Lucky New Guinea!

How the Gold Industry Has Grown

IT is officially announced that in the year ended June 30 last New Guinea exported gold worth £1,897,244, and that the gold royalty collected on same by the Administration amounted to no less than £88,233.

The manner in which this industry has developed and the extent to which the royalty has benefited the Administration is shown in the following table;

In 1927-28 the value of the copra ex ported from New Guinea was £1,176,040, and the export tax on same was the Administration’s chief source of revenue.

By 1934-35, although almost exactly the same quantity of copra was exported, its value had fallen to less than £250,000, and the export tax on same was almost negligible.

But, by sheerest luck, the gold industry has been established, and the gold royalty takes the place of the lost copra tax.

Sir Hubert Murray, Lieutenant-Gover nor of Papua, probably will visit London in the coming year.

Mr. A. J. Vogan, well-known Pacific Islands traveller and scientist, returned to Sydney recently after spending some months in Fiji where he investigated cer tain ancient rock-carvings. Mr. Vogan contracted a severe illness while tra velling and spent two months in a private hospital in Auckland, New Zealand.

To Gold Royalty Natives June 30 Produced.

Collected.

Employed. £ £ 1930 ... 131,032 4,621 4,090 1931 155,106 6,581 4,679 1932 437,062 22,731 5,729 1933 933,940 46,669 6,947 1934 1,367,616 67,331 9,403 1935 1,897,244 88,233 —