Solomons Gold?

May Affect Future of Honiara

rE future of the new administrative headquarters of the British Solomon Islands, Honiara (see article on page 29) is likely to be influenced by two fac tors —air transport, and gold.

Shipping and trading interests are still unwilling to accept Honiara as their headquarters, owing to the lack of ship ping facilities. It is understood that Mr.

Lotze. who visited the Solomons recently on behalf of W. R. Carpenter & Co., Ltd., has reported against Honiara and in favour of Tulagi, as future headquarters.

The presence of Henderson Field, on Guadalcanal, may tend to attract traffic towards Honiara. It is unlikely, however, that heavy air traffic will use Henderson Field. The Solomons, unlike Rabaul and Noumea, are not on the direct line of any of the Trans-Pacific air services; and

therefore probably will be serviced by smaller planes from New Caledonia or New Guinea, or direct from Australia, THERE are likely to be developments soon in relation to Solomon Islands gold. Many men prospected the Gua dalcanal valleys in the ’thirties, but rich promises .there were countered by the difficulties of communication: if it was to be a worthwhile field, it clearly would have to be a big-scale enterprise. Hopes rose high when, just before the war, the Theodore interests from Fiji began to in vestigate the possibilities of Guadalcanal.

The Theodore examination was held up between 1941 and 1945; but it now has been resumed. Mr. Cramer Roberts, one of the Theodore group’s engineers, was in Guadalcanal last month, and spent some days up in the hills. It is said that, if only shipping were available, goldmining would commence on a definite scale in June.

The Pacific war postponed the gold enterprise, but probably no real harm has been done. Where, in 1941, there was no settlement on Guadalcanal, and shipping

communications were sketchy and diffi cult, to-day there is a great airfield, many roads and bridges, and an established township (Honiara), which will demand a regular shipping service. All this will assist the gold-seekers.

There are indications, already, that the big gold-seeking company will be fol lowed into Guadalcanal by a number of individual prospectors. If there really is gold in the island, we may expect to see rapid developments there, as soon as ship ping communications are restored.

There are also reports that gold-seekers are headed towards other BSI islands, and Bougainville, and even the New Hebrides.