Progress of Rehabilitation in Papua-
pp. 5-6 · Read in the full issue
New Guinea
THE long, slow process of rehabilitation in the Australian Territories of Papua and New Guinea made longer and slower and very much more expensive because the Territories have become the Socialistic plaything of Mr.
Eddie Ward, an Australian Leftist Minis ter —is going on.
The new Administrator, Colonel J. K.
Murray, working with remarkable indus try and patience, is slowly bringing order out of the administrative chaos he found there when he took over at the end of October.
There has been some friction among the public servants—inevitable, in view of the far-reaching readjustments to be made, as between former Papuan and New Guinea officers but the great majority of the senior men have taken up their jobs in a good spirit, and are loyally and efficiently supporting Colonel Murray. The general atmosphere has improved very much.
Some heads of departments have been selected, apparently; in others, the posi tions still are uncertain. Canberra seems still to be seeking for a Government Secretary. Reports of the appointment of Mr. Melrose and, later, of Mr. Steve Lonergan, proved to be incorrect.
All-Civil Administration Soon
BEST-INFORMED opinion is that the Army will have finished with all of New Guinea (except a small area where over 100,000 Jap prisoners will be held for a long time, pending the provi sion of ships for their repatriation) by June 30, and that the Civil Administra tion then will be extended over the whole of the Territories. At present, all of the Mandated Territory except the portion
south of the Markham River, is con trolled by the Army and ANGAU.
A considerable number of Australian troops are being retained in New Guinea to guard Jap prisoners (who are on the coastal islands near Madang, and in the Rabaul-Kokopo area). The general policy appears to be to relieve the white troops by using the four battalions of Pacific infantry Regiment, as far as possible, for guard duty; and to compel the Japs to cultivate very extensive gardens, so as to grow as much as pos sible of their own food.
End Of The Mandate
ONE of the early duties of the United Nations, now meeting in London, will be the liquidation of the League of Nations Mandates, and the disposal of the Mandated Territories. This affects both New Guinea and Western Samoa, in the Pacific.
It is practically certain that New Guinea will be handed over to Aus tralia, under the new system of trustee ship.
Bp’S Return To Port Moresby
rE restoration of trade, industry and commerce in Papua-New Guinea is slow and fumbling conditions characteristic of Government control.
In view of the apparent determination of the Australian Minister Ward, in his initial stages, to attack and discourage all “exploitation”—by which he particu larly referred to “big companies, with absentee shareholders” —it is interesting to note that the Big Firms are now being permitted to return and re-establish themselves.
All the Burns Philp establishments re sumed operations in Port Moresby on January 1, under the general direction
of Mr. E. J. Frame. He now controls, as one unit, the general store, the hotel the picture theatre, the freezer, and the BNG company.
Steamships Trading Co., Ltd., similarly have resumed the operation of their i ar g e Port Moresby establishment, which has various departments.
These trading concerns have received sympathetic help and consideration from th e local Administration, and their opera tions are expanding satisfactorily.
The cre am of the Territory’s commerce, howe ver, is still in the hands of the Government concern, the Production Control Board-which controls practically everything relating to production, sale of prof ce native trade and transport This -Mr. Ward’s idea of preventing exploi- Actually, no one is worrying much abo ut the pCB just now The prices being obtained for copra, rubber, etc.. are so high that keen trading is not ca lled for. The plantation owners (in eluding the Big Firms) are getting such goo d returns, and obliged to accept such litt i e responsibiltiv, that thev are not at present troubled bv high prices of sup piieS) or cos t an d irregularitv of trans port—that all belongs to the PCB.
It w m be a very different story when prices fall. Then Government control will show its weakness.
Naxive La Bour-No. 1 Problem
rjIHE chief problem of course, is native 1 labour—and that remains still the Octo ber 15—when 95 per cent, of indentured labourers, suddenly released from their contracts, simply went home to their vil lages. Industry generally has been para lysed ever since, and fantastic wages have been paid to the few natives who bave remained at work. Experienced men, however, expect to see a trickle ot returning labour about March which should increase to a stream by June.
Mr. Ward’s delightful incursion into native affairs, however, has set back Ter ritories rehabilitation by many months.
It is not surprising to hear a report that there has been serious friction in Port Moresby in the department respon sible for the Native Labour Ordinance.
There will be no peace there until the idealists are shackled in their proper place, and some degree of realism is ad mitted. Labour supply is likely to re main the No. 1 problem of the Terri tories so long as the present Ordinances remain.
“Marella” On Regular Run
rE next most urgent problem is transport. At present, the Aus tralian Government, through Mr.
Ward and his creations, is the owner of all shipping used regularly in the Ter ritories. Maybe it is better that way, seeing the Government generally controls all production and trade, and the ship ment of produce.
The Burns Philp liner “Marella” appears to be running to a regular sche dule, from Sydney to Port Moresby and New Guinea ports, every six weeks. But this vessel actually is being run in the Government service, and the real owners (Burns Philp) are merely the agents who operate the ship for the' Government.
It is a ragtime set-up, worthy of Mr.
Ward, but it. should suit BP very well.
Whatever happens, they get compensa tion for the use of their ship, and com mission on all the trade she does, while the Government gets any profit that is available—and pays any losses that are incurred.
The Bp Fleet
THE Big Firm, in World War 11, lost two of its best ships. The “Macdhui” was sunk by Jap bombs at Port Moresby, the “Neptuna” was blown up in Darwin, the “Malaita” was badly damaged, and a number of little ships were sunk.
But the new liner “Bulolo,” although many times in dangerous waters, escaped.
She is now on her way from the Far East to Britain. She is going into deck for reconditioning, and she shouM be back in the Pacific services in 1947.
The gallant old “Montoro,” which sur vived so many perils before the war, and escaped doom at the hands of Japanese knackers by a narrow margin in 1939, is at present doing good service, and soon will be back in her old job.
The “Marella” is now on the New Guinea run; and the “Morinda” is doing her old-time Norfolk Is l and-New Hebrides service.
The “Malaita” now is in a Sydney dockyard, undergoing repairs, which will occupy another six months.
Report About Wau Drome
SOME development of air traffic appa rently is being planned. Australian Civil Aviation authorities have been making a survey.
Territorians were startled this month when it was reported that the famous Wau aerodrome had been condemned by the Australian authority. The Wau field, for many long years, was the busiest drome south of the equator. All sorts and conditions of planes landed on this noteworthy slope in the Bulolo Valley, in all sorts of weather —and rarely, if ever, was there an accident due to drome con ditions.
Wau’s peculiar hillside drome, in the eyes of Australian airmen, who know nothing of New Guineas queer condi tions, might appear undesirable. They should ask the experienced NG commer cial pilots about it.
Samarai Next?
rERE is no move,, as yet, to extend the operations of the Big Firms to other Territories towns.
The next place of interest, however, is likely to be Samarai. Some plantations are being brought back into production in Eastern Papua, and the restoration of Samarai —the port and commercial sec tion of which was destroyed—is now under consideration. Both Burns Philp and Steamships Trading Co. have every thing ready to move into Samarai or anywhere else, as soon as the Adminis tration gives permission.
Here, again, transport is the problem.
More ships, and bigger ships, are needed.
Future New Guinea Trade
BURNS PHILP appear to have made no plans yet for a return to the Terri tory of New Guinea—where they had branches at Rabaul, Kavieng, Kieta, Sala maua, Wau, Madang, Aitape and Manus —but one gathers that they are merely awaiting the development of Mr. Ward’s slow-moving plans. If Civil Administra tion is to be restored to those places, and facilities are provided for the re establishment of the big stores, Burns Philp will move in, accordingly.
It is not expected that W. R. Carpen ter & Co., Ltd., will return to storekeep ing in the Territory. They now are more interested in the development of primary and secondary industries, rather than in the distribution of goods; and, even before the war, they were inclined to restrict their storekeeping operations.
But Carpenters, like Burns Philp, own very considerable plantation interests in New Guinea, and they certainly will re tain in the Territory the necessary orga nisation to manage and service those plantations. The big Carpenter estab lishment at Pondo is likely to be re established at an early date. Pondo pro duced desiccated coconut and coir fibre, on a large scale. The company will be handicapped by the loss of skilled and trusted men like Evensen and Korn — both, unhappily, lost in the “Monte video Maru” disaster —but the industry will go on.
Civilians Still Held Back
MEANWHILE, what of the rehabilita tion of the Territories’ civi lians? Planters, miners, timber men, traders —all are eager to get back to their properties and to production of the many things for which the world now is clamouring.
But the attitude of the Department of External Territories is unhelpful, un friendly and even hostile. None may travel without a permit. Every applica tion for a permit must go to Canberra, through a slow, wearisome procedure— and the majority are refused. Canberra seems to hate every man who wants to plant, or mine or trade for profit.
The Department says that civilians cannot yet return freely, because there is a shortage of transport, of supplies, of labour, of most essential services. But practically all those shortages have been created or assisted by the Department itself, either through lack of apprecia tion of the position, or by deliberate policy (as, for example, the termination of native labour contracts).
Inquiries indicate that hundreds of new settlers are eager to go to the Ter ritories from Australia. Most of them are of a good type, and nearly all have some capital. But they are being knocked back at every corner by the Canberra bureaucrats. No machinery is planned, or even contemplated, for the reception, instruction and encouragement of new settlers.
Greater facilities for the return of
selected civilians will be provided within the next six months—sooner, if Civil Administration is extended sooner over the remainder of New Guinea—but it is most unlikely that anything worthwhile will be done to re-establish the Euro pean community in the Territory, on the 1940 scale, while the Labour Govern ment remains in power in Australia, and especially while a professional politician like Mr. Ward has charge of the Terri tories Department.
Should Lae Be The “Capital”?
MEANWHILE, there is speculation con cerning the location of the new “capital” of Papua-New Guinea, once Civil Administration is restored over both the Territories.
The general expectation is that Lae will be chosen but voices are being raised against that choice. Here is a letter from a man on the spot.
“It looks as if it will be Lae—seeing the heavy expenditure that is going into wharves, etc. Why this is being done, the good Lord knows! Every wharf so far built has just disappeared, or is about to.
Apparently, the Army wallahs cannot see that the everlasting sweep of the Markham current along the seafront at Lae, plus south-east weather, causes ceaseless erosion. They ought to read the history of Guinea Airways’ attempts to put in port facilities.
“If this very expensive wharf that is now being built survives this present south-east, it surely will not last through the next.
“Now that New Guinea no longer has any semblance of a complete town, why should we not make a new start, and build a worthwhile capital at the place that was made for it in 1943-45 in the Territory’s most central position—namely, Finschhaven?
“The harbour there is very good—Lae has no harbour at all. The Americans, while Finschhaven was their base, spent enormous sums on improvements be tween 30 and 50 miles of good roads, for one thing. The airstrip there is second to none in the Territory . . .at one time, it probably was the busiest strip in the world. The surrounding land is fertile, the timbers are outstanding, and the forest area is large, with healthy, cool mountains right in the background. The port is right on the point of Huon Peninsula, facing Vitiaz Strait, one of the natural gateways between Australian waters and the important seas of In donesia.”
Incidentally, the German New Guinea Company, which held the charter from the German Government, established its first headquarters at Finschhaven in 1884; but they were removed later to Bogadjim (just south-east of Madang), because of the amount of fever in Finschhaven.
There is no more fever there now than elsewhere in New Guinea,