Taking Civilisation

To Natives

Of Ng Highlands

Survey of SDA Schools in

Papua-New Guinea

From Our Own Correspondent

Rabaul, June 14.

DURING the past month, Mr. Alfred W. Peterson, Secretary for Educa tion, accompanied by Pastor Gray, Superintendent of Education for the Coral Sea Union Mission of Seventh-Day Adventists, with Headquarters at Lae, have been making a survey of SDA Mission Schools.

Their itinerary has taken them from Port Moresby to schools located along the Kokoda Trail and to the south-east of Moresby in Papua; then to Lae and up the Markham Valley into the High lands, followed by a visit to Rabaul district. On June 15, accompanied by Pastor White, Mr. Peterson left for a survey of the mission educational work in the Solomons Group. The first flight of the new Qantas service to BSI via Rabaul made it possible to complete a round trip to Sydney without cavering the same ground twice, Mr. Peterson was impressed with the vast resources of the Territory. He said he found the Inland natives much less sophisticated than their beach brethren, their villages revealing their primitive culture. Some of the people of the High lands have neither clothes nor blapkets, their houses, built to keep out the wind and the cold, are dark and>dirty beyond words. To keep them warm during the cold nights, they build fires and lie down on mats on the dirt floor. In these villages most of the children were suffer ing from colds. There is a vast field for the medical missionary and the teacher.

At Kainantu, a high level of training has been given under the direction of Pastor A. J. Campbell. There, as on all other mission stations, a strong building programme was in progress.

They were erecting school units and other buildings necessary to their work.

They had just completed a church which would be a credit to any European com munity. All the lumber had been pit sawn and hand-dressed In the school workshop. The interior of this native church had been varnished to bring out the beauty of the native wood. The floor was dressed and polished until it shone. The natives were proud of it, as they might well be. Pit-sawing, dress ing timber, building and finishing is splendid education and the experience of erecting and using a good building has enormous influence on the culture of the natives.

At Bena-Bena, Mr. Peterson said, Mrs.

Howell had taught the people to knit.

Men, as well as the women, were skil fully using knitting needles, and sweaters and pullovers in all stages of completion could be seen. Some of the pullovers reminded one of Joseph’s coat of many colours. In that upland country with its cold nights, the natives were learn ing a skill which would enable them to provide themselves with warm garments made by their own hands.

SO it was at each school; some new art or craft was being taught which would be of practical value. While all of this was being taught, the natives were making gardens and adding to the value of their own culture. Teachers skilled in psychology and methods of

elementary education had taken raw natives and in a reasonably short time had them doing simple arithmetic and reading simple sentences. A new world was being opened to them. The alert ness of the younger pupils was arresting.

Nothing escaped them. Learning was progressing at a rapid rate.

If human personality is the most valu able asset of a country then the mission schools are making an enormous contri bution to the Territory of New Guinea.

Mr. Alport Barker was re-elected presi dent of the Suva Chamber of Commerce at the annual meeting on June 14. Messrs.

J. Trotter and W. G. Johnson were re elected vice-presidents, Mr. C. W. Aidney, secretary-treasurer and Mr. A. E. Pearce, auditor.