The Month In Moresby

From Our Own Correspondent

Port Moresby, Dec. 4.

TEN building blocks in Lawes Road will be leased by public tender shortly.

Each allotment will be about a quarter of an acre and much of the land will be fairly steep. Now that Lawes Road runs through to Konedobu, the area has become more desirable for residential pur poses. Two new roads are being con structed at the four-mile to open up new land but no one knows when the land will be made available. Dozens of people are interested. * LOCAL manager of the British New Guinea Trading Company, Mr. J. Bus ton, says that the rear section of the new store will be open for wholesale busi ness within four months. It may be an other year before the whole store is finished and operating. The building when completed will have a basement and two storeys, with the offices on the top floor. . * MR. TOM OLSSON hopes to be selling locally-grown fruit and vegetables at his milk bar and cafe within a few months. He has more than ten acres planted at the 17-mile and intends to run poultry there as well. Mr. John Simons, formerly of the Agriculture De partment, is working the property under a share-farming agreement. * PORT MORESBY branch of the RSL and Samarai sub-branch are pro viding six bursaries of £5O each for local ex-Servicemen’s children to help them receive secondary education in Aus

tralia. Moresby RSL is providing five of the bursaries. The scheme starts with the re-opening of schools early in the new year. It should be understood that the scheme is not confined to the children of RSL members; it includes the children of all ex-Servicemen in Papua. Moresby RSL has about 30 members who would take advantage of the War Service Homes Act if it were extended to the Territory.

This fact will be sent to Canberra In sup port of the branch’s request that the Act be extended to include local ex-Service men. * Steamships recreation club, formed recently, has started off am bitiously by planning to take tennis and basketball teams to Lae at Christmas.

Local sporting bodies should try to follow its example. Steamships’ teams, as they stand at present, are as follows: Cricket: E. A. Thompson (capt.), R. Eisemann (vice-captain), J. Ryan, W. Johns, J.

Worthington, L. Gesch, R. Law, A.

Browne, C. J. Wood, A. Jobling, W. Flick, J. Codings, J. Baldwin, J. McNamara, V.

Boles and K. Byrne. Basketball; Miss M Drewe (captain'), Mrs. B. Maple (vice captain), Mrs. B. Hawks, Mrs. M. Eise mann, Mrs. A. Boles, Miss P. Geddes, Miss D. Holt. Miss D. Baldwin and Miss J.

Hart. * ROUNA guesthouse has quickly become popular under its new management.

There is a big demand for morning

and afternoon teas and, lately, every se cond newly-married couple has gone there for their honeymoon More recreational facilities are all that is needed. The pro prietors would be wise to go ahead with their plan to build a tennis court. * LOCAL baseballers are making a habit of beating the crews of Pioneer ships which bring equipment here from America for APC. A Moresby team defeated a Pioneer Star team some

months ago and on November 26 a local side beat a team from the Pioneer Isle by 13 to 12, with an innings to spare.

Cricket is making a slow start this season.

There have been no competition games so far, as the committee is having trouble getting enough teams. Sailing is the only sport flourishing here at present but the season ends in a couple of weeks. * PATROL Officer B. R. Heagney was found not guilty in the Supreme Court at Daru on a manslaughter charge arising from the death of a male native. Judge Gore fined Heagney £5 for assault. The native concerned died of a ruptured spleen and it was alleged that a few days before Heagney had hit him with a stick. * QANTAS’ weekly Dragon services to Popendetta will be of benefit to the Kokoda-Buna Tourist Company, which is building a tourist hotel at Pop endetta. The hotel should have been almost ready now but because of lack of materials it is not expected to be finished before March or April. More than 100 inquiries about accommodation have been received, many of them from Australia. * NOVEMBER was a popular month for weddings in Moresby. On the 9th, Joy Mowby, formerly of the Gov ernment Secretary’s Department, married Mr. Ken Kitchen, of APC, at the LMS mission. Miss Jane Daly attended the bride and Mr. Ted Olding was best man.

The couple did the round trip to New Guinea on the Bulolo—a popular type of honeymoon—and are now waiting to go to Malalaua. On the 12th, Miss Zeta Flanagan, of Auckland, New Zealand, married Mr. Alf. Bunting, of OTC, also from Auckland, at the Catholic Church.

Miss Flanagan arrived on the November Bulolo. Miss Dorothy Willett was brides

maid and Mr. Stan Jory best man. The reception was at the Papua Hotel and the couple spent a ten-day honeymoon at Rouna Falls. Miss Ruth Malkin, who ar rived here from England in July, 1947, married Mr. Mervyn Mogridge, of Burns Philp, at the Ela Protestant Church on the 19th. The bride’s sister, Mrs. Joyce Sutherland-Ross, was matron-of-honour and Mr. Vince Sanders was best man. Re ception was at the Papua Hotel. Mr. and Mrs. Mogridge spent a week at Rouna Falls. A cousin of the bridegioom, the Rev. Les Allen, who was in Moresby for the LMS conference, performed the mar riage ceremony. Also on November 19, Miss Betty Bayliss and Mr. Carl Mayoh were married at the Catholic Church, Moresby. Mrs. Shirley Gilmore was matron-of-honour and Mr. Kevin O’Mara was best man. The reception was held at the women’s hostel, Paga Hill. Mr. and Mrs. Mayoh also chose Rouna for their honeymoon. * A CONFERENCE of senior education officers will be held at Sogeri in January. Twenty-five officers are expected to attend the conference, which will be the first of its kind. * AMONG those who left Moresby on the November south-bound Bulolo were Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Barrett, Dr. M.

Granger, Mrs. D. Julian, Mr. and Mrs. W.

L. Leydin, Mr. and Mrs. P. Bosgard, Miss E. Baker, Mr. and Mrs. J, Butler, Mr. and Mrs. W. Albert, Mr. J, Lee, Mr. and Mrs.

W. Edmondson, Mrs. W. Charlesworth, Mr. and Mrs. R. Wren, Mr. and Mrs. L, Ar mit, Mr. L. Sims, Mr. M. Enfante, Mr. and Mrs. O. J. Leighton, Mrs. S. Stubbs, Mr. and Mrs. F. Vidgen, Mrs. E. Chester, Mr. and Mrs. M. Lang, Mr. L. Drewe and Mrs.

S. Crowley. ♦ MR. ALLAN CHAMPION, acting DO at Higaturu, arrived in Moresby a few days ago and entered the European Hospital. * Murray heights tennis club is trying to arrange a teams competi tion which, if it comes to anything, should boost local interest in tennis.

Moresby Tennis Club, which controls the three main courts in town, is reported t« be apathetic about the idea. This club collects fairly high fees, yet its courts, nets and other equipment are in a bad state. * A RECENT accident on the Rouna Road in which Mr. Arthur Foley, of Subi tana plantation, suffered a fractured skull, has reminded residents that this road is dangerous. The edge of the road collapsed under the weight of Mr. Foley’s truck, which fell many feet. To widen

the road in dangerous spots would be ex pensive but any expenditure is justified if it saves lives. Upper Port Road also has an extremely dangerous spot which should be improved immediately. Vehicles have about two feet to spare, with a fatal drop on one side.

MISS THEA WATSON, of the Direc torate of Shipping, Moresby, re cently returned to her home in Sydney. Miss Connie Dinsmore flew to Sydney on November 27 on two months’ sick leave. Mr. M. J. McKnoulty, of the Forestry Department, Moresby, went to

Townsville by Qantas on December 2 on leave. ♦ THE Territory’s medical service will ex pand considerably next year when between 30 and 40 migrant doctors arrive to take up appointments with the Health Department. Selected by Dr.

Gunther while he was in Australia on leave recently, the doctors include Hun

garians, Czechs, Poles, Austrians, Ger mans and Balts. There will probably be two or three women among them. Al though many have high qualifications, the migrants can’t obtain registration in Australia. The offer of employment in Papua-New Guinea as registered doctors attracted more than 60 applicants for the 40 positions available. Native medical work will occupy most of the new doctors.