Safety Last in New Guinea

Letter to the Editor.

CALAMAUA aerodrome, at the very front door of the goldfields, is in a shocking state of disrepair and is unsafe for humans or aeroplanes. It seems that a fatal accident or two is necessary be fore the Administration authorities will put the ’drome in order, and provide at least some reasonable measure of safety to those who are obliged to pilot or travel as passengers in aeroplanes.

The following notice, signed by the Acting Warden, appears on the notice board of the Warden’s office at Wau: “The attention of miners is drawn to the minute of the (government Secretary as set out hereunder:—T am directed to re quest you to draw the attention of the mining community in the Morobe district to the necessity of great care where human life is endangered. There have been three fatal accidents very recently, and during the examination of the Annual Report for 1933-34, members of the Man dates Commission referred to the matter of accidents on the Goldfields’.”

Ye gods! The Mandates Commission!

What about the Administration doing its job, and keeping first-class inspectors of mines on the Goldfield? During the past twelve months, three mining engineers of varied experience have thrown in their jobs with the New Guinea Mines Depart ment. Why? At the present time it is questionable if there is one man in the New Guinea service capable of acting as inspector of mines. Although the Gold field is producing gold to the value of £2.000,000 per year, the control of the Department is in the hands of men

who would not know a mine if they fell down the shaft of one!

As one who has to earn his bread and butter as a surface or underground miner, 1 have seen mining malpractices during the past few months on the Morobe Gold field that would cause strikes in other countries. This would not happen with proper supervision of mining work by the Government. Anyone can manage a mine under the New Guinea mining law, cer tificated managers not being necessary as in Australia and elsewhere. In New Guinea, hundreds of white men and thousands of natives are engaged in the mining industry, and their safety is something that the Government ap parently winks at, with the blind eye, and gazes steadfastly at the Mandates Com mission with the one that is not so blind.

If a little of the money now being lavished at Wau on painted palaces (costing over £1,300 eacn!) for pen-pushers of a pampered Public Service (pardon the alliteration), were spent on safeguarding the lives of black and white in the Morobe District, and in assisting mining, the country would be worth fighting for.

During the past twelve months I’ve been eking out a precarious crust as a miner, but I’m off to the Abyssinian war, Mr.

Editor. It will be just as safe as mining in New Guinea.

I am etc.,

Safety First And Last.

Edie Creek, T.N.G. 20/8/35.

Mr. Harvey George Morton, of Doa, Papua, married Miss Vera Harriet Lein ster, of Atherton, North Queensland, at St. John’s Anglican Church, Port Moresby, on September 19.

The British Phosphate Commissioners’ vessel Nauru Chief, which has been en gaged for several years in the phosphate trade between Nauru, Ocean Island, and Melbourne, has been sold to William Crosby and Cos. Pty. Ltd., a Melbourne shipping firm, for trade in the East.