Magazine Section
pp. 43-44 · Read in the full issue
Territories Talk-Talk
By "Tolala"
AUSTRALIAN Territories natives got a newspaper boost recently in the gen erosity stakes and were said to have “set an example in humanity to the whole world.” Substantial contributions to the UNO Appeal for Children was the reason.
Donations from Mussau Island are cited as an example. Mussau was described as being “off the Papuan coast” and £l3O was collected as proceeds from the sale of the “entire copra crop”—a contribu tion of more than 6/- for every man, woman and child. Sounds quite mag nanimous. Mussau population must have declined considerably since the war. It used to be in the vicinity of 1,600, but the amount raised —according to arith metical deductions —gives the present population as some 430-odd.
There seems to be an impression amongst the uninformed that NG natives, generally, are an impoverished people. In these days of generous war damage pay ments and social services ad lib., it is doubtful if any native people, of the same evolutionary standard, are so financially blessed. * j * ONE could scarcely imagine the Terri tory Administration showing the same casualness, for instance, as that apparently demonstrated recently by the Queensland authorities concerning the Bentinck Island folk, in the Gulf of Car pentaria, who disappered into thin air.
Trusteeship people have first priority in every respect in this Year of Grace. ♦ * * rrnHE South Pacific Commission got down JL to business last month in its second session, but received little publicity. W. D. Forsyth, who was tipped early for the job of Secretary- General, is a young Victorian of some forty years of age; educated at Ballarat, Melbourne Uni. and Balliol College, Ox ford. For four he was History teacher in Victoria and had a brilliant scholastic career before entering the De partment of Information in 1941. He joined External Affairs the following year, since when he has filled various impor tant jobs from Timor to Washington, DC.
He is accustomed to handling weighty questions and History. Who knows but the SPC may eventually become one and make the other. * * * AIRMAN Harold Gatty’s arrival in Sydney to recruit staff for his new fish-canning industry in Fijian waters recalls the tales I’ve heard from Rabaul POW’s of the huge hauls of fish made by the Japs during their erstwhile stay in NG from ’42 to ’45. A fleet of specially-equipped sampans daily scoured the waters around Gazelle Peninsula, ex tending as far as Kavieng and Buka. For months some 100,000 troops were fed by this means; for everything caught was eaten. The Japs could not understand why the fishing business had not been properly organised in peace-time.
No serious attempt has ever been made to develop the fishing industry in NG.
Gatty may have the answer if the Fijian project, supported by US and Aussie cap ital, proves the success he anticipates.
Good luck to the Tasmanian airman! * * * BRITAIN is now spending £2 million a year on research work in the Old Colonies, or the Commonwealth
(whichever you prefer). One section is studying malaria in Africa, where they’ve found that paludrine, successful in giving malaria the knock in India and Malaya, does not do the trick in Africa. It would be interesting to hear which is considered the most effective in NG of the various anti-malaria drugs. Personally, I still pin my faith to the old quinine bi-hydro chloride. Still, one man’s meat may be another’s poison—where malaria treat ment is concerned, * * * A FEATURED article in a Sydney Sun day paper recently outlined Minister Ward’s policy in Papua-New Guinea.
It contains some almost-moderate state ments from the gentleman whose name
has become an adjective in the' Territories for extreme measures.
Resenting criticism of his policy at UNO, and particularly from Irak, “a country whose nomadic and semi nomadic tribes of goat herders live very prim itively, though one of the, oldest civilised countries,” he speaks of native representation in the Legislative Council.
He is opposed to land alienation ‘‘without ade quate regard for the natives’ future and com pensation,” adding: “I see no reason why whites can’t continue to share the prosperity and development of the Ter ritories. A lot of money has been invested in their rubber. copra, mining and other in dustries. I think this de velopment should go on, but my plan is that native co-operatives should be given the same opportunities, and these are already being put into effect.”
He ends on the note: “It has to be a care fully-planned, 1 o ni g range programme carried out by experts, who must' move ahead with patience and great understanding.”
Nobody should dis agree with those senti ments,. providing the “great understanding” extends to all classes, irrespective of colour or creed. Let the motto for the Territories be: “A Fair Go!” * V * ONE of the finest tributes to Papua’s GOM, the late Sir Hubert Murray, was given a few months ago by author, Lewis Lett, at a meeting of the Royal Australian His torical Society. It gave a clear outline of the difficulties —real dinkum difficulties—with which Murray was faced when
he took over the task of administration over forty years ago.
Describing conditions in 1904, when Murray took up the duties as Chief Judicial Officer of British New Guinea, Lett said: ‘‘Quite apart from the peculiar difficul ties of judicial work he found that conditions in New Guinea were most un satisfactory. The Civil Service was honeycombed by intrigue, jealousy and disloyalty. There was no definite policy of government, settlement by Europeans was actively discouraged, and protection denied them. Favouritism within the service was rife, and the whole country was in a deplorable condition of unrest and discontent.”
Yes —I said that it was forty years ago!
As a review of Papua’s evolution and Murray’s life —the two were interdepend ent—Lewis Lett did a good job. It should have been read at the Trusteeship Com mittee of UNO to show what Australian administrators have already accomplished. * * ♦ 11THILE in a retrospective mood it’s in- Ty teresting to note that a recently released Russian film in New York features a Russian scientist, with the Anglicised name of Maclay, who spent some time in NG in the 1860’s—some forty years before Murray. The Maclay Coast (the Rai Coast, in the Madang district) is named after the gentleman, whose material accomplishments while in NG were about as interesting as the scenery along the coast which now bears his name. The film “Without Prejudice” is a typical Soviet plug for the equality of man. It might even find its way to NG one of these days. (Ed. Note: Australian author Frank Greenop wrote the life of Maclay in his book, “Who Travels Alone,” reviewed in “PIM” in January, 1947). ♦ * ♦ • CJOUTH PACIFIC,” a small monthly periodical put out by the School of Pacific Administration at Mosman, contains some good general reading about the tropics. A recent article on Tea- Growing in NG suggests that British tea-planters—now being ousted from India —may become interested in an ex panding NG tea industry. And the writer has probably got something there.
Australia’s requirements are 55 million lb. a year. Why shouldn’t NG grow it — given labour and transport, of course? % t[z * ONCE again the need for Territorial re presentation at Canberra was de monstrated recently in the House when Country Party Member H. L.
Anthony (at all times a willing advocate for a Fair Deal in New Guinea) cham pioned the case of a returned man being allegedly victimised by the Works and Housing Department in the Territory.
These volunteer champions do a good job for the unrepresented New Guineaites, but its hardly fair either to them or their own constituents in Australia. Let the Territory have its own Member to fight its own battles in Canberra! * * * THE New Guinea Timber Case, listed for hearing in Sydney Quarter Sessions on October 7, was ad journed by Judge Lloyd to November 8 owing to the illness of Farrell. In some quarters it is believed the case won’t come on until next February. * * * BITS and Pieces: NG is represented amongst the much-publicised “Man ila Girls;” she is Jean Woods, the attractive blonde who was running the WRC drapery store in the Old Palms building for a while ... Curator Hardy in PM is seeking the next-of-kin of J. H. (Diwai) Wood, late of Drimboi Plantation in the Aitape district ... m.v. Bulolo had 65 round-trippers from Sydney when it left on October 9 for the NG trip. Be sides these there were 27 bookings for Lae, 28 for PM and 38 for Rabaul. Mal aita, which sailed 10 days later, took 26 passengers for Samarai. 4 for Lae, 3 for Rabaul and 17 for Madang.
A medical research team will leave New Zealand about the end of November for a three months’ -working survey of the incidence of disease in Western Samoa. The team consists of Dr. H. D.
Purvis (thyroid research): Dr. M. J.
Marples (fungus infections); Mr. P. A.
Samuels (bacteriologist); Mr. G. N. Davies (dental diseases); Dr. Brian C. Thompson (lung diseases and TB).