Extensive Aerial Survey
p. 12 · Read in the full issue
Dutch New Guinea
Extensive Aerial Survey Planned
From Our Own Correspondent.
WAU, August 22. its formation in Holland 18 months ago, the New Guinea Com mittee, under the presidency of His Excellency Mynheer D. Fock, Minister of State and former Governor-General of Dutch East Indies, has been very actively engaged in gathering and collating all possible information concerning Dutch New Guinea and, to a lesser degree, Papua and the Mandated Territory of New Guinea. The time has now arrived when the Committee is to put into opera tion its plan for the economic develop ment of D.N.G., which until now has been virtually stagnated.
Almost immediately the Netherlands New Guinea Petroleum Company (60 per cent. American and 40 per cent. Dutch capital) will commence a large scale search for oil in the Dutch possession.
The oil investigations will be started by an extensive topographical survey of an area of 25 million acres allotted to the big oil companies. This work is to be carried out by three twin-engined aero planes under the direction of Flying- Captain de Ruyten van Stevennick, late of the D.E.I. Airways, a sister company of the N.L.M. (Royal Dutch Airways).
The search for oil will be followed by gold exploration carried out by the Nederlandich Nieuw Guinea Mynboun Maatschappij (Netherlands New Guinea Mining Co., with 49 per cent- British, and 51 per cent. Dutch capital). The British capital was supplied mostly by Oroville Dredging Co., whose mining area adjoins their Fly river area in Papua. The British company also has another block near Manokwari, where Dutch Government mining engineers found gold traces.