Tea Growing

In N. Guinea

War Gives Chance to New Industry

MUCH interest has been taken in the following statement, made in Can berra, which was published in the “Sydney Morning Herald” on March 29: The practicability of producing a con siderable part of Australia’s tea require ments in the Mandated Territory of New Guinea will be investigated soon.

The investigation is to be made in the hope of relieving expenditure of non sterling exchange on the purchase of tea from Java, and, at the same time, eliminating the necessity for rationing Australian supplies.

Preliminary experiments conducted by the Administration have revealed that the tea plant grows well in many parts of the territory, and produces a high grade leaf. The possibility of develop ing an important export industry has been recognised for some time, and it is likely to receive a marked stimulus from the war.

Mr. George Murray’S Early

Interest

FOR many years, when he was in the Papuan service and, later, when he became director of agriculture in New Guinea, Mr. George H. Murray consistently advocated the possibilities of establishment of tea-growing in Papua or New Guinea.

When the great upland plateaus were discovered in central New Guinea in 1932, and examined, Mr. Murray urged that this country would be found suit able for tea-growing; and, subsequently, in a world tour, he studied tea-produc tion in Ceylon and Java.

He stated, when he returned to Aus tralia at the end of 1935 (according to an article in the “P.1.M.”, of January, 1936) that, owing to an international agreement, it was practically impossible to get seed or plants for cultivation in any country. He had tried to get seed or plants in Ceylon, Malaya and Java, but had failed. It is interesting to note, however, that in subsequent years, Mr.

Murray somehow beat the embargo and was able to get a quantity of tea-seed, which he planted and cherished, and there is now a small but flourishing plantation of tea trees on the Depart ment of Agriculture’s experimental plots in the Upper Ramu district of New Guinea.

Another man who showed great inter est in tea-growing was the late Sir Hubert Murray. About 1934, Mr. W.

H. Wright, of Samarai, Papua, who started desiccated coconut enterprises in Papua and New Guinea, was in Aus tralia and, in a newspaper interview, he declared that a large area of country on the mainland of Papua, opposite Samarai, was suitable for tea-planting and that he personally intended to start tea plantations there.

His eagerness and enthusiasm inter ested Sir Hubert Murray and, for two years after that, Sir Hubert hammered away at Canberra, and eventually per suaded Canberra to give official en couragement to the idea. It was announced, early in 1936, that the Com monwealth Government would permit tea to be imported into Australia at a duty of only Id. per lb., as compared

with the then duty of 3d. per lb. on tea from other countries.

Not much interest was shown in the project in Papua or New Guinea, how ever.

The Labour Problem

IT was pointed out, about this time, by a correspondent of the “P.1.M.”, that one great difficulty in the establishment of tea-growing in Papua or New Guinea was labour. If growing is to be successfully inaugurated, it will be necessary to import experienced tea-pickers from Java, or Ceylon, or some where—the quality of the tea depends much upon the manner in which it is handled by the pickers. It is possible that native labour can be trained, in time, to tea-picking, but for a consider able inaugural period it will be neces sary to have Asiatic tea-pickers.