The Month In Moresby

From Our Own Correspondent

Port Moresby, Nov. 1

SLOWLY Port Moresby’s face is being lifted. Too slowly, but nevertheless surely; new houses have been filling in gaps in the landscape. The roads are being put in better order, although mainly with red gravel, which will doubtless wash away when the north-west brings the rain, as it gives promise of doing earlier than usual this year.

The main street looks more presentable than it did 12 months ago. The trees down the centre have been enclosed in a neat rock-garden, and the road has been widened. And Burns, Philp have ap parently come by a large stock of green paint, for the roofs on their store and the two hotels have been freshly painted.

Seats have been provided for bus-pas sengers and weary shoppers at the main corners.

The cynics say that these are the fruits of the newly revived tourist traffic!

S§s 9|C THE United Nations Appeal for Children has stepped up the town’s social life.

We have had an Olympiad (proceeds £300); a Repertory Evening, provided by the Amateur Dramatic Society (proceeds £50); a Race Meeting (proceeds £5O0 — mainly from the totalisator); and a Monster “Housie” Night (proceeds as yet undisclosed).

If gambling has been more profitable than culture —and the figures above seem to suggest it —we can at least say that it is in a good cause. It was nevertheless ironical to hear, shortly after the race meeting, that a group of natives had been

given a month’s imprisonment for gamb ling. Natives are asking questions nowa days! * * * A CARNIVAL ball held in the RSL Clubrooms on October 29, raised a further £720 for our section of the Appeal. Over 600 people, including the Administrator (Colonel J. K. Murray) and Mrs, Murray, attended. Fortune tellers, Hoopla stalls and all the trappings of a carnival were in evidence. A mock Court proved one of the main attractions of the evening. Colonel Murray was fined £1 for being out after nine o’clock without permission. Judge Gore was another who fell foul of “the law” to the tune of a pound. A good time seemed to be had by all, although we did hear one of the dancers ask why they had surfaced the floor with en-tout-cas. * * * THE Moresby Golf Club has now been in full swing for some time, and com petition is keen in the regular Satur day afternoon events. Club champion for 1948 was Denis Shields, who defeated the Club’s president, Judge Gore, in the final.

A full nine holes are in use, and the course is longer than most Island courses.

The RAAF occupy most of the Club’s old course at Konedobu, and the post-war course is picturesquelv situated on the Kila Road with a pleasant ocean view across the water to Ela Beach and Paga Hill.

Much of the credit of the Club’s revival must go to its tireless secretary, Mr. Bill Leydin.

MEMBERS of the London Missionary Society, from all Mission stations in

Papua, have been conferring here,

under Rev. Susan Rankin (Chairman of the Mission for 1948). A considerable ex pansion of LMS activities is foreshadowed.

More teachers, nurses and missionaries will arrive soon.

Dr. Neville Anderson has selected a site for a Mission hospital in the Delta. There is now no hospital with a qualified doctor in charge west of Port Moresby. Sister Rachel Leighton, of Gemo Isolation Hospital, will assist Dr. Anderson at the

proposed new hospital.

Among those at the conference were the Reverends S. Rankin, R. Rankin, P.

Chatterton, D. E. Ure, W. Reilly, Perry,

Roberts, Clark, Brown, Sisters Leighton

and Fairhall, Messrs. C. Fisher and S.

Yates. * * * FIFTY native trainee teachers, who have been doing an intensive course at Sogeri Edu cation Centre over the past year, have now completed their work and will take up duty in various parts of the Territory. A break-up ceremony was attended by the Administrator (Colonel J. K. Murray) and the Acting-Director of Education (Mr. G. T. Roscoe). * ♦ ♦ TWO recent visitors to Port Moresby have been associated with the United Nations Trustee ship Council. Former Sepik DO, G. W. L.

Townsend, now on the permanent staff of the Trusteeship Council, is spending a few weeks’ holiday in the Territory: and Dr. W. C. Klein, who has also spent some weeks here, is an authority on Dutch New Guinea and a member of the Dutch delegation to the South Pacific Commission. Dr. Klein, who was in Papua before the war, is writing a book on Dutch and Australian New Guinea, and will acquaint him self with recent developments here.

Dr. Klein commented on the amount of Euro pean labour used in the Australian Territories.

In Dutch New Guinea, he said, most of the skilled labour is done by Indonesians, and is consequently cheaper.

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MORESBY taxi proprietor, Mr. R. Corlett, has obtained a modern streamlined bus, to carry native passengers from Elevala Village to Koki. Fares: Elevala to Port Moresby, 6d.; Port Moresby to Koki, 1/-. Despite reports about natives’ post-war wealth, it is hard to imagine many of them paying 1/- for a two-mile bus trip. The Government, so often abused as the natives’ benefactor, runs a free bus service— for Europeans only. * * ♦ invESPITE the harsh provisions of the, White women’s Protection Ordinance, there has been recently a wave of offences against white women here. Two cases of being In a dwelling with indecent intent, and one case of attempted rape, were before the Courts in November. * ♦ * jDEFORE he goes on leave shortly, the Administrator is having a good last look at his domains. Almost as soon as he returned from a two weeks’ tour of the New Ireland-New Britain area, he left again for another fortnight in the Sepik-Central Highlands areas. His ex hausting itinerary included calls at almost every Government outpost. Now he has left on a two-days’ visit to Daru. * * ♦ 'T'HE re-classifying officers looking into the • Territory’s public service are apparently lightning workers. After a day in Samarai, last week, they have left for Lae, Wau, Madang, Rabaul, etc., and expect to be back in less than a week. * * * mails probably mean less nowadays than before the war, but they are still very welcome. The “Empire Mountain” and the “Nellore” were not well received last week— neither had brought any mail. Apparently our only surface mails are to be on the monthly “Bulolo” which, unfortunately, is not running monthly. Her arrival, at the end of November, broke yet another fresh food and potato famine.

The only beer available for months has been English beer (1/6 per glass!).