Roads That Lead To Edie Creek

SPECIALLY WRITTEN FOR “PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY” BY M.G.

WHETHER pre-historic man ever had a track from Wau to Edie Creek, in Central New Guinea, we shall never know.

That the stone-age man did is a cer tainty; for at one time, during the “rush,” the miners (or would-be miners) were pleased to use this old hunting and fight ing track of the Biengi tribe. I suppose this also was the track used by one or two Bird of Paradise shooters who scaled Ki endi Mountain.

“Kar-Kar” Smith was one of these. He actually camped on Darby’s Flat —thinking in terms of plumes and not of ounces— as he did on his second visit.

In 1927, a piece of pottery was dug up on Midas Creek; and many said it was Chinese. But I think it was probably Siassi pottery, that had been traded through the Tami and Kawai tribes. The Biengis had a camping ground on the Midas, which they used when raiding the Upper Watut natives. So I think we can abandon the suggestion that the Chinese ever had a road in.

Travelling the new motor road from Wau to Edie Creek, I thought of the five previous tracks that have been used by the miners since. 1926, and I remembered the praise lavished on each at its opening— “Jove, the new road is wonderful!”

One cannot, unfortunately, look into the future; but a macadamized or rubber surfaced road or boulevard from Wau to Edie Creek, I suppose, are within the bounds of the wild possibilities of the

future —perhaps congested with buses or trackless trolleys. Certainly, this appears no more unlikely than the present motor road did to those prospectors who struggled up Bill Royal’s Waterfall track, which was the Europeans’ first road to Edie Creek.

This climb took the best part of twelve hours, and one arrived more dead than alive.

Anderson’s Track was the second one used. This led from Anderson’s Creek, a tributary of the Namie, to Bond’s Camp, below the “George Lease.” This was described as a wonderful track after Royal’s Road, only about 9½ hours being taken.

Charles Booth then located a track up a spur, at the back of “Cliffside.” This joined the Edie at Eichhorn’s Creek, after nine hours’ good going.

These three tracks were through thick bush; but Booth cut a “look-out,” about half-way down, that gave a superb pano rama of the glorious Bulolo Valley. This “look-out” was known as “Booth’s Win dow,” and the ashes of many camp fires showed that most miners found the view too good to leave hurriedly and had lunched there.

Then the old Biengi kanaka road came into its own. Known as Dover’s Track (for it was Ernie Dover who first induced the natives to show him this track) it was the most direct route that ever led from Wau to Edie, and it is still occasionally used by indentured labourers, and the Biengis will use no other.

Ascending the precipitous mountainside at the back of what is now the N.G.G. Ltd. office at Wau, 7½ hours’ climb (about 4,000 feet) brought one to the divide; and another hour's descent by way of Snake and Merri Creeks landed one at Darby’s Flat, As a heart-breaking climb, this track no equal, in my opinion—except, perhaps, Mt. Everest. I haven't tried that!

Walking in from Salamaua in six days, and facing Dover's track on the seventh, produced many a groan. It was the limit of human endurance, especially if several of your boys had "cracked up" on the track, and you had carried a 50-lbs. pack most of the way from Salamaua. This mountain is sometimes shown on old plans as Corpse Hill, owing to a number of dysentery-weakened carriers dying there.

I remember a great argument on the "beach" about what methods of transport could be used on the road in. This was before anyone, except perhaps Levien, had seen the possibilities of aerial transport.

Many fantastic suggestions were made; but one new-comer, who had not then faced the track, declared elephants were what we wanted. He had “seen what they could do in Burma and ought to know.”

When it was pointed out that he had not seen the track he stated “he’d heard enough about it.”

One day, some weeks later, I found our elephant-champion three parts of the way up Corpse Hill, lying stretched on his back, absolutely done. I could not help asking: “What about elephants now’”

His "Ye Gods, no! Anything not sired by a mountain goat is impossible here!” caused a smile all round.

The fifth track was first called “Lyall’s Road.” It was in advance of the other track, in that it was constructed for mules —but not for the lorry traffic, for which it has been used for the last year. The idea of this track emanated from someone (I think Mr. Cutler, now a planter at Kokopo) at a meeting of the now defunct Morobe District Miners' Association and was taken up immediately.

The miners joined with the “Big Six”

in the construction; and nearly everyone not “broke” contributed tools, tents, flys, or boys. The late Mr. David Lyall was placed in charge, being then in the employ of the “Big Six.”

This road was improved, patched up and “jiggered up” for six years, by many parties—but mostly by Ellyou Co., N.G.G.

Ltd., Day Dawn, Wally Corden and other mule-owners, and Fred Deckert and other lorry-owners.

Until 1933-4 the Administration seems to have contributed little to the enormous expense of improving and maintaining this track. N.G.G. Ltd. probably contributed half of the total expenditure.

The sixth road, the “New Road,” has been built for heavy motor traffic and is an improvement on many of the main roads in the Australian country. The grade is 1 in 9 to 1 in 15 in the steepest parts. Located and rough-surveyed by Mr.

Wm. Fox (Chief Government Surveyor at Wau ) and surveyed and supervised by Major D. G. Sinclair, of the Works Department, Wau it is a credit to their locating and engineering ability.

The people of the field, being more or less in daily contact with the two men responsible for this good work, fail to remark on it. Had these gentlemen been brought especially from U.S.A. or Australia to do the job, they would have departed in a blaze of glory.

The contractors, Messrs. Judd and Leahy, working with 250 to 270 boys, did the work in a creditable manner, and well within the specified contract time. They are no loafers, and appear likely to become the big contracting firm of this Territory, The view from many points on the road is magnificent; and, on a clear day, or in the early morning, when the mists are rising from the valleys, I doubt if it can be excelled anywhere.

I should mention that what is known as the New Road is actually only part of the way to Edie; for, leaving Wau by the new road, one joins the N.G.G. road at Kunai Creek, and follows this until the new road is picked up again at the power house. This new section then carries one to “Water Karuka,” where the old road is

joined again. Widened, graded and metal led by Roadmaster George Hoffman, with 50-70 Government boys, this part of the old road is comparatively level.

Standard track vehicles now unload be tween “Water Karuka” and Maori Creek, and the specially constructed narrow wheel-base lorries used on the old road take the loading on to Edie. It is expected that the standard-wheel-base lorries will be able to go right through to Central Camp,

Upper Edie Creek, by the end of July, and that the close of 1935 will see every de tail of the heavy motor traffic road from Wau to Upper Edie Creek completed.

Whilst bowling along the new road in a limousine, we should not forget those pio neer track-finders of only a few years ago —“Shark-Eye” Park, Levien, Royal, Dover, Booth and others; and those who have tried so hard to link us by road to the coast —“Mark” Sheldon, Jenson and others.