Magazine Section

Territories Talk-Talk

By "Tolala"

THERE’S a move on foot in New Zea land to have Norfolk Island tacked on to the Dominion, for strategic and economic reasons. It is 500 miles nearer NZ than to Sydney and its trade since 1929 has shown a decline. Popula tion figures for 1940 are also on the down-grade as compared with 1932.

Norfolk Island has seen a few changes in government. In 1844 it was annexed to Tasmania, twelve years later it was put under the jurisdiction of NSW. In 1896 it became a NSW dependency, and in 1914 a Commonwealth territory with its own administrator. It is at present • one of Eddie Ward’s charges. * * * A “PLANTER’S Blistering Attack” on “New Guinea Under Ward” is the description, in a Sydney weekly, of an interview with the President of the NG Planters’ Association (Dyson Hore- Lacy), who should know conditions better than most rehabilitators. Resident in New Guinea since 1921, he brought one of the Territory’s best areas under culti vation and then into production—Gama Island in the Talasea district—as well as a flourishing tobacco plantation at Ula tawa, near Rabaul. Dyson was the planters’ representative on the Com mission of Inquiry into native labour conditions in 1939. * * * THE Manus Island base has again dropped out of the news. All US naval men were due to leave Manus on the first of this month, and the greater portion of the 45,000 Quonset sheds and vehicles are ear-marked for China, which may indicate that areas further north are in greater need of material of this description.

It will be interesting to see how long the many miles of well-conscructed coral roads on the Island will remain in good repair under Aussie supervision. * * * MORE than New Guinea planters have been up in arms against Mr. Ward since he expressed his opinion, whilst in Geneva, of the “low standard of living in many parts of Britain.” For diplomatic reasons, British Labour Min isters refrained from commenting on Ward’s criticism, but other politicians “pulled no punches” and one referred to the remarks as being “an ignorant, shallow generalisation.” The world may realise now, after Mr. Ward’s criticism of Old Britain, what New Britain has had to endure since the war* * ♦ * INCIDENTALLY, the importance which the ILO conference at Geneva has assumed is out of all proportion to its usefulness to either Papua or New Guinea. In the past, this off-shoot of the now defunct League of Nations, played no part in forming policies concerning native employees. That was left entirely in the hands of the Permanent Mandates Commission, and now will pass on to the UNO Trusteeship Council.

Old Territorians are finding that the once-maligned Permanent Mandates

Commission, with its critical members, was not such a bad set-up after all m comparison with the whims and fancies of present-day advisers. It is interest ing to note that South Africa has now been admitted to the IL.O conference, de spite the protests, previously lodged, that “virtual slave labour” existed in some parts of the Dominion. * * * NEW GUINEA has lent itself as a background for Adventure and the Unknown ever since the Spanish and Portugese navigators of the sixteenth century. The latest venture to de Saavedra’s “Isla del Oro.” is the 33-year old coastal steamer, “Gippsland,” manned by a dozen adventurers, bound primarily for Papuan waters. They seek a legendary white women, lost some fifty years ago in the Louisiade Group, as well as pearls, gold and sunken ships. Deep sea Diver Johnstone (who worked on recovering “Niagara’s” gold off the NZ coast) is one of the party, joining “Gipps land” at Port Moresby. One of tneir quests is to salvage a 10,000 ton tanker, carrying 8,000 tons of oil. So oil from Papua may yet become a reality.

There’s no mention of a proposed visit to Watom Island, off the Gazelle Pen insular, where legend has it a Portugese galleon was wrecked in olden days, laden with wealth from Peru. It is not more legendary than the Louisiade white woman. Peruvian pottery has, at least, been found on Watom. Good hunting to them, anyway. * ♦ ♦ BUKA and Bougainville are. un doubtedly, geographically in the Solomons. Politically, however, they are part and parcel of the old TNG.

But this fine demarcation does not appear to be always appreciated in Aus tralia, especially since the Pacific war.

Only recently a NSW post-office official informed me that air mail postage to Bougainville was 1/6. “Solomon Islands,” he explained.

In a more recent report in a Sydney morning paper there appeared an inter view with Mrs. E. Cruickshank. “return ing to Bougainville,” in “Malaita.” Mrs.

Cruickshank has seldom, if ever, set foot on Bougainville, but for thirty-odd years she has lived in the Shortland group of the Solomons.

What Australian postal officials and pressmen require are Bigger and Better Maps of the Islands. And this might include also wider instruction in our schools to take in Australia’s territories. * * * OLD-TIMER “Blue” Allan certainly had something in his article in last month’s “PIM” dealing with the “muddle situation” in NG—not the least of which was his reference to native collaborators who, during the Jap occupa tion, rode on the crest of the wave and made no bones about their sympathies towards the erst-while victors, and dis played unqualified arrogance towards loyal inhabitants. Little wonder, then, if the native mind questions the advantages of remaining loyal when he sees the same reward meted out to those who backed the wrong horse, as to those who backed the winner.

But it is ever thus where traitors have a dark skin. British and Australian officials seem to cherish the idea that the subversive acts, conjured up by a coloured mind, may safely go unpunished. A trite

example of this too-generous policy is Britain’s incomprehensible attitude in re gard to the Mufti of Jerusalem, who has been a major headache to Britain and her rulers ever since she had the mandate in Palestine.

It is to be hoped, so far as New Guinea collaborators are concerned, that the authorities have these scoundrels well and truly ear-marked —even if nothing else. ♦ ♦ * JUDGING from passengers booked on “Montoro” and “Malaita,” which sailed during June from Sydney, Rabaul is still a popular jumping-off port.

Seventy-three passengers were booked for that place on both ships; and, of the 44 passengers in “Malaita,” 25 disem barked at Rabaul. * * * BITS and Pieces: “Webbie,” RAN Commander and a one-time popular harbourmaster at Rabaul. visited Sydney recently to renew a few acquaint ances/ With his charming wife, “Taffy" and daughter, Barbara, he lives in Mel , bourne now. . . Syd. Paisley, once well known around Buka and Madang, but now in sheep somewhere up country, spent a few days in Sydney last month. . .

Tommy Grahamslaw, popular old-time Public Servant in Port Moresby, returned to that place to take over duties of SOS after a short leave in Australia. . . Mrs.

Fritz Haslam was a Sydney visitor from Brisbane last month.

*As we go to press, Reuter-AAP announce they made an error in reporting Mr. Ward —he was not referring to Britain at all.