Magic Bottle

By “Pat”

THE most disappointing part of the otherwise truthful and well-liked “PIM” is the advertisement in black capitals for “Foster’s Lager.”

Good heavens, where can I get a bottle of FL? If any reader of the “PIM” does manage to get a bottle of FL he must be a personal friend of the barman or an expert in diplomacy!

Look at the “hooey” in the papers— the letters addressed to the editor, com plaining about the unjust behaviour of some hotelkeepers and the weakness of the Government in enforcing its liquor laws. These publicans do not open the hotels when a man feels thirsty; they sell bottles only to a favoured few—and charge them higher prices!

Once a year or so, you may hear the stentorian voice of the Prices Commis sioner, fixing the price of a bottle at 1/9.

But these clever publicans find a way out by selling the bottles by glasses and increasing their profit—thereupon the hard-working people are forced into fur ther endless complaints. (I do not men tion the pious voices of the “wowsers” who condemn the life-resuscitating jungle-juice as a nation-destroying poi§pn.) How different were things in those happy, paradisean days of peacetime New Guinea. The Japs were not yet sneaking round the place. When you felt thirsty, all you had to do was to send a wire to the manager of BP’s or WRC’s and with the next boat you got the desired stuff at the fixed price of (??). The loyal, reliable New Guinea native carried the precious supply over the mountains to your little claim, just as carefully as he now carries the wounded. The empty bottles were hung up as targets or thrown in the river, and hilarious men tried to shoot at them to prove their soberness.

Broken bottle pieces were eagerly sought by the natives as shaving or blood-letting instruments.

Business-minded men sold the empty bottles to the natives, who used them for kerosene or oil, or as vases for flowers, NOW I have to start with my story about the “fatal” beer-bottle. It was not FL. but probably a German beer-bottle. Perhaps Pilsener or Bremen “Beck’s.” I guess it must have happened at the turn of this century. New Guinea was still under German rule, and the NG Co. had a trading station near the mouth of the Sepik River at Watam —now occu pied by the AIF and ruled by ANGAU.

The Chinese trader in charge of the store secured many native curios in exchange for cheap, trifling stuff and re-sold them to the visiting seafarers for a few pounds. Most of these curios found their way into German museums.

Amongst other worthless things, the Chinaman sold an empty beer-bottle to the puzzled natives. . Struck with a feel ing of awe, they regarded it as a sort of gourd, created and used by the ghosts of their ancestors—or, alternately, the Sons of the Sun. the white men.

This bottle was eventually traded from one village to another upstream until it reached its final destination, about 120 miles up from the mouth of the Sepik.

When the empty beer-bottle arrived, the natives organised a solemn service, gath ering in the “house-tamboran” and wor shipping their skulls.

The bottle was filled with lime, and all started to chew betelnut, mixing it with lime taken from the bottle with a stick. A couple of days later a great epidemic of dysentery broke out and many of the men died.

Of course, the empty beer-bottle was blamed as bewitched by a malicious magician who desired to destroy the whole village.

Immediately the village council decided

to get rid of the empty bottle as soon as possible. They made a big raft, put the empty bottle on it, accompanied by many coconuts, a few pigs, yams, sugar-cane and other native food ad a peace offering to the infernal gods. The whole village assembled, and, with a grave mourning song, the raft was sent downstream to the open sea. Nothing was heard of it again.

Later, when the natives saw the white men drink beer and become hilarious therefrom, they called their betelnut chewing “beer bilong Kanaka.”

The Australian and New Zealand Com mittee of the London Missionary Society will take over, as from the beginning of this year, full administrative responsibility for the Papuan Mission Field, and will administer the Papuan Field without pre vious reference to London. The Board will retain its authority and receive re ports of the Committee’s work.

During the Christmas period, lady helpers at the Suva New Zealand Forces Club and Welfare Organisation, who had given unstintingly of their time on ser vicemen’s behalf during the past year, were themselves entertained by New Zealanders of the three services.