Bcd’S Troubles

Officials Close the Airfield

AFTER many long years of successful management and high profits, Bulolo Gold Dredging Ltd., the New Guinea money-spinner, is being embarrassed by factors outside the Directors’ control — namely, Australian Socialism, bad country, and bureaucratic interference.

The Company, in May, announced a reduction in its dividend from 20 to 15 per cent.

The industrial trouble, and the dwindling returns from a patch of poor country, are described in an article on page 31. The bureaucratic trouble deserves an article to itself!

Ever since BGD opened up the rich flats of the lower Bulolo by making a bold and courageous use of air transport, 20 years ago, the Bulolo airfield has been used regularly, by all classes of aircraft, in all kinds of weather; and we have no recollection of any serious mishap there.

NovV, the officials of the Department of Civil Aviation—of whom there seems to be an extraordinary number in Papua-New Guinea —have decided, in their wisdom, that the airfield is not safe for large air craft: and, as a result, the airfield is out of action, except for small aircraft.

Meanwhile, as BGD simply must get fresh (refrigerated) foodstuffs to their township, other urgent measures have had to be taken.

Fortunately, the interference of the DCA officials has not been the calamity that it might have been before the war.

Then, the community was wholly depend ent on aircraft. To-day, there is available the motor road constructed by the Army, BGD engineers set to w T ork to build a mobile refrigerator that will hold 15,000 pounds of goods. Mounted on a diesel truck, it made its first run down to Lae at the end of May, and came back in seven hours. The cargo carried well and arrived in excellent condition.