A Tale Of ’78

VER 30 years ago, a West Australian reader who spent many years in New Guinea, got this account of the 1878 eruption from an old Rabaul native who professed to have’ witnessed the event. For ivenience, the account has been translated from Pidgin into straight

gUsh.

There have been two major volcanic eruptions in Rabaul within the nopean eta. That of 1937, when the town was* covered with ash and i harbour with pumice and when hitherto inoffensive Vulcan Island doded and within days became a volcano cone 700 feet high—Matupi, erupted on that occasion.

The other big blow was in 1878, at a time’ when the first traders and jsionaries—very few of either—were discovering New Britain and about ich little has been recorded.

It appears, however, that it was at this time that Mount Mother doded for the last time—although there is no guarantee, (of course, it she will not burst forth again some time in the future; the Bee re Rocks appeared in the harbour; and Vulcan Island emerged from i sea.

As told in the following story, Matupi also erupted—and has continued issions of steam, sulphur and gas ever since. Perhaps Matupi can regarded as Rabaul’s safety valve. In New Guinea it appears- to be apparently-extinct volcanoes which are dangerous.

This is the story told by TOMARAN, an old man of Matupi:

remember it as a time of famine I hunger. But we of Matupi were n of standing and prestige in ■ neighbourhood, for we were sessed of shell money. r es, much shell money we had, I some of it we now used to buy onuts from those of the neighiring villages who had coconut ms. These nuts we cut open and ;d as if for copra; but we used it food and not for trade, so that English trader, Bell, sat idle day on the verandah of his ise next the trade store.

'or perhaps two months this line went on and the scarcity everything but copra was acute, m severe earth tremors comiced, so that at times our people e thrown down and none could lain standing.

'or about two weeks after these nors began, we remained at tupi, but by this time we were iged to go across the bay in our oes to Keravia, to buy foodstuffs the market there. >ne day, when many of us, bound Keravia were some distance tn the Matupi shore, with a noise ' a great cannon there burst bh out of the sea not far from a great explosion which threw sea-water high in the air. it the same time there arose a lent north wind, so that, despite 1 urgent need to buy food, we ned back for the Matupi shore. dl but one canoe came safe to beach, but that one was caught the great wave which followed i it was soon carried out of our tit. t stranded at La-u-ah, far up i bay, and its crew of five leapt tore and seized whole stalks of en bananas, too green to eat hout cooking at any ordinary les, but in their hunger they ate m raw.

Fearing the owner’s wrath, they quickly put to sea again, and being caught up by the great wave re ceding down the bay, were brought back on its crest, paddling hard to Matupi.

VTEXT morning all the Matupi i.l people stood on the beach looking at the clouds of smoke pouring from the new vent which had burst forth out of the sea. When the sun had climbed halfway to its zenith, suddenly a new opening appeared along the beach near the sea, throwing fire high up the moun tain side.

Stones were shot high into the air, also dense smoke. From this smoke fell much ash, so that some of the oeople of Talawat, nearby,

were killed.

Our people grew frightened at this, and seeing the sea no longer violent, decided to go away to the big place (Malaguna).

We embarked in our canoes, and the trader. Bell, went off to Mala guna, also.

Many in the canoes had now white skin, burnt or scalded, for the seawater had become very hot.

All the fish in the sea had died, and floated, cooked, on the surface; we picked them out with our paddles and ate them, Quantities of pumice floated on the surface also, so much that soon the water could not be seen, Some time after we had reached Malaguna. the floating pumice got so thick that we could not thrust a canoe through it. But by this stage, no-one wished to put to sea, for the floating fish had gone bad, and so much was there that none wished to go even to the beach, The falling ash had fouled the food in our canoes. None of what we had brought to Malaguna could be eaten, and we suffered hunger

again, and for that the people of the big place fought us.

Yes, our men stole from their gardens so that trouble arose and they cried out that they would kill and eat us. A mary and a man were killed where Komines now stands.

No ash was falling just there, and there many of us remained until all was quiet, living on sacsac, for all the coconuts had now turned to wood. Then we went back to Matupi and broke up the ground for culti vation, as before.

Before the eruption the ground had been getting steadily hotter—it was this that had killed our gardens and started the famine, but now, when we returned, we found the heat had gone and we were able to till the ground and grow foods again.

The ownership of the land gave us some trouble to define, for the old boundaries could not be seen.

Trees were broken, rocks covered up, and the beach was not the same shape as it had been. Many owners had died and no-one in their family group came forward to claim their land. So. after much talking, the chiefs who remained held a council.

The land was re-alloted and the ownership then decided has held good till this day.

Bell’s house was now under water, and on a calm day we could look down on it from our canoes.

And now the mountain sleeps; I think it will burst forth no more in my time, but will stand silent as it is today.

Mrs. F. S. Stewart, of Lae, New Guinea, was in Sydney, early in October, after circumnavigating the

world (Sydney-Rome-London-New

York-San Francisco-Sydney) in a matter of 35 days. She returned to New Guinea with a wide range of ideas for the decoration and equip ment of her new Cecil Hotel, now the most conspicuous object on the Lae waterfront. Daughter Ela —who has attained slimness, matronliness and poise since her happy marriage last year—was at Mascot to greet her. Daughter Flora was in charge of the Jungle Hotel Cecil during her mother’s absence. They hope to move from the Jungle Cecil to the modern Cecil before Christmas.

In Brisbane recently, Mrs. Thelma Price, P-NG Acting Divisional Girl Guide Commissioner, said that the white man would have to retire gracefully after he had helped the New Guinea natives to develop their own country. She is the wife of Dr. A. V. G. Price of Port Moresby and has had 16 years in the islands.

Reputed to be an enthusiastic ambassadress for the Fuzzy Wuzzy, Mrs. Price said that Australia’s best defence against the menace of communism was to win the respect and co-operation of the Island natives.