Wau-Salamaua

Road Problem May be Solved by Use of Mules

From Our Own Correspondent WAU, Dec. 1.

IT is probable that, at long last, the Morobe miners will solve their trans port problem. For years, they planned to use motor traffic on a road over the mountains between Salamaua and Wau, thus escaping the heavy air freights.

Now, as a road plan appears imprac ticable, they propose to cut a mule track and use mule transport.

The executive of the New Guinea Min ing Association has been considering some means whereby the present surveyed shortest route, from Salamaua to Wau, may be put to use. All plans for the construction of a motor road over this costly surveyed route (it has cost some thing like £20,000 to survey) having been disregarded by Canberra, the Association decided to act in some other way.

Useful and concrete information having been received, relative to the possibility of cutting a mule track over this route, a special meeting of miners and other interested persons was held in Wau on Sunday, November 23. A comprehensive outline of the mule-track project was put to the meeting by Mr. W. W. Cameron, who is the sponsor of the plan.

It was unanimously decided to approach the undertaking by constitutional methods.

Mr. Cameron was appointed as the As sociation’s delegate, to proceed to Lae, and interview the Administrator on his arrival there.

Mr. Cameron was on the Administrator’s door-step within twenty four hours of the latter’s arrival. He was immediately granted an interview, at which His Honour expressed himself as entirely sympathetic towards the suggestion.

Territory funds being at a very low ebb, thanks, to Mount Tavurvur. His Honour said that it was impossible for Public Works to undertake the job; but all possible help would be given within the scope of funds available.

The miners are prepared to take the work in hand, at their own expense, be yond the help that can be given by the Administration, and they intend to start without delay. Many offers of labour, tools, and finance were given at Sunday’s meeting, and a go-ahead and efficient sub-committee, composed of Messrs. W.

W. Cameron, C. Gee, J. Wright, T. Prince and R. Day was appointed, with the Association’s president and hon. secretary ex-officio.

Figures presented at the meeting in dicated that freight on necessary com modities, such as food for indentured labour, could be reduced to somewhere in the vicinity of £5 per ton, as against the £lB per ton at present being charged for air freight (with increases looming).

An important phase of the problem is the possibility of further reductions in the already depleted air services by fur ther accidents, and the difficulty of pro curing pilots, in the present crisis.

It is stated that, with a keen overseer and 100 natives, the work of cutting the mule track (much of which is already trafficable for mules) can be carried out within two months.

Flying Officer Jack Rua Coath, who was well known at Suva, Fiji, where, from 1934 until 1937, he was a member of the Bank of New Zealand staff, was killed when a training plane crashed in NZ recently. His father. Mr. W. Coath. also was connected with the Bank of NZ and for a time served in Fiji.