Madang Newsletter

From Our Own Correspondent

Madang. May 30.

MRS. A. WELSCH of Lutheran Mission at Amele is off to Germany. She has been five years teaching and ministering to the needs of her flock.

In' 1922, Mrs. Welsch first came to New Guinea to join her husband. Originally she had planned to come in 1913 but the First World War intervened. Her last trip to Germany was about 20 years ago.

This time, she will travel on the maiden voyage of the “Australia,” to Genoa, then train to Switzerland and from there through Germany to the Rhineland near Cologne.

Mrs. Welsch has an almost superhuman influence over the natives in her area, particularly among her pupils in the Girls’

School. It is a credit to her that where so many mission schools cannot obtain girl punils, Mrs. Welsch cannot cope with the number of applicants. Her last venture was the introduction of kindergartens among local natives. After educating native girls in the simpler laws of Froebel and Montessori, she sends her graduates to their village with instructions to teach the children by the playway method of education.

Included in their equipment are books made by themselves with gay cutouts, ribs of coconut palms cut and painted for stick work, matchboxes, cotton reels, and other home-made gear.

The natives made a presentation from their new rice crop to “Grandma” (Mrs.

Welsch) before she left, and shed many Later in the month, Nurse E. Walborn and Mr. and Mrs. E. Hannemann of the American Lutheran Mission travel south by plane. They will go by steamer to their homes in America. Nurse Walborn is the dispenser at Yagaum, while Mr. and Mrs.

Hannemann have done grand work at their Teachers’ College at Amron and in their congregation.

ANOTHER interesting departure was Madang’s Butterfly Man. For some time, Mr. Keith Slatter has had to give up his work as “Master Bilog Bina tag” because of supply problems and other worries.

He plans to marry in Melbourne and, then, with Mr. Barry Bamphet, formerly of Kar Kar Island, establish a butterfly farm in the Atherton Tableland behind Cairns in North Queensland.

THE Administration in Madang lost five well-known officers in May.

The District Commissioner, Mr. C.

D. Bates, left on May 22 to join his wife and family in Sydney. During his term in Madang, Mr. Bates —known throughout the Territory for his love of sports-estab lished the golf course, organised other sports and generally took the lead in ath letics Also on May 22, ADO Allen Gow journeyed South. (To take over the posi tions of District Commissioner and ADO in Madang, came Mr. lan Downes and Mr.

J Keenan.) Dr. and Mr. N. P. Woods went South on the Malaita for 12 months leave. In his three years in Madang, Dr.

“Norm.” has made many friends and saved many lives. As well, he took a keen interest in sports and photography and was always ready to help at musical func tions and generally closely identified him self with the people. Dr. Fergus Brown took his place as medical officer.

Although Miss Parle, teacher in charge, Madang European School, has been in the town five months only, she has won much respect from parents and children. It was unfortunate that it was necessary to transfer her in the middle of the year to SOPA but it is hoped she will return to

Madang in six months time. Mr. and Mrs. Ken Hicks had a reception at their home for parents to say “Goodbye” to Miss Parle. Miss Erin White will relieve Miss Parle after the terminal holidays.

THE narrow bridge over the neck of the lagoon was the scene of a head-on collision on May 3. The brakes of a jeep, driven by Mr. Tim Willis, refused to function at the bend on the main road.

Hoping to avoid the small car approach ing the bridge, Mr. Willis swerved into a nearby road but the jeep was heading straight for the lagoon; as he swung back onto the road to the bridge one of his little girls was flung out of the car and sustained head injuries before the cars collided. The occupants of the small car received head injuries and one of them a deep cut on the knee. All were taken to hospital for shock and medical attention.

This correspondent has pointed out be fore the dangers of this section of the road and it seems an opportune time for Works and Housing to do some immediate work on the many dangerous bends while the Department’s long range plans are getting lost in a maze of blue prints. The bridge is only one of many death traps on local roads which are only a survival of the horse tracks and foot-tracks put in by the Germans in the days before motor transport.

Most Territorians realise the need for a modern road system throughout the Territory but any furthering of such a plan is held up by knots in the red tape and the failure to put the millions of pounds used in the Territory into per manent constructional work.

THE teachers of the Lutheran Mission Sunday School staff invited parents of Madang to discuss improvements to the Madang Sunday School at Baita

bag. During the meeting suggestions were brought forward concerning the Sunday School programme of work and efforts to further their work in the community. A motion of complete confidence in ' the work of the Sunday School teaching staff was passed.

THE Golf Club held its first ball in the Club Rooms on Saturday, May 12.

The large crowd that gathered saw the trophies presented and enjoyed them selves on the dance floor.

The Club was decorated and supper prepared by the lady members of the Golf Club.

Canadian Pacific Airlines planes on the Vancouver-Sydney route are now equipped with radio telephone. The new device does away with the necessity for carrying a radio operator—the pilot' of the plane has only to lift the receiver to speak to the nearest high-powered radio station along the route—at Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Canton, Fiji, Sydney and Auckland.

Sister Winifred Swift was sent to Papua in mid-May by the Victorian Save-the- Children-Fund to help victims of the Mt Lamington eruption. She is stationed at Ilimo Evacuation camp.