigunu and the Wahgi. The map

shows these rivers flowing southwards into a blank (unexplored territory); but there is no doubt now that they are part of the headwaters of the mighty Purari River, which somehow finds its way through the mountains (along the border between Papua and New Guinea) and which eventually reaches the Gulf of Papua 170 miles north-west of Port Moresby.

The discovery of this, huge river sys

tern, and its identification as part of the Purari River, is one of the most interest ing developments connected with the very recent explorations in central New Guinea. The farthest west point reached by the Taylor-Leahy expedition was Mount Hagen; and, from the slopes of this great mountain, the young Austra lians, looking westward (over what the map shows still to be 150 miles of un controlled and unexplored country) could see a further series of rolling tablelands, park-like in character and apparently densely inhabited by a farming popula tion. This assumption was confirmed a few days later, when they viewed the country from an aeroplane which, in ac cordance with a pre-arranged plan, flew out to them 200 miles from the Morobe goldfield with supplies. They used the aeroplane to make a short flight west ward from Mount Hagen, and their photo graphs show more cultivated country and, apparently, a continuation of the native farm-house style of settlement.

Recently, the work of exploration has been aided enormously by the aeroplanes which now maintain the Morobe gold field transport services particularly Guinea Airways Ltd. and Holden’s Air Transport Co. When an expedition is planned into this unknown country the patrol leaders usually arrange that on a certain day they will clear a landing ground and make smoke signals; and on that day an aeroplane, in charge of one of the intrepid Australian pilots who have made these services world-famous, goes out and looks for them with supplies, mails, etc. In this way the work of ex ploring and mapping this country has

made extraordinary progress in the last two or three years-.

It is interesting to note that Central New Guinea—and this applies to Dutch as well as British territory—is now one of the very few remaining bits of the earth’s surface that is entirely unex plored; and gratifying to think that so much of this important exploratory work is being carried out by Australia.