Keen Interest In New
p. 78 · Read in the full issue
Guinea Cattle Farming
MORE and more, the growing world demand for beef is direct ing attention to the cattle-raising possibilities of New Guinea.
The Australian Government insists that cattle may be raised successfully in the Territory, and has issued a pamphlet on the subject.
In public statements during
August, the late Administrator, Colonel J. K. Murray (who formerly was a Professor of Agriculture) supported this view.
It has been reported that Man dated Airlines of New Guinea have entered into a contract to transport by air 120 AIS heifers from Queens land for the Lutheran Mission at Lae. The contract will entail 17 trips, at £700 per trip—which means that the Mission is spending £12,000 on transport, apart from the cost of the animals.
Mr. M. J. Leahy, MBE, of Zenag, New Guinea, has spent thousands of pounds of his own money in recent years in buying and transporting Australian cattle to his big farm on the plateaus above the Markham
Valley.
The opportunities and the public interest are there; but nothing much can be done in the way of develop ment until the Government an nounces some sort of a policy cover ing availability of land. At present, land for cattle-farming—or anything else —is not available, in quantity.