Bougainville's Sawmill
p. 32 · Read in the full issue
Bougainville now has a sawmill, going full-blast and putting out be tween 15,000 and 17,000 feet of timber daily. It is run by a special American division, who are finding that “lumbering was never like this back home.” Apart from the facts that a continual watch must be kept for shell fragments and bullets, that are apt to fly out of virgin logs when they come in contact with the saws, and that much repair work has been necessary, as the whole of the equipment was sunk near the beach, the men are finding many
other difficulties in handling some of the hardest timber in the world: teak and mahogany.
The whole of the sawmill’s production is used for bridges, mess halls, flooring, runways, and other military needs.
Mr. Alexander Anderson, who for many years was head carpenter with the Melanesian Mission in the South-west Pacific, died at his home in Auckland, NZ, in April. He was 83 years old and is survived by his wife, five sons and four daughters.