Poor Travel Facilities To

Bougainville

Prom Our Own Correspondent

Sohano (Ng), Dec. 19.

BUKA and Bougainville are served by a fortnightly Catalina service, calling at Sohano, Inus, Kieta and Buin, and return to Rabaul over the same route.

There is a Douglas machine which, en route to Honiara (British Solomons) calls at Torokina, on Bougainville west coast; but Torokina is merely the remains of an Army dump, and is remote from other centres, so this call does no good to average residents, especially as no mail comes that way by air.

Residents consider that the district is due for a more frequent service as we are about the most isolated community in the Territory. If no other Catalina can be found to increase the service, then the Buka ’drome, just opposite Sohano, should be put into order and the Douglas routed that way. The delay in re-condi tioning the Buka ’drome seems to be the fault of Civil Aviation—which body should stick a pin in itself! Those whose opinion is sound say that not a great deal of work is required.

Fares on the Catalina have recently been raised by 50 per cent.—£6/15/- from Sohano to Rabaul, as against a former £4/10/ —which residents resent.

Kavieng has had, until recently at least, four services per week, and the fare still appears to be £4/10/-. On this run there is no difference made between European

fares and native fares, whereas, on other runs, there is a marked difference.

As a good many Aitape recruits come this way we are at a double disadvantage

since the restrictions put on number of natives allowed to travel on ships at sea.

Now we get it two ways—higher fares and less facilities for native recruits to travel.