Conditions In Lae
pp. 32-33 · Read in the full issue
Non-Official View of Territory Is Very Pessimistic
From a Special Correspondent LAE, March 17 CONDITIONS here continue chaotic; and they do not appear likely to im prove. To the newcomer in the Gov ernment service, who draws his regular salary, of course, “everything in the garden is lovely.” But the old hands realise how serious is the position.
Much of the trouble, in my opinion, is caused by the existence of. so many false values and ideas.
For instance, the young native lad in his late or middle teens at the outbreak of war, contacted many of our troops with Leftist ideas, and was treated lav ishly with cases of meat, tea, sugar (and other Army rations) in exchange for some native curios—a grass skirt, a few spears, a handful of seashells. At the same time the young native cultivated, as a result of these casual contacts, a superior tolerance of the white race as a whole.
This cultivated attitude applied only to the adolescents, and most certainly not to the older natives who had worked side by side with their white employers during the pre-war years, and more par ticularly during the war years them selves, when they shared the privations of war together and, too, shared in the success of overcoming the enemy.
These older “boys” are anxious for the return of their old “masters,” and simply refuse to engage to work for anyone else.
It is an open secret that amongst the “war adolescents” there is a preparation going on for the time when’ the white men can be evicted from New Guinea.
The presence of thousands of rounds of ammunition, rifles and war material hid den in villages does not tend to make the situation any easier. This prepara tion is apparent to many of the old timers; but the new arrivals, not ap preciating the position, are living in a fool’s paradise.
THE shipping problem is most acute.
Many of the private storekeepers have received no goods for months, and the position is: No goods, no busi ness. Some of those who still are able to do business are the fortunate ones who were in the district when the Ameri cans were leaving, and whisky was short in the US Army. Overseas business seems impossible, what with the intro duction of “permits” and the erection of official barriers, all of which are pre venting the settlement of the territory.
I can see the time coming when the population here will consist only of Gov ernment servants. The planter, miner and trader will be a part of the past and exist only in cheap novels.
Many of the old-hands are so discour aged that they contempate leaving the country after having made an attempt to gather something out of the wreck age.
It is not in my nature to be a pessi mist. But the prevailing conditions force me to view the facts in their proper light, and not to bolster myself up or give others a false impression by “wish ful thinking.” Many of the old-timers share my views, and one can see the shadow of despair creeping over them.
In Lae, there are at the moment some 800 people. But what they are doing, or are supposed to be doing, I could not say. Most of them are like Micawber, “waiting for something to turn up.”
THE local lighting system is_ something to bewail—the power fails without the slightest warning. Owing to this, the Morobe bakery has been forced to des troy large quantities of bread. It is re ported that the chief cause of these power failures is the lack of a belt for the engine; ordered months ago, and still somewhere on its way.
The water system is another local headache. A legacy from the US army, and functioning perfectly during the war, it has now been allowed to deteriorate to such an extent that the service does not work for days at a time. The drill now is that when it is turned on, residents make sure of future supplies by filling up petrol drums.
General food shortages prevail to an alarming extent. Tea (that most essen tial of commodities for the average Aussie) is practically unprocurable; when it can be bought, the price ranges from 4/6 to 5/- a lb. Animal fat, which is part of the native labour ration issue, as laid down by the Ordinance, cannot be purchased, and “boys’ ” meats are also unprocurable. Salt, a most necessary issue, is unobtainable anywhere. Old newspapers, a general article of trade amongst the natives themselves, cannot be had.
A general remark among older natives concerning the present “set up” is that it is “time no good”; and they inquire when the old government is coming back.
IHAVE heard that the old firm of WRC is opening on a new site in Lae; and that land has been temporarily granted for the erection of a picture theatre. This is certainly a step in the right direction.
The lower portion of the Lae town
ship, or the original pre-war business area, is being resurveyed to pick up the old survey pegs. Every portion of Lae township has been applied for or granted.
There has been talk of closing down the old airstrip and making a new inter national ’drome on the Malahang plan tation; but the owners of Malahang (the Lutheran Mission) say they know noth ing officially of the proposal.
The Bank of. New South Wales, with Mr. Joe Lawson as manager, proposes to open a branch in Lae, a'nd will be located on a portion of the Henry Eekhoff site.