Territories’ Talk-Talk

By Tolala

IN this push-button age, when labour saving devices outstrip the national ised plants for generating the power to make these gadgets work, there comes a comforting reassurance from far-off NG.

Administrator Murray mentions the possibitily of major secondary industries using hydro-electric power from the Territories “long before the Snowy Moun tains scheme is completed.”

He says that such a plan may be set up following a survey to be made by the NG Resources Prospecting Co., which will work in conjunction with the Australian government and the British Aluminium Co. “Power potential,” he added, “is practically limitless in the Territory.”

This was a pet subject of Papua’s most competent geologist the late Evan R.

Stanley which he urged in his report to the League of Nations early in the twenties. He suggested harnessing the Fly and Sepik rivers. It seemed very much like a pipe-dream in those days.

But Evan R. had his head screwed on rightly. A pity more attention had not been paid to his recommendations.

PORT Moresby’s airport runway is to be reconstructed, and the cost is put down at £30,000, according to Acting Civil Aviation Minister Anthony. It will be interesting to see what the final figures are when the job is completed. lan Grabowski, one-time general manager of Guinea Airways at Lae, must have a quiet chuckle to himself these days when he sees how air transport (which he foretold years ago) has developed. lan’s present interest is air-freighting beef from Northern Queensland to the coast.

MORESBY must have presented a gay and festive front during the King’s Birthday celebrations, according to reports in the local paper, and the ceremonial drill of RPC would be worth watching.

Apparently, Sandy Sinclair has by no means lost his punch since the old pre-war days in Rabaul, and Bandmaster Crawley can take another bow.

The report mentions the firing of a feu de joie for the first time in Papua.

This occurred on several occasions in Rabaul at various ceremonials; was intro duced by that old soldier, Colonel Johnny Walstab, Superintendent of Police at the time and was carried out with eclat.

The best ceremonial I remember in Rabaul was to celebrate the King’s Coronation in May, 1937, when all the streets were festooned with bunting and scores of full-sized Australian flags were flying everywhere. An outstanding feature of that day’s celebrations was a long parade of decorated floats, made up of every imaginable type of vehicle, rep resenting all sorts of weird and wonderful subjects.

A fine show was made by one car, which was entirely covered in frangipanni blossoms; while a truck, depicting the “Two Mile Limit” (a somewhat con tentious topic concerning trading stations in those days), showed a typical, primitive trading station, with natives cutting copra.

Mr. Justice Phillips was one of the iudges of the procession; and, by this time, he should have a comprehensive photo graphic record of ceremonials in the Territories, A UGUST 1 is the dead-line for a tightening up of road safety pre cautions in the Territory. In a sum mary of the regulations I see no mention

made of push-bikes ridden by natives.

In the B 4 days in Rabaul, native cyclists became a veritable menace, both to pedestrians and motorists, until the Police stepped in and put them under control issuing permits only to thoes who had a knowledge of the Rules of the Road, and after a test had been passed.

It was a good idea; and I expect that native cyclists have not improved with the years.

THE inauguration of motor traffic regu lations in the Territory reminds me of the time, in the early thirties, 1 think, when the owner of the one and only motor vehicle in Madang was prosecuted for not having a tail-light!

Going further back to the days when there was only one motor car in the Rabaul district, one recalls the frightened, bewildered natives scurrying into the bush off the Kokopo Road, when the sounds of the “steamer belong bush” heralded the advent of Herr Wahlen’s car, travelling to and from Gunantambu and Rabaul.

Ah, those were the leisurely—but happy —days!

I RECEIVED a letter the other day from Rabaul. I was puzzled at first; the handwriting could have been my own.

Then I recalled it came from a native lad, who worked for me in the days gone by, and to whom I had taught the mysteries of the Three R’s. Strange how natives’ penmanship so much resembles that of their teacher. I’ll wager the caligraphy of the majority of the older natives around Nodup much resembles that fine pen-man and teacher —J. H. L. Waterhouse, who long since has gone to his rest.

It was an interesting letter, this from my old servant, and he gave an in formative cross-section of local opinion in Rabaul from the natives viewpoint.

They appear there to be suffering from an abundance of regulations and controls, even as we do here in Australia, and the matter of village councils appears to be a bit of a headache in some areas.

I’m glad I taught him to write. It is good to have a real neutral opinion on things that are happening up there.

SYDNEY Columnist, David McNicoll, gave both Lae and Moresby some publicity recently on his return from reporting the Jap hangings at Manus. He had some nice things to say about the country. David made his first trip to NG in ’37, when he accompanied Governor- General Lord Gowrie on a tour after the Rabaul eruption. He has gone a long way since those days—in more ways than one.

M. L. McCOLM, MHR for Bowan, Queensland, is an ardent advocate of NG development. Speaking in the House last month he said NG should be developed in preference to northern Queensland, WA or NT. “It is more im nortant.”

And, apropos of NG development.

Administrator Murray was quoted recently over the air as saying he was prepared to hand over a tea factory in NG to private enterprise. That sounds encouraging.

Also, Minister Hasluck stated in the House last month that steps were being taken to make more land available in NG for settlement.

The main question appears to be one of making conditions a little less grim for the settlers who are already there.

Especially when one reads of 120,000 bags

of copra accumulated on plantations; and, as a result of this shipping shortage, some of the estates having to close down.

THE arrival of the US brigantine Yankee at Lae at the end of last month adds but another world cruising yacht to the already long list which have called at NG ports during the last couple of decades.

One of the first of these pleasure craft to drop its pick in Rabaul was the Spee jacks, owned by an American—a cement tycoon—and aboard was a young Mel bourne newspaperman, Dale Collins, who has turned out to be one of Australia’s most successful story-writers.

He was introduced to Rabaul during an Easter holiday period in the early twenties, when the holiday spirit really did prevail. Everything, except the pubs and clubs, had closed down for about four days and the welkin was ringing with a vengeance. Collins was quite impressed— even for a newspaperman—and then went on his way to write his first book, “Sea Tracks of the Speejacks.”