Tereitories Talk-Talk

By Tolala

rOW that Administrator Murray I is stepping out of the picture at end of this month, all sorts of id words are being spoken of him; re eulogistic than ever before.

Minister Hasluck highlights fea es of Murray’s administration as » amalgamation of the two Terri ies, (2) reconstruction of the Ter >ry Public Service and (3) inau ation of the Legislative Council hich brought a measure of self /ernment to the Territory.”- (A asure! How much? Half a gill?) Ml three merely feature orders m the High Command in Can ra, and that High Command does encourage initiative in its ad listrators, demanding only implicit ;dience to Ministerial minutes. Sir bert Murray and Tom Griffiths e two officials who showed initi re—and what did they get for it? ack Keith Murray cannot free iself from his pedagogic attitude r ards his fellow humans, and that an attribute in no ways popular

with Territorians.

Whispers in some quarters suggest a couple of high military brass as pos sible successors for the Adminis trator’s job.

Criticisms of administrators re minds me of a remark passed by a

high TNG official some years ago regarding the late Brigadier-General Wisdom. “What he wants,” said the official, “is more wisdom and less general.” And he had something there, too.

Quite a bit has been written in the Sydney papers lately about the not so-strong defence in NG, which, of course, is merely commenting on the obvious. GOC Northern Command recently pointed out that there were

only 550 troops in the Territory— “the majority of them natives.” He said: “The number of troops needed there is a matter of government policy.” What he meant, no doubt, is that government policy will determine the number stationed there, as it did in 1941, not the number needed, which is quite a different matter, es

pecially when an invading force is on your door-step.

A different song is being sung these days. Minister Hasluck is pleading for Australian industry to invest capital in New Guinea. He has particularly given a plug for coffee planting by private enterprise. If

that same encouragement had bee]; given six years ago, Australians wouhi not be so short of coffee as they an to-day.

There is a lot of talk about err

couraging private enterprise, but

have seen little action up to date, am the government’s attitude over the Bulolo timber—the joint enterprise of the government and BGD—sti'i smells of nationalisation.

Any government control in such a j undertaking is bound to be more oc a brake than an accelerator, am will pile up the overhead costs. Whi not a straight-out private company\ An inquiry from Colorado, men tioned in The Editor’s Mail Bat (PIM, May, p. 16) might be treadinr on dangerous ground where Erro Flynn is concerned. That advert turer has soared to star heights ii the US, but his NG ventures were ii the opposite direction, and NG 010 timers hold him in no great regaro despite his Hollywood successes, have in mind an unpaid dentist ii the Morobe district who received z settlement an autographed photogrape of Flynn. There was also an inter esting episode in connection with ; trade box left at an island hotel £

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payment for an account. Errol is no hero to old NG residents.

The man from Colorado should •ead Frank Chine’s article which ap )eared some years ago in the Sydney Bulletin entitled “Debunking Errol Flynn.” It gives full coverage of his :areer.

Incidentally, Alistair McLean, as eported in PIM some time back has >assed over the Great Divide. And should be surprised if Bill Money las deserted his old home in the iassi Group for Kavieng, as indicated n the paragraph.

Mention of the Cheng Ho in last tionth’s PIM (p. 20) reminds me of he time she lay in Rabaul Harbour or some weeks on her way to Fiji, rom the East. She was about the lost luxuriously-fitted craft I ever lambered aboard, and there were ime nice overseas yachts and craft ailing at that port in the good old ays. There were no passengers at lat time, but the skipper was a won erful host, and—what pleased me lore —an ardent philatelist.

I can corroborate H. L. Schultze’s miarks about the New Ireland rought in 1914, as mentioned in IM May, p. 50. At the time I was p a Bougainville estate and many r ew Ireland natives were employed iere. Sweet potatoes were used as cover crop as soon as the coconuts ere planted. The “kaukau” crop as most prolific and many whale iats and large canoes from New eland arrived and loaded up with »od for the starving New Irelanders.

In the latter part of the year we ere suffering from food shortages irselves, as all our supplies came om Sydney via the British Solo ons, and Bougainville was besieged id not occupied by the Australians itil December, 1914. That was a mgry year in many ways.

An appeal by a Chinese chef a dnst his deportation from Australia as recently dismissed by the High ourt. Wong Man On was born in G in 1916, during the Military ccupation, and went to Australia 1942 to avoid the Japs. Wong aimed British nationality, but the aurt ruled otherwise, as during the ilitary Occupation “it was agreed at existing German laws should be force as far as practicable.”

As a matter of fact national status s always been a ticklish question r those born in TNG, and I can’t

remember ever having seen the po sition properly clarified. fPO be sold by auction this month is the well remembered Morinda, about the last of the old BP fleet that did pioneer work in the Islands and dear to the hearts of many of the Befores on account of the pleasant memories they hold of congenial voyages. If not equipped with the modern amenities, at least the smoke room was always a cosy corner, filled with good fellowship and a friendly spirit.

On questioning Old Bill, recently

down on leave from Rabaul, as to the removal of that township to Rap opo, he replied laconically: '‘Who knows? 1 don’t, nor does anyone else.

But I’ll tell you one thing that may be an indication; I saw Norman Duncan the other day taking out a tractor and some gear to work the Rapopo plantation. You can draw your own conclusions.”

Bits and Pieces: Said Minister Hasluck in the House of Reps: “‘Cor poral punishment will be abolished in NG—except in certain cases.”. . .

Reg Halligan has been appointed to the board of the British Phosphate