Gold Search on the

Strickland River Hides’s New Area To Be Examined At Once

fTSING a seaplane chartered from Guinea Airways Ltd.. Messrs. Jack Hides and David Lyall, who are leading a gold prospecting expedition in Papua on behalf of Investors Ltd. (Sydney), ar rived in Port Moresby on April 24. On April 27, Mr. Hides made application at the Warden’s Court, Port Moresby, for a dredging claim of 45 square miles, ex tending along 21J miles of the Strickland River, immediately above Everill’s Steep Pass.

On April 28, Messrs. Hides and Lyall returned to the Strickland by the sea plane.

Before its return to Port Moresby the seaplane, which was in charge of Pilot Aubrey Koch and Mechanic Carl Isler, made a reconnaissance flight from Mr.

Hides’s camp over the Upper Strickland and up to the mountains, which lie be tween Papua and New Guinea. Mr. Hides was thus able to examine closely the country into which he is now penetrat ing.

The Warden (Mr. W. R. Humphries), on May 11, granted the dredging claim, subject to confirmation by the Governor.

Immediately thereafter Austral Malay Tin Ltd., which is associated with Inves tors Ltd. in this enterprise, organised a prospecting party; and Mr. Du Faur will leave Sydney within a few wrecks for Port Moresby. With a small party and a drill, he will proceed immediately to the Strickland area and will carry out boring in an endeavour to learn the value of the area that has been reserved to the company.

Praise has been accorded Pilot Koch for his feat in so quickly finding Mr.

Hides’s camp amid the dense jungle of the Strickland River on April 23. When he got beyond the Lower Strickland he found the existing maps of little value, and so he flew towards w r hat was believed to be the latitude of the camp. Through his pedal wireless set, Mr. Hides knew that the ’plane was coming, and he had signal fires burning. Mr. Koch found these signals and w r as able to land his seaplane on a quiet reach of the river near the camp.