Plan for Early Duplication
New Guinea Air
COMMENCING on May 30, the air mail between Sydney and New Guinea, conducted by W. R. Car penter & Co., Ltd., may be duplicated, and re-arranged.
At present, the mail-plane leaves Sydney on Tuesday mornings, flies via Brisbane, North Queensland, Port Moresbv, Salamaua to Rabaul (arriving Thursdays) and returns by the same track, arriving Sydney on Sundays.
If the Commonwealth Post Office agrees to the new arrangement, a ’plane will leave every Wednesday and Sunday morning; and arrive back in Sydney every Thursday and Monday night. The Sunday ’plane will not go beyond Sala maua: the Wednesday ’plane will go through to Rabaul. The proposed new time-table may be shown thus:
By this arrangement, the ’planes will pass each other, each week, at Townsville, on Wednesday nights; and. between Salamaua and Townsville, on Mondays.
The new arrangement, of course, will give Papua and the western end of New Guinea a bi-weekly service with Sydney, and put an end to the increasing com plaints that it is not possible to get seats on the New Guinea mail ’nlane un less there is booking far ahead.
Meanwhile, however, the Federal Gov ernment is trying to induce Carnenter Airways to cut off this New Guinea ser vice at Townsville, and leave the New Guinea traffic to be picked up at Towns ville and taken south by other air-lines.
It appears that the latter are comnlain ing that Carnenter Airways, a subsidised line, are taking freights and passengers between points on the Australian coast.
Carpenter & Co., however, have very nronerly retorted that the air-mail con tract which they received was to run be tween Sydney and Rabaul. and they have organised accordingly: that the Towns ville arrangement would impose incon venience, delay and expense on Terri tories passengers and freight; and that they are an all-Australian company, and therefore have the same right to carry aerial passengers and freight between Australian air-ports, as an Australian chipping company ("such as Burns, Philp Co . Ltd., who get a subsidy for carry ing Islands mails) has to carry similar traffic between Australian seaports, in competition with Australian coastal steamship lines.
Territories residents are being urged to assist Carpenter & Co., in this fight against the “combine” air-lines, other wise they may find their air-mail ser iously restricted just at a time when it nromises to become doubly valuable to them.
Mr. Cecil Atkinson, who was for several years in charge of the Native Labour Office, Port Moresby Papua, arrived in Australia by the “Bulolo” in April on leave.
No. 1 Plane. No. 2 Plane.
Wednesday Sydney-T.’ville Salamaua-T.’ville Thursday T.’ville-Salamaua T.'ville-Sydney Friday Salamaua-Rabaul At Sydney Saturday At Rabaul At Sydney Sunday Rabaul-Salamaua Syd—T.’ville Monday S.’maua-T.’ville T.’ville-S’maua Tuesday T.’ville-S3 7 dney At Salamaua