Kunai Grass For Paper
p. 71 · Read in the full issue
New Guinea and Papua Plans
■"PHE elaborate plans for making paper pulp out of Kurukuru grass in Papua, and Kunai grass, in the Mandated Ter ritory, which received a good deal of publicity last year, do not appear to have made much progress.
Two companies have been interested in these plans—Fibres Limited, a Sydney syndicate, and a company trading under a special name, which was really the Commonwealth Hemp Corporation. There apparently is some connection between the two—the Commonwealth Hemp Cor poration has shares in Fibres Limited.
For a time, the two organisations seemed to act in concert, but in later times they apparently were acting inde pendently. The Hemp Corporation ap pears to have obtained some rights over an area on Collingwood Bay. on the north east coast of Papua, and it sent a Mr.
Goodyear out scouting for suitable Kunai lands. He was in and about the Markham Valley in 1936, and interviewed various native landowners; but he has not been heard of for some time.
Fibres Limited appear to have secured land rights at Buna, also on the north east coast of Papua, but no activity by them has been reported for some time.
The Commonwealth Hemp Corporation at one period announced that it had the support of influential London men with much money; and it is believed that two or three five-tons sample lots of grass were sent to British and European mills for testing.
Mr. H. Gow arrived at Niue Island, Central Pacific, in November by the Maui Pomare to act for a time as reliev ing manager of Messrs. Burns Philp (S.S.) Co.’s branch. He formerly was at Fanning Island.