Catholic Missionaries
p. 11 · Read in the full issue
Attacked Natives Kill Three Workers in Mt. Hagen Area, N.G.
A member of the advance party of the Catholic Mission which is penetrat ing the area beyond Mount Hagen, Central New Guinea, Rev. Father Charles Morschheuser, was murdered by natives on December 16. When leaving Wokama village (about 30 miles west of Mount Hagen) with Father van Baar, Rev.
Morschheuser, who was a little behind the main party, was attacked by natives, and died from arrow wounds.
Wokama had not previously been visited by Government officials, though the vanguard posts of both the Catholic and Lutheran Missions are established in the vicinity, A strong patrol, including a district officer and three other officers, left Salamaua for the scene immediately news was brought in by aeroplane in January by one of the Leahy brothers, who was exploring and prospecting in the area.
Scarcely had the consternation following the news of the attack subsided in Sala maua when it was reported that Brother Eugene, of the same mission, and two natives, had been murdered on January 8, in the Dengaragu area, close to where the first tragedy occurred.
The “S.M. Herald” reported, on January 17:— “The district officer and detachments of native constabulary who are searching for the murderers are waiting for reinforce ments. This information was brought to Salamaua on January 16, by Pilot O’Dea, who had been delayed at Chimbu aero drome, 100 miles from Mount Hagen, in which district the murders occurred. Pilot O’Dea said he saw a large and warlike body of natives apparently waiting to at tack the police. The missionary father who went into the interior from Madang on December 7 has not been heard of since.”
Later (on January 21), it was announced that Brother Eugene had reached Sala maua, suffering from a severe spear wound in one lung. Two Assistant Dis trict Officers, with police, were then in charge of the Mount Hagen district, which was “quiet.”
Rev. Morschheuser was born in Germany, in 1904, and went to Madang from Hong kong. He had been attached to the mission for about a year. Brother Eu gene, was born in Illinois, U.S.A., in 1900.
In 1927, he went to Madang from Sydney and spent some time there before pro ceeding to the Catholic station in the Bismarck Ranges, where he was instructor in native agriculture. For the last two years he has been doing field work in the Mt. Hagen district.
Both, missionaries were members of the Society of the Divine Word, to which the work of the Vicariate Apostolic of Eastern New Guinea was entrusted in 1922. They were under the jurisdiction of Right Rev. Francis Wolf, D.D., S.V.D., Titular Bishop of Bylos, who is stationed at Alexishafen, on the mainland of the Mandated Territory.