Still No Ships For Rabaul

Residents of New Britain and New Ireland Will Soon Have to Live Off the Country

RESIDENTS of Rabaul and New Britain who have had no direct shipping communication with Australia since the Duntroon arrived in Rabaul in November, carrying some returning Ter ritorians and some stores, need not start scanning the horizon for the next ship for a few weeks yet.

According to information received from the Sydney office of the Australian Ship ping Board, the chances of Rabaul getting a ship (and supplies) from Australia within the next month are remote.

The only information forthcoming is: Salamaua —this ship is scheduled to leave Australia towards the end of Feb ruary. She will make calls at Port Moresby and Rabaul before going on to America. The Salamaua. however, has accommodation for about 10 people and no freezer space.

Reynella— this ship is on its way back to Australia from Shanghai, and was scheduled to call at Lae about February 12. She will then proceed direct to Mel bourne. It is believed that after she has completed her present voyage, she may be sent to New Guinea with passengers and cargo, in which case a call will prob ably be made at Rabaul.

Malaita —this ship is still in dock and although she has been “on the eve of departure for New Guinea ports” (again, including Rabaul) for the past six months, her actual date of departure is as un known now as it was in mid-1946. The best information available about her is that “she will sail for New Guinea some day.”

Montoro is at present on a trip around New Guinea mainland ports. It is rumoured that she will go to Rabaul on her next trip out of Sydney. This rumour, too, has been current before each of her sailings for the last six months.

The Shipping Board says that she will not go to Rabaul on her next trip—or any trip. Due to long delays in New Guinea ports the Montoro consumes more coal than she can carry. On the return trip from New Guinea she has usually to call at Bowen (Qld.) to take on coal and if she included Rabaul in her schedule she would not have enough coal to take her back even as far as that port.

AUTHORITY, in the form of the Aus tralian Shipping Board, when asked whether the people of Rabaul and New Britain (and those unfortunates who have returned to plantations as far afield as Bougainville and Buka) are to be left to starve, shrug the Departmental shoulders and say; “There is nothing we can do about it. There just aren’t any ships.”

There are fewer ships now, it is ad mitted, but the trouble lies ashore, rather than afloat Loading and unloading of ships in New Guinea is notoriously inefficient and slow.

The position in Australia is. if anything, worse. All Australian ports have been in the throes of a dispute which began over the wharf-labourers’ demand for payment of £B/17/10 per week for two weeks’ annual holiday, and 16/- per day for “appearance” money. This dispute has now been settled but on February 12, they held their “annual picnic” in Sydney.

No ships were worked at all.

Until recently, wharf-labouring was re garded as a casual business —men pre sented themselves for work when they wished and few worked frequently enough to entitle them to annual holidays and

other privileges of workers in other in dustries.

The following extract from the Sydney Morning Herald of February 11, gives residents of Rabaul (and other Pacific outposts) some idea why they must tighten their belts and take it: “A shipping executive said yesterday that before the war general cargo was handled at the rate of a ton a man an hour, and a gang of 20 handled 20 tons an hour.

“The rate had become progressively slower until now a gang of 20 handled about eight tons instead of 20 tons an hour.

“For this and other reasons the turn around of ships had been slowed up by 60 per cent, even when the men worked after 5 p.m.”

OUR Rabaul correspondent writes that mid-January saw the finish of fresh meat, vegetables, flour, milk, benzine and most other supplies in the town.

The position was then considered so seri ous that a general meeting was convened for the purpose of trying to get the Government to provide shipping facilities between Rabaul and Australia. The local Planters Association and the Citi zens Association had at that date, alreadv made representations to the Minister for External Territories regarding the ship ping position and the food supply. l4: Latest rumour from the J? waterfront is that the “Merkur” now loading in Sydney for Japan, will call at Rabaul. She will carrv only essential foodstuffs but no passengers or other freight.