By Insufficient and Increasingly Expensive Native

Australian Territories Handicapped

By Insufficient and Increasingly Expensive Native Labour

By a Recent Visitor to New Guinea and Papua

1 FOUND the conditions in New Guinea and Papua somewhat better than I had expected. There is a spirit of optimism abroad, people are hopeful that the troubles and confusion created by the politicians will soon be smoothed away, and there is a feeling of good fellowship and a readiness to help each other such as I have never seen in the Territories before.

I was interested in the attitude of the natives towards the Europeans. I would say generally that, in the majority of cases, the boys were insolent and cheeky towards newcomers and servicemen; but their attitude changes immediately they meet any of the recognised “old hands” —then they are just as obedient and re spectful as ever.

In fact, the natives seem very glad to see their old masters back again; and, as one moves about the villages, one is greeted most cordially by natives whom one knew in the past. It is an amusing reflection unon the noliticians’ condemna tion of our old relationships that the only neople now who are able easilv to get indentured labour are the former “white masters”—the neople who allegedly ex ploited the natives. \ rERE is considerable goods traffic now between Lae and Wau, over the new military road. The costs are a bit startling, however. Vehicles can be fer ried over from the Lae to the Labu side of the Markham River for 50/- return per vehicle—it costs 30/- to go across and 20/- to return.

It costs £l2 per ton to freight stuff from the coast up to the Bulolo Valley—that is equal to 15d. per lb. The operators say costs are too high and they are going to put the rate up to £l4 per ton.

The Government is proposing shortly to put a maintenance toll on the road, equal to id. per lb. on freight—that will bring it up to £lB per ton. It looks as if that is going to be the minimum charge, because the transport men are now oper ating cheaply—they are running with trucks that were cheaply bought, and they are operating on petrol purchased at only 1/6 per gallon.

I am of the opinion that before very long a large proportion of the goods go ing into the Goldfields will be air-borne.

They can be carried much quicker by air for 2d. per lb v or £l9 per ton. I think it may settle down this way—that all aver age freight and passengers and mail will go by air, and only the heavy and bulky stuff will go by road. . Up to the present very little air-freight ing is being done within the Territory Mandated Airways have half a dozen machines there, but only two are flying regularly. They carry on a service be tween Lae and the North Coast. Guinea Airways have a representative living up there at present, but that company has as yet given no indication that it/ in tends to resume its freighting and pas senger services. riTHE absence of an adequate labour X supply and the very high cost of available labour, is definitely putting a great handicap upon all rehabilitation activities.

All the old Territorial whom I saw back there on the job are having a tough time of it. The necessity for them to do

all sorts of heavy labouring work such as loading lorries and shifting machinery— work that should be done in that climate by native labour—is making them look lean and haggard. fTIiHE most exciting feature of life in JL the Territories at the present time is the gamble involved in buying stuff from War Disposals. I do not think that they yet have located half the stuff that was dumped in the jungle during and after the war.

The stuff was put into little clearings in the jungle, and the grass quickly grew

up and hid a great deal of it. The clear ings in the jungle are called “paddocks.”

One buys a “paddock.” One is told that in the “paddock” there are a couple of hundred motor tyres, or something like that. But anything may happen when one begins to clear out the “paddock” and finds what is hidden in the long grass, one may get unexpected prizes, like half a dozen drums of benzine. mHE big firms are quickly becoming re- X established in the Mandated Terri tory. At Lae there are stores con ducted by Burns Philp & Co. Ltd., W. R.

Carpenter & Co., Ltd., Robert Gillespie (New Guinea) Ltd., a smaller trade store conducted by Henry Eekhoff, and one or two Chinese stores. It is reported that W. R. Carpenter’s head establishment will be in Madang and that Carpenters will give a good deal of attention to the North Coast generally, where they own

and operate many plantations.

Burns Philp & Steamships are now operating in Port Moresby and Samarai, and some of the smaller stores are re opening.

The position over in Rabaul is not so clear. Personally, I think most of the trade there is going to be done by the Chinese. The Chinese traders, assisted by war damage compensation, have come back strong and vigorous, and will prove active competitors of the big firms.

IWAS very interested to notice the ac tive preparations being made for big scale operations by the oil distribut ing companies in both Territories.

I was told that already the consump tion of benzine in the Territories is 70,000 gallons per month, and this is ex pected to increase very much, as the min ing industry gets back into production, in the next six months.