The Crazy Story

Of The

Wabag “Rush”

By R. W. Robson

WHENEVER people discuss the phenom enal riches of the Edie Creek- Koranga-Bulolo goldfield, they let their minds wander over the endless mountain gorges of New Guinea; and they say: “Surely there must be other Edie Creeks in this partly-explored country,”

Every so often, there is whisper of a new discovery, and every “goldminer true”—and they all seem to have the fever in their blood, up here—gets rest less and uneasy. That was the start of the “Wabag rush,” last year. Jim Leahy, in an expansive moment, told me the story.

Administration officials Black and Taylor had been through the region west of Hagen—of which Wabag is a sort of centre—and they reported “no gold.” But some of the Old Timers got the im pression that the Government men were “foxing,” and they watched closely.

Mick and Jim Leahy were in Australia, when the rumour spread that there defin itely was good gold near Wabag and that BGD were going to press Canberra to open the field there. It is alleged that Mr. Cromie, well-known Territories solicitor, sent to BGD a radio that the Wabag valley would be opened on April 1, but that they were trying to get permission to go in earlier.

You can’t keep that kind of message secret in New Guinea. Within a few hours, Mick and Jim Leahy, in Austra lia, had a garbled version of the report.

A few hours later they were on a north bound plane. When they reached Goroka, in the Highlands, they found the usual signs of a gathering rush.

Well-known Bill MacGregor (now run ning Baiyer River cattle station for the Administration) was at the head of the BGD party. Danny Leahy had joined Mick and Jim. John Black, who had resigned from the Administration, and Elphinstone, were also getting ready to go in. Nep Blood and Joe Searson led another eager party.

They all moved up to Hagen; and by March 31, using all available air trans port they were at Wabag, 40 miles west of Hagen. There was intense, but good natured rivalry—the gold fever was at its height. No man knew for sure that gold was there; but each man suspected the other of knowing, and “foxing.” Each man was watching every other man, so that, when the knowledgeable one pegged, he could peg beside him.

THEN a patrol officer appeared. He said he had definite instructions from the Administrator that the gold-seekers could not go further in.

The howls of the miners were something to remember.

All hands immediately came together in a protest meeting. They radioed the Administrator that they were going in, whatever he said, and would fight any action brought against them.

The Leahy brothers had arranged that a plane should follow them in, and keep touch. In the midst of the excitement, the pilot was quite accidentally shot in the leg. This was reported, outside, to have been the result of a fight between the baffled miners and the Govern ment's officials.

The parties left Wabag for the alleged goldfield, six days’ walk away. Soon after they left, a plane arrived with Ivan Champion (Director of District Services),

Dr. John Gunther (Director of Medical Services) and Jim Taylor (Director of Native Labour). They sent a patrol hot-foot after the excited miners.

By the time the patrol arrived, the miners were sitting snarling around a creek-bed, trying to decide which of them “had called this bloody place a goldfield.”

There were good colours in places—but not a sign of gold in sufficient quantities to pay even the cost of the boots worn out in that long, weary walk from Wabag.

One wonders what would have happened had there been good gold there. Would it have been war between the invading miners and the Departmental heads who followed them in? Or would the officials have seen the light and become gold miners—as has happened in New Guinea before?

Mr. E. Bennett North, who in recent times has made his home on Norfolk Island, was in Sydney in October. He was one ot the adjudicators at the recent City of Sydney Eisteddfod,

Dr. J. Legg, Director of Research in the Animal Industry Division of the Queens land Department of Agriculture and Stock, has commenced a cattle tick in festation and tick fever survey in Papua- New Guinea.