Ward Era Almost As Bad As
pp. 32-34 · Read in the full issue
Jap Era In New Guinea
Pioneer Planter is Outspoken and Bitter
Letter to the Editor
IAM forwarding you this article on behalf of several original New Guinea workers and pioneers (not Adminis tration officials) and myself. We left Australia, and other countries, years ago and adopted this country as our own.
For the past we have fought to rid the country of the* Jap menace and make the place fit to live a normal life in.
Now we have a worse menace in the shape of Mr. Ward to contend with. My knowledge of Mr. Ward may interest you.
I was in Finschhafen last year when he arrived on a tour of inspection. He made a good start by lowering the pres tige of the white man, and the natives could not help but notice it. Quite a number of natives were lined up for the occasion, and Mr. Ward made a speech to them in English (which they could not understand). The speech was trans lated to them and they naturally thought that it was all humbug.
There happened to be a few old New Guinea workers present at the time and one explained to a few of the natives that Mr. Ward was just a “lunatic white kanaka from Australia.” It did not take long for all natives, far and wide, to know about it and start asking ques tions. Quite a number of them came to me' to verify some of the things they had heard. Needless to say, Mr. Ward is not thought much of by the natives.
He was only in the country a very short time; yet, according to himself, he knows more about the country than we who have been here for years, worked here, made our homes and lost them here. All of his recent insane proposi tions are just the opposite to what we New Guinea workers think. Whether he is just being pig-headed, or wants us all out of the country, I do not know.
I have read, with interest, the article “Socialist Utopia in New Guinea” in your July issue, and I would like to add my comments on Mr. Ward’s plan;
A REVISED, Scientifically Balanced Diet for Natives. / No reasonable employer would object to the introduction of a better dieting scale, providing the people who introduce it know what they are doing. The scale pre-war was all right; but, in my opinion, could be improved upon slightly.
The usual ration scale on the Morobe district goldfields and other towns con sisted of good Saigon rice, South Ameri can bully-beef and Navy biscuits. When I say that the scale could be improved upon, I maintain that the addition of some native vegetables would be a great improvement.
I do not know who introduced the pre sent native ration scale. Whoever did should be placed in an asylum. This scale consists of less rice (Australian and of inferior quality) than pre-war, bully-beef (also of inferior quality), Army biscuits, wheatmeal (known to us as “sawdust”), tomato juice, edible animal fat. The present rice and bully-beef are passable, seeing that no better quality can be pro cured during wartime. All Army bis cuits that are supplied to natives are ancient and about half are thrown away, being unfit for human consumption.
The “sawdust” is something that should be banned altogether. It is sup posed to contain vitamins, but that is no good if it is definitely not liked. I have yet to find one native that will eat it and like it. . . . . .
Tomato juice may be all right, but very few natives will drink it. The only time I have seen them drink it is when they have been travelling with me on the sea and there has been little or no water available.
When I am in charge of native labour compounds I try to increase the rice scale, if stocks will allow it. I give them the bully-beef and biscuit scale, and. more often than not, the biscuits are thrown away. .
I would not insult any New Guinea native by offering him “sawdust” to eat.
Any “sawdust” in my stocks generally finishes up in the sea or buried some where. I had a job not long ago of fill ing in several Jap fox-holes, and the “sawdust” made good filling.
I generally leave all tomato juice and animal fat in my store and if any native wants any, he has only to ask and Tie can have an unlimited quantity. I have only been asked for one tin of tomato juice I use my best endeavours at all times to find native vegetables for my na in V6 all native labour compounds there is an unlimited quantity of sawdust, tomato juice and animal fat that cannot be given away. Of all sawdust sup plied to native compounds for human consumption. I think that I am safe i saving that 90 per cent, is destroyed. It is most certainly a waste of monev. I don’t know what Mr. Ward s idea of a scientifically-balanced diet natives is. but it would certainly need to be much better than the present one.
NO Employment for Natives Under 16 Years of Age.
Mr. Ward does not realise that in this country a native is practically fully
grown at 16 years of age and certainly a few years past the usual age for starting work. I doubt if Mr. Ward or anybody else can tell whether any native is 15, 16 or any age. Natives do not carry birth certificates, and the only way we can tell their age is to make a guess, and we might be within five years either way of the right age.
NO Employment of Female Labour, Except Under Certain Conditions.
I am a great believer in married couples being engaged to work under the inden ture system. Native women (meris) are just as efficient as boys at working, especially at house and garden work.
My intention, when all this strife is over and we are allowed to live a normal life, is to engage only married couples to work on my plantation. Of the thou sands of natives indentured pre-war, there were very few married couples amongst them, which was very unwise.
When a married couple are working to gether, they are more content and better results are obtained from their work. While working thus, there is no objection to their raising a family and also it would tend to reduce the suicides amongst native women in their villages, and sodomy amongst work boys, which the former Administration and missions encouraged or forced on the natives pre war.
THE Elimination of Professional Recruiters.
Professional recruiting, done properly, should most certainly be carried on. Pre war, there was a certain amount of il legal’ recruiting done, which should be eliminated. It was not only that a recruiter sent natives into villages to recruit, when he should go himself, or
recruiting boys from closed areas and making false statements as to where the boys came from; but some Administra tion officials were taking bribes to sign on illegally-recruited natives. This, I might mention, was a common occur rcnce.
In post-war, an employer should be allowed to recruit natives for himself in the proper manner. On the other hand, if he is unable to go out himself, there should be a professional recruiter to go out and recruit for him, also in the proper manner.
As for the proposed pool of native labour, controlled by the Administration, that is ridiculous, as the Administration will be incapable of controlling it.
TWELVE Months’ Limit on Duration of Employment and Re-Engagement Will Not be Permitted Until the Native Has Returned to His Home for a Period of Three Months.
I was under the impression that we were fighting this war to suppress dic tatorship, but apparently we fought to suppress it in foreign countries and then get it in our own. I was also under the impression that there was a certain British law stating that any native in any British colony would not be denied his freedom. Apparently I was mistaken again.
Just allowing a native to work for a short time and then forcing him to re turn to the village where he was born (probably he may have no interests there and may not want to go) is certainly not my idea of freedom. I guess there would be an uproar if that insane idea were introduced into Australia: and what has the native done to be forced to abide by that idea? In my opinion, the natives should be allowed to be indentured for two or three years (he could please him self as to the number of years) and after
the indenture expired he would be en titled to a holiday if he wanted it. I have had dozens of natives indentured to me at various times. All contracts were for three years (by the consent of each individual native). When each native finished his three years, I always asked the question, “Do you want a holiday at your village?’’ In all cases, the answer was in the negative as they had no in terests at their respective villages. They just wanted to make a new contract and continue working for me.
I did have one native for five years, once, and after an illness I encouraged him to have a holiday at his village to recuperate. He reluctantly consented and I made all arrangements for him to be absent from his work for three months.
After leaving my house he was back again in six weeks to the day, and four of those six weeks were spent in travel ling to and from his village. After that affair, if any of my natives who had been with me for some time wanted to have a week or two off to visit a town about 20 or 30 miles away, I granted that re quest and all were satisfied.
There are quite a number of natives that do appreciate a holiday at their vil lages occasionally but there are others just the opposite.
I spent most of last year on New Britain and during that time I had con tact with dozens of boys from the New Guinea mainland. Those boys *had been working on New Britain for some years and were quite content to remain there.
Quite a number of them were married to New Britain meris and some had children. After the Allied occupation, those boys were roped in to work for the Army. Recently, all were shipped to the mainland of New Guinea; most of their coritracts have been terminated and they have been forced to return to the vil lage where they were born. Their wives and children are still in New Britain and it is doubtful if they will ever see them again.
I have a number of boys with me at the present time. They have worked for the Army for over three years and now, as the Army has no further use for them, their contracts are being terminated and they are being forced to go and sit down at their villages for an indefinite- period.
Some are anxious to go, but there are some that would give anything to get out of going. The Army has just “wiped” them and there are no private concerns
or men here that they can indenture themselves to. After the great job of work they have done in the war, this is their reward.
WE pioneers who have worked in this country, lost all of our worldly pos sessions in the war, and fought for years for the right to live a normal life here, are all anxious to remain and start afresh at various occupations—on the land, etc. We are now anxiously waiting to see what is going to happen before we make a start.
We advocate that our cause be taken to England or the United States. If, to remain here, we have to serve under the dictatorship of Mr. Ward, I am afraid that most' of us will be going further afield, much as we like this country. I might mention that a number of New Guinea men have already gone further afield, in disgust. If the remainder of us are forced to do the same, I can assure everybody that I most certainly pity the New Guinea native that has to remain here under such dictatorship.—
I am, etc.,