Moresby's Luxury

Hotel

A Ten-Years' Job, But At Last It Is Complete!

From Our Own Correspondent

Port Moresby, Sep. 30.

rE new Papua Hotel, Port Moresby, has at last been opened to the public.

On September 26, leading citizens of the town were entertained by the Direc tors and Management of the Port Moresby Freezing Company, owners of the hotel, at a cocktail party in the lounge of the new establishment.

The Papua Hotel will provide visitors with an unexpected oasis of luxury in the otherwise ramshackle wastes of New Guinea. There is accommodation for 44 guests, and dining room accommodation for 120. It should relieve the pressure on Hotel Moresby which has borne the brunt of the rehabilitation era.

The ceilings of the new hotel are painted a soft green, and the walls cream. A spacious dining room and lounge occupy most of the ground floor, with an entrance hall, modern reception ist’s desk and wide carpeted stairway separating them. Glass louvres are used throughout for ventilation, and a modern public address system has been installed for pag'ing patrons.

Bedrooms are furnished in gay floral chintz and are painted cream.

At the cocktail party, Mr. E. J. Frame the Managing Director of Port Moresby Freezing Co., said that the new hotel was first conceived in 1937, but not until 1941 was the actual building completed. In November, 1941, a similar function to that then taking place had been planned to introduce residents to the first luxury hotel in New Guinea, but the party, for obvious reasons, was never held.

During the war the building was used by various branches of the services and the interior fittings were ruined, al though the exterior of the building had escaped damage.

A contract for renovations and repairs had been let to John Stubbs & Sons in September 1946. The work had cost a sum which would stagger guests. The whole history of the hotel, Mr. Frame concluded, could be summed up thus; “Never has so little been accomplished in so long, and for so much.”

The Administrator, Colonel J. K. Mur ray, in reply said that such an amenity as the new hotel was indeed welcome. He expressed the hope that similar buildings would be erected at Lae and “somewhere on the Gazelle Peninsula.” He pointed out, however, that in considering the hardships of the present day, we must remember that we had spent six years destroying our comforts, and could not regain them all in so short a time. The pepple concerned with these things were doing their best, and contractors, such as Stubbs & Sons, were doing a good job under very bad conditions. rpHE town’s citizenry then proceeded X with the pleasant task of enjoying the company’s hospitality; at 8 o’clock there were still abundant signs of life.

The guest list was a veritable Moresby Whos Who. Among a small percentage of the throng, which this writer managed to sight were the Administrator and Mrs.

Murray, Mr. Justice Phillips and Mrs.

Phillips, Mr. R. Melrose, Mr. W. Cottrel- D °rmer, Dr. and Mrs. J. Gunther, Mr. and Mrs. T. Byme, Mr. E. Bignold, Mr. a,nd Mrs. J. H. Jones, Mr. and Mrs. E.

A. James, Mr. O. J. Leighton, Mr. and Mrs. Basil Kirke, Mr. and Mrs. R. Purler Dr and Mrs. May, Dr. Refshauge, Mr!

J. Gnmshaw, Mr. and Mrs. McDonald Richardson; Mr. and Mrs. J. I. Cromie Inspector and IVJrs. Gough. Mr. and Mrs!

W. N. M. Chester, the Claude and Ivan Champions, Mr. and Mrs. John Lyons, Father McEncroe, Mr. N. A. White, Mr. and Mrs. J. Harper, Mr, and Mrs. E. V.

Crisp, Mr. and Mrs. E. P. Holmes, Mr. and Mrs. M. Rich, Mrs. W. C. Groves, and Mr. M. Trones, Mrs. W. R. Humph ries, Mr. A. Timperley, Mr. and Mrs. L.

Tracey and Mr. and Mrs. S. E. Reilly.

Of all the thousand greetings with which New Zealand overwhelmed Field- Mailshall Lord Montgomery, the one he is most likely to remember was received at Bulls, a North Island town* The people there gave him a present of butter; asked him to convey their regards to Cowes, in England; and offered to bet that theirs were the only Bulls in the world that produced butter!