A Haggis At Bulwa

(Contributed) THE world’s sweetest singer has been J- honoured in the world’s youngest colony. The Scots of Bulwa (on the New Guinea goldfield) held a social function, complete with haggis and bagpipes, on the birthday of Robert Burns.

It commenced when Hugh Black, in January, got a haggis direct from his Scottish home—that famous canned pro duct put up by Messrs. Waugh, of Nichol son Street, Edinburgh. There is only one way to eat a haggis: and that is in the company of brother Scots, on a convivial occasion. Hugh Black arranged accord ingly.

The rumour of the haggis got about. An astonishing number of young fellows re membered that they had maternal grand fathers, and mother’s sister’s aunts, and so on, who had worn the tartan, or been called “Mac.” For a week, men who were asked to have a drink, answered, “Aye, mon! ”

The party which eventually sat down to supper at' 10 p.m. numbered 12. Some obviously were Scots: the others defended their ancestry vociferously. It was a merry party.

The haggis was piped in with full cere monial and proper solemnity. There were neither bagpipes nor pipers: but Swanson found a first-class bagpipes record, and joyfully presided at the gramophone; while Hugh Black marched in with the haggis.

Toasts were drunk, thoughts of the “Scot ties” went back to yon “land of green heath and shaggy wood”—and wide-eyed native houseboys, clustering outside, won dered at this latest form of madness of “white fella masta.” There was a big piece of haggis for everyone.

The party ended at 2 a.m., with a drive over a newly-formed road in a car recently brought in by aeroplane. The Kunai-clad ridges, where a little time ago were only native villages, inhabited by savages who had never seen a white man, echoed to the songs of Robbie Burns.