Magazine Section

Territories Talk-Talk

By "Tolala"

MOHAMMED YAMIN, created a bit of a furore at the end of last month by some tall talk about the newly created US of Indonesia absorbing not only Dutch New Guinea, but the Austra lian portion as well. We are inclined, naturally, to place western interpreta tions upon eastern verbosity, which in variably doesn’t add up.

These dusky political leaders remind me of the old British Official who, in by-gone days, in an endeavour to impress upon a native chief the expanse of the British Empire and the comparative insignifi cance of the chief’s small isle in the Paci fic, unrolled a map of the world and pin pointed a speck in the Pacific, then showed him the red-coloured countries of the world. “There you are, you see,” said the Official, somewhat pompously.

The chief was unimpressed, cynically in quiring; “But who made the map?”

It is a great pity that the political change-over in these dark countries can not be effected in slow-motion. and with every degree of amity between the old and the new governing bodies. These Javanese gentry have no experience in handling delicate national affairs that have global repercussions.

FEATURED in a recent Press message from London was an annual report of the Colonial Office, touching on the Gilbert and Ellice Islands: “With no public debt, no housing shortage, no crime, no unemployment, no trade unions and an income tax of 1/3 in the £.” What a paradise it sounds compared with civi lised centres. But how does it agree, I wonder, with the recent proclamation issued by the Resident Commissioner there, in which landowners of the G. & E. are taxed 550 tons of copra (PIM, Jan., p. 34)?

An interesting statement, taken from the same report is to the effect that although the Japs occupied the islands during the war, there is no known case of mixed Jap and Micronesian blood.

It would be interesting to know how many cases of mixed Jap and Melanesian blood are to be found in New Guinea fol lowing the war years. I would not put the figure high.

SO there is to be a CMF unit in P-NG, according to a statement by Army Minister Francis. A somewhat dif ferent approach to the time when the NGVR was silently and secretly formed by Johnny Walstab when hostilities broke out in 1939. Anything suggesting an armed force in the Mandated Territory was veiy hush-hush. It is different in these days when, under the Trusteeship arrangement, a suggested armed force makes headline news. The Army Minister calls it an “infantry battalion,” yet the name suggests it to be a rifle unit. There used to be a difference when I was soldiering-on. Incidentally, Press reports refer to the prospective unit as Papua- New Guinea Voluntary Rifles. Why not “Volunteer Rifles” to perpetuate the famous NGVR?

The fact that it is to be restricted to white residents has already started ad verse criticism and plugging for brown brother to be included in its ranks. If it is thought necessary to train the native in the barbarities of modern warfare, as

an adjunct to our western civilisation, let a separate and distinct unit be formed.

Nothing can beat the NG native in guerilla fighting but combined peace time training of European and native is not a system to be encouraged, as all old Territorians well know.

ANOTHER martial step is mooted from Navy Minister Francis when he an nounced 50 natives would be re cruited for the RAN and trained at HMAS Seeadler. (Pity they did not use the native name for the harbour, instead of that very Teutonic handle.) Navy training is nothing new for natives from the old German area of NG, for many of them served in “Siestern” and “Komet” during the German regime, mostly as stewards and galley hands.

IT all makes rather a grim picture, nevertheless, and tends to bring to the fore the strategic significance of our northern bastions, “our first line of defence”: of war just around the corner —somewhere, and making the naturally peace-loving inhabitants of these “Paci fic” isles so martial-minded. And the irony of it all is that natives are liable to be placed in durance vile for a spot of tribal fighting! Why can’t we be consistent? 1 THOROUGHLY enjoyed” “That Cook Boy” story (PIM, Jan., p, 51), though it is difficult to imagine such a re sourceful person as Mrs. Keenan being put out of her stride in such a situation.

Cook-boy yarns are legion in the Terri tory, naturally. I always like the one about Steve Whiteman’s boy who made a slight faux-pas back in War I days when Steve was showering his usual hospitality cn officers of the garrison in Rabaul.

By way of a change Steve staged an al fresco lunch in the Rabaul Botanic Gardens with the usual lashings of liquid refreshments. The party developed a de sire to gamble when the dessert was half consumed, so Steve called out to his boy to “ketchem bokis dice he come. He stop ’long house belong me.” His enunciation may have been a trifle foggy owing to the activities of the drink-boy. At any rate the party waited and waited impa tiently for the arrival of the dice-box from the Whiteman domicile on Casuarina Avenue. Another youth was despatched to “make him hurry up, too much.” And still another, and yet no appearance of the messenger. Eventually there came into sight, struggling across the green sward of the Gardens, half-a-dozen boys carry ing Steve’s large ice-box, carefully strapped to carrying poles. Steve took no notice as the huge ice-box was deposited near his seat in the summer-house, but calling his boy over to him, quietly re marked: “Me no likem bokis ice, me likem bokis dice, savvee?” The lad nodded.

“Me savvee now, Masta,” and half an horn later the dice-box arrived. The vagaries of Pidgin!

ALL the argument about the late Sir Hubert Murray being an anthropolo gist or not (PIM, Jan., p. 38) wouldn t worry Sir Hubert were he still here. Ac tually he knew more about practical anthropology than many people who have steeped themselves in the theories of the science. And this fact was generally acknowledged, sufficiently so at any rate for Sir Hubert to have been President (on more than one occasion) of the Anthro pological Section at meetings of the Aus

tralian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science, and his pre sidential addresses were always packed with good practical observations, as only one in his position was capable of doing.

Another Sir Hubert is what we want in the Territories at the moment.

AND talking of Murrays: It was rather a relief to read what JK said in his Christmas message (PIM, Jan., p. 18): “. . . for not only development of the native people, but also . . . economical development of the Territory . . .” It’s good to hear that the economic develop ment is receiving some thought after these years of uneconomical administra tion, BITS AND PIECES: Off to England last month by Orcades was Mrs.

Gladys Clark, a well-known pre-war

hostess in Rabaul. Son John Leeuwin clark, after a period in post-war Rabaul, has settled down in Sydney with his English bride. . . . Roy Kendall, of Induna Star fame (especially during the eruption in 1937) but now a full-fledged politician in Queensland, paid a visit to Rabaul re cently. . . . Bill Upton, of the pre-war Medical Services in TNG, who has now a small farm near Ingleburn (NSW) has been receiving hospital attention during the past few months. . . . Arthur Reneke, steward on Bulolo, won the first prize in the NSW lottery around about New Year time. He now plans to open a restaurant at Cronulla. . . . Betty White, of Honiara.

BSI, was wedded to Ronald Baker, of Auckland, on January 27. The Bishop of Melanesia made a special flight to Honiara in order to tie the knot. . . . Biddy Gleeson, of North Bondi, was married to Sam Pernan, of Brisbane, on January 24.

They will make their home at Lae.