Tropicalities

“ JUNGLE ANGELS," an hour-length J film showing the war efforts of the natives of New Guinea —and to a lesser extent those of Fiji’s fighting men on Bougainville—has been produced by the Methodist Overseas Mission.

Photography is, for the most part, by official Australian war photographers but includes shots not previously shown to the general public. The films have been correlated and edited by the Rev. Richard Piper, of the Methodist Mission.

Although the film errs on the side of playing up the Fuzzy-wuzzy’s angelic qualities, to the exclusion of his occa sional cussedness, it nonetheless presents a striking record of the part he has played in New Guinea; and, better than a thousand books, shows the problems of terrain and climate which make New Guinea untenable to Europeans without native help.

Several Territorians, including Lieut.

Dan Crawley, of the Papuan Constabulary Band, figure in the production.

Best shots are those showing the laborious process of taking supplies into Wau through the back door —the Bull dog route —and of the fighting Fijians in action on Bougainville.

There is little mission propaganda in the production—the producer contents himself with saying that Christian mis sions and the Murray regime are adding another star to that of the Southern Cross in the Australian flag.

The film will not be shown through normal channels —which is a pity, because it is worthy of general exhibition —but will be used instead at missionary rallies and meetings. * AND, talking about missions, the “New Yorker” has printed a story about Dr. Henry Pitney Van Dusen, of the Union Theological Seminary (somewhere in America, presumably) who is compil ing a book of the experiences of Service men in the Pacific who have been pleas antly surprised by their encounters with Christian natives.

“The point of the book, as we under stand it,” says “New Yorker,” “will be that the dimes and quarters our grand parents put into the missionary -box are, in a purely mundane way, paying off.

“In the opinion of some military experts, the New Guinea campaign would have failed without the support of some 10,000 native boys who acted as bearers in the mountains. If the missionaries hadn’t come along, these same lads would have ganged up on any white man they saw and lopped off his head.

“Dr. Van Dusen has a sheaf of letters from Americans befriended by Christian natives in the Pacific.

“He has a story about seven Navy fliers forced down on one of the Japanese-held Solomon Islands. They were taken in by some Christian natives who kept them hidden and tended the wounded for 87 days. During this time they had nightly Bible readings, and in the end all seven Navy boys were converted into practising Christians.

“It all lends force to what an officer in the Pacific wrote home; ‘After a bit the natives may have to come over and evangelise our civilised Western world.’ ” r would appear that wasps are a new thing in New Zealand, and lack of care in fumigating aircraft returning from the Pacific Islands is held respon sible for their introduction into the Wai kato district. Two gentlemen who have discovered lady wasps in their gardens have set up a considerable amount of agitation in the Dominion.

A leading Auckland daily goes to the length of describing a wasp as something like a honey bee, only longer and thinner, its body encircled by gold bands ... a particular nuisance to fruitgrowers and housewives who make jam.

Nothing is said about the sting; per haps the New Zealanders have' yet to learn about that.

Wasps, however, apparently have their uses. It might be remembered that 18 months ago, when Army-farming in New Guinea was hitting the headlines, wasps were flown from Australia to deal with green bugs which threatened the food crops. And they were in addition to the local variety, of which most Territorians have at least one unpleasant memory. rIS month’s funniest story: During the recent debate in Canberra on the Australian Military Forces’ equipment issue, certain Opposition mem bers agitated for the formation of a Parliamentary delegation (consisting of Opposition as well as Government mem bers) which could go to the battle zones to see for itself.

Mr. Eddie (“Fuzzy-vfuzzy”) Ward im mediately jumped to his feet: “No,” he said, “I couldn’t allow that. Such a dele gation might have a bad effect on the natives.”

MEDICAL Assistant working in a

bush hospital on Bougainville,

introduces a Biological Phenomenon,

but asks—can she be true, even in the tropics : SHE came to hospital with a young baby which she said was her dead sister’s child. Although she was suckling the child, she declared by all a native holds sacred that she had never had a child of her own. Seeing the MA’s scepticism, she expressed some milk, and called in her villagers, who supported her story, claiming that it was “fashion be long kanaka.”

The MA retired to scratch his head.

Later, the baby died. In the same ward was another mother, who could not feed her babe, and the MA, thinking that the

Biological Phenomenon’s achievement should not be wasted, suggested that she should suckle this other child.

But so much for the plans of mice and men. The BP flatly refused, and would not change her mind for bribes. Finally, after dire threats from the MA, she sulkily agreed; but there was still more ground to cover. The mother refused to allow her child to be nursed by the BP.

More bribes and threats, and at last the babe was brought to the foster mother, only to remind the MA that he could lead a horse to water, etc. The baby refused to be fed by the BP.

A very resigned MA filled a feeding bottle, and added yet another to the for midable band of the hospital’s bottle-fed babies.—Alma G. rE following clipping from the Bris bane “Courier-Mail” was sent us with a covering anonymous letter (also signed “Fair Play”). lUis reprinted here for what it is worth.

Without detracting in any degree from the job Mrs. Lampo did in Papua during the evacuation period, we would say that some Territorians appear to be unduly preoccupied with the questions of just which white woman it was who got some place first; or who it was who left some other place last. One either does a good job in, or for the New Guinea Territories; or one does not. The time element does not come into it. That is usually a mat ter of accident or opportunity.

But here is the letter (it was signed “Pair Play”) in support of Mrs. Lampo's claim of having been the last woman out of Papua in 1942: “JJECAUSE of certain published state -13 ments, there is an impression that Mrs. Morton was the last white woman to leave Port Moresby, and the first to return. I was there at the time and can say authoritatively that the last white woman to leave was Mrs. C. H.

Lampo, who had been through some 40 bombing raids before she left on April 24.

“Mrs. Lampo is the wife of Lieutenant Lampo, who was recently in the news as being one of the two or three men still living in Australia who hold the Croix de Yser and the Croix de Guerre.

“Army nurses were the first to- return, and as Mrs. Morton is a nurse, presum ably others we»e with her when she went back.”