Frustration Plus

Missionaries

The Position In The Highlands of New Guinea

Letter to the Editor 1 APPROVE vour editorial in a recent PIM regarding the frustration tactics on the development of this Territory.

Men I know have been trying to get Agricultural Leases in the Highlands but all applications were suspended until the Forestry Department took their pick. That was last July. To date there has been no sign of any officers of that Department there, and applications are still Tambu.

All this delay upsets programmes, and leaves one in a vacuum.

Certain of the Mission bodies in the Highlands are also against any develop ment and against private enterprise. At Kerawagi, the Lutheran Mission were ceded about 200 acres on the east side of the strip. The west side is Administration, and includes the Native Hospital. A man I know applied for a one-acre block on the west side where he had built a bulk and trade store, but there is a doubt about him getting this, because the Mission now has applied for all the west side, including the strip itself. That means another 200 acres.

No mission station requires more than 60 acres for its support, and no mission body has yet developed a place economic ally: but by grabbing large tracts they aim to keep others out, including the Adminis tration.

It is time we became realistic about missionaries. Let them establish their stations, on a reasonable area, but areas beyond their requirements should be available for development, without the need to take more land from the natives who are already short of land there, tak ing into consideration their methods of farming.

It boils down to this: Give the Missions all they ask for, and thus freeze out private enterprise; or curb the Missions and let people up there develop the country. There are plenty of Asiatics getting ready to crowd the country, unless we do something about it.

It is the opinion of many of us here that a new Administrator is needed urgently. Colonel Murray is regarded as being against development and private enterprise, and in favour of Missions, and is therefore unfitted to administer a country like this at a time like this.

All these people seem to be afraid of outsiders finding out what they are doing in the Highlands, which always makes me suspicious. Looks as if we up here will have to start a revolution and take the country over in the name of the King.

Especially when one looks over the Mission field. On present showing it looks as if the USA has developed a new export trade —no doubt exchanging missionaries for wool.

I am, etc.,

Baffled Trader

Lae, 10/3/51.

Mr. E. George has been promoted to the post of Manager of the Queen Street office of L. D. Nathan & Co., Ltd., of Auckland. Nathan’s are the Fiji Govern ment Agents in New Zealand. Much of the work of the agency has been handled by Mr. George, who has as a result come into contact with many people from the Colony. He has earned their gratitude by the help he has willingly given in solving travel and accommodation prob lems. During the war, Mr. George did much to ensure that supplies of essential goods continued to reach Fiji from New Zealand.