Water

Port Moresby to Get Supply at Last

From Our Own Correspondent

Port Moresby, Jan. 2.

NO official statement has been made about the outcome of the visit of the Lieutenant-Governor to Canberra in December but it is confidently reported that the town is now to have a water supply and that at an early date. The work is to be expedited owing to the im portance of protecting the garrison against the possibilities of a drought. The Australian Government will pay half the cost.

The cost will be heavy owing to war conditions pushing up the price of materials. It is estimated that a pipe line of 20 or 30 miles will be needed. It is expected that the water will be brought by gravitation from the Laloki River.

However, the cost must be faced. Port Moresby now has a population of about 800 Europeans —almost equal to that of Rabaul —and conditions here would be desperate indeed if we were faced with a drought like that which came in 1937.

Some quarters suggest that the pro portion of the cost which Papua will bear will be about £50.000.