Rabaul's Future Cannot Be Hastily
p. 12 · Read in the full issue
Decided
Australian Press Ignores Important Factors
\ LTHOUGH no official announcement has been made, it is generally known that the report of the expert vulcano logists, engaged by the Commonwealth Government after the Rabaul eruption, is unfavourable to the retention of Rabaul as the administrative headquarters of the Mandated Territory of New Guinea, The report has given the Commonwealth Gov ernment a shock, and the Administrator (Brigadier-General McNicoll) has been summoned to Canberra to advise the Government.
Presumably, the experts were asked to say whether there was any risk of Raoaul being overwhelmed in the future by a voicamc outourst; and, as Rabaul cieany is on the weii-known line of vol canic weakness, there can be omy one answer. The risk is there. There may be another eruption tomorrow. On the other hand, it may not occur tor another hun dred years. it woum be fooush to say, at this stage, however, that Raoaui wiix be abandonee as the Administrative centre. There are several important considerations to be ueait with first, -tsneny stated, they are as follow; (1) To an increasing degree, and sup ported now oy itaiy and japan, Germany is demanding * tne return oi her colon ies. Tnese coionies, oi course, include mew Gumea and western oamoa, as wen as tne Caronne and iviarsnau Islands, now under mandate to Japan, it would be unwise to commit New Guinea and Aus tralia to heavy expenditure tor the re moval of the aunumstrative headquarters so long as there is any possibility of Australia having to hand over the New Guinea mandate to another country. (2) If New Guinea is to be Australia’s responsiDinty in the future, Australia, and not New Guinea, must face most of the heavy cost involved in the removal of the capital from Raoaui. It is impos sible to make an estimate, but it may safely be said that the cost will be not iess than £200,000. Australia will seek to piace as much of the burden upon New Guinea as is possible. What have New Guinea interests to say to that? The N.G.
Administration, thanks to the active gold industry, had an accumulated surplus of at least £50,000 when the eruption oc curred in May. Practically the whole of that sum has been spent upon costs con nected with the eruption. Therefore, the cost of any removal must be financed by Australia. (3) No decision can be made until the authorities have consulted the main in terests in New Guinea, which may be roughly classified as: (a) The big trad ing firms; (b) the planting interests; (c) the transport companies; (d) the goldmining interests; (e) the missionary organisations.
It probably will be found that, among these various interests, very definite opin ions are held concerning the future ad ministrative centre. (4) In the ultimate analysis, Aus tralia’s main reason for holding New Guinea is based on defence. It is impor tant that the chain of land represented by Papua, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, New Hebrides and Norfolk Islands, shall be held either by Australia herself, or by powers friendly to Australia. In that con nection it is to be remembered that, al though Rabaul is surrounded by volcan oes, Rabaul Harbour, nevertheless, is the best and apparently the most easily defended port anywhere in that part of the Western Pacific. (5) The Australian newspapers appar ently have decided that the administra tive headquarters, if they are to be re moved, will be removed to Madang because it has a good port, because it is on the mainland near the gold industry, and because it would be readily acces sible by the new aeroplane service to Australia. Another strong reason in favour of Madang is that its development would assist in the opening up of that huge area of tablelands—“white man’s country”—which recently has been found in the centre of New Guinea. There are two serious objections to Madang, how ever. One is strategical—it is situated in that part of New Guinea which is nearest to the Japanese mandated islands and clearly is vulnerable to attack from that quarter. The other objection is that there appears to be a shortage of free land in and about Madang. Our Madang corres pondent says emphatically that if the administration were moved to that town, there would be serious trouble, because all the land apparently available is ac tually held by interests which would not open it up to private people. (6) The newspapers have freely used the term “abandonment of Rabaul,” and that has conveyed an entirely wrong im pression. Even if the administrative es tablishment is moved to more stable country, there always will be in Rabaul an important centre for the export of produce and the distribution of imported goods; and it also will remain an im portant Pacific port.
A meeting of landowners, held in Rabaul on November 17, sent by radio to the Prime Minister a protest against any proposal to remove the Administra tive establishment. (7) There is a well-supported sugges tion to keep the administrative establish ment at Rabaul, but to transfer the resi dential section, and perhaps some of the offices, to the Toma-Tililigap area (in the hills, 12-14 miles west of Rabaul)# which is off the line of volcanic weakness.