Magazine Section

Territories Talk-Talk

By "Tolala"

THE February Tropicality anent the Hallstrom butterfly collector is most interesting and focuses attention on a hobby that became a flourishing indus try 30 years ago in TNG.

For years, Rothschild had one or more collectors scouring the New Guinea jungle and adding rare specimens to his famous collection in England. Most of the butterflies came from the Madang and Aitape districts. But a Catholic Priest down Buin way made some fine catches for Continental and American museums and, I heard, managed to erect several fine churches from the proceeds received.

Rather strange, building a church from butterflies!

I managed at one time to get hold of some good specimens of those six-inch wing-spanned beauties down in Bougain ville, but I caught them the easy way: Collected the pupae and hatched them out beneath a mosquito-net. It saved a lot of rushing about with a net.

SO New Guinea sulphur deposits are reported to be an uneconomical pro position (February PIM, p. 42). I suppose that may be partly due to spiralling costs.

Not long before the last war Japanese interests made surveys of both Matupi and Lolabau, and appeared anxious to complete negotiations for their acquisi tion. Pearl Harbour intervened.

During the Jap occupation of New Britain their geologists showed more than a passing interest in the sulphur, as well as the iron ore deposits in the Baining district. Australia seems often to lag where turning over new ground in New Guinea is concerned. Is it because it might conflict with vested interests in more civilised areas?

AS a case in point: Cocoa beans, ac cording to a recent announcement in a Sydney paper, have risen from £3O a ton in 1939 to a current price of between £350 and £4OO (Australian) a ton.

I have heard of no rush in New Guinea to plant up areas with cocoa, though.

SO Minister Spender goes to Washington as ambassador. There will now be some jockeying for places for the External Territories portfolio. PNG had little opportunity of discovering the suit ability, or otherwise, of Percy Spender.

It was apparent, however, that the two portfolios cannot be combined with fair ness to the Territories —you cannot ex pect a Minister to be continually switch ing from world affairs to Territorian domestic problems with complete justice to all.

External Territories requires a full time Minister, preferably one who has some first-hand knowledge of the Terri tories. The man who comes first to mind is Senator Roy Kendall, who has already raised some pertinent questions in the Senate, has lived in the Territory as an ordinary, unofficial individual, and has a comprehensive idea of what is, and is not, wanted up yonder. His orderly, naval training should be another qualification,

especially when there is so much talk talk about defence —or the lack of it — up in that neck of the woods.

RECEIVED a most interesting letter last month from one of the real old-timers of New Guinea, F, T.

Goedicke-van Asten, now in his 90th year and living in Tonga. PIM readers are well-acquainted with his writings, but I had no idea his first visit to the Bis marck Archipelago was so long ago as 1884. The main point of interest to me was his description of the selection of Karawara, in the Duke of York Group, for the first German capital.

It was chosen by the newly-appointed German Commissioner von Oertzen. I have visited the site and my contention, in the past, that the first capital was on Karawara has been questioned, hence my appreciation of this corroboration by one who was actually on the spot when the selection was made.

Count Goedicke-van Asten has a fund of valuable information about the early days which, it is to be hoped, will not be lost, but handed down in readable form for future generations.

AN inquiry came to hand the other day: “Why should his Honour, the Administrator of Papua-New Guinea always be referred to as Colonel Murray?

On the Administration staff there are dozens of ex-soldiers who held field rank with fighting units, and yet we do not hear them addressed by their military titles five years after hostilities have ceased.”

That is rather a curly one. Force of habit, I suppose—it seems fitting that an Administrator should have a title. Judge Murray, who later became Sir Hubert,

was Papuan Administrator from 1907-40.

And the TNG had as Administrators ex- Brigadiers since civic times, and they were always dubbed “General.”

For years after the military had handed over the reins of government to the Civil Administration, in 1921, nearly every Government officer received his title, and captains, majors and colonels were tup pence a dozen; but it was rarely ex tended to non-Government persons. No doubt Colonel Jack Murray has had the perpetuity of his title thrust upon him.

He was Colonel Commanding AIF Train ing Depots, Northern Command, and is on the Reserve of Officers.

A RECENT issue of a Sydney women’s periodical carried a feature story about that well-known identity of the goldfields “Ma Stewart” and her Hotel Cecil at Lae. It hands out a few well-deserved tributes to Mrs. Stewart’s progressive spirit, but I doubt whether she will appreciate some of the remarks about her hands. But Ma can take it.

One point the writer missed, and which should go down on record, is the origin of the name “Cecil.” Some people may think that it is named after the one time famous London hostelry of that name. It perpetuates the memory of Cecil Levien, the man who put Morobe on the map.

THE passing of W. R. A. (Bill) Parker in Rabaul at the beginning of January seemed to me to be parti cularly pathetic. Most deaths in the Territories are tinged with tragedy or pathos, I know, but Bill was taken just as he was busily engaged in trying to bring Rabaul back to something like its