South Seas

Radio In The

Growth of A.W.A.'s New Guinea Service

TTHE opening last month of a radio * telephone service connecting Rabaul (New Guinea) with Australia is a notable point in the steady development of radio services between the Commonwealth, the Mandated Territory, and the Pacific Is lands generally.

In the early days of radio communi cations, Rabaul was in touch with Aus tralia only through the coastal radio station at Townsville, North Queensland.

Telegraphic messages for New Guinea from Australia were sent first to Towns ville, thence by radio to Rabaul. Simi larly any message from N.G. was received at Townsville and passed on over the land telegraph lines. In 1928 Amalgam ated Wireless (Australasia) Ltd. estab lished a direct radio service between

Sydney and Rabaul. It was immediately successful and has been beneficial to Is lands interests.

The large volume of messages handled indicated that New Guinea planting, busi ness, and commercial interests would welcome the still closer communication afforded by direct speech and so the way was paved for the inauguration of the radio-telephone service which came into operation on October 18. The service is of one hour daily, 11 a.m. to noon (excluding Sundays), and the fee is 15/- per minute, with a minimum of £2/5/-. For the pre sent, secrecy facilities will not be asso ciated with the service, but the question of installing the necessary equipment for this will be considered later.

Incidentally, the growth and develop ment of wireless in the Pacific is shown by the fact that in the first half of this year over 625,000 words were exchanged between Sydney and Rabaul, Port Mor esby, Suva, and Noumea.

Mr. I). M. Lazarus, well-known 8.5.1. planter and trader, arrived in Sydney from Tulagi by the Malaita early in Nov ember on a long holiday.