P-Ng Transportation

New Wharves and Airfields

P. Moresby, Feb. 20.

WHEN Rabaul finally gets its new wharf it will be a useful sort of structure, approxi mately 400 ft long, 40 ft wide, and with three approaches, each 20 ft wide and about 30 ft from the wharfhead to the foreshore. It is to be built by private contract and tenders will be called in March.

Reclamation will be done by the Works Department, and a cargo shed will be on portion of the re claimed land, between wharfhead and foreshore. It is anticipated that the works will cost about £220,000 and (write it in block print!) the money is already in hand for this job.

Meanwhile, the pontoon wharf will be patched, re-patched, and generally coaxed into staying more or less in one piece until the first half of the new wharf (right along side) is completed.

The Territories wharves-position is improving. Lae is sitting snug and tight with its first-in-the-field wharf; Samarai has almost forgotten what the old wharf looked like and the new one has lost that fresh from-the-contractor shine; the Madang wharf is just about finished; Kavieng sees the shape of things to-come in two approaches and a wharfhead coming up; while Port Moresby now has at least the out line of half of the new wharf. At Rabaul —well, the detailed engineer ing plans and the cash are a good step on the way.

Jackson’S Airport

Some £250,000 is to be spent on improving the Jackson Airfield at Port Moresby. There are to be new terminal buildings—replacing the makeshift wartime structures —a Butler hangar, and a new taxiway md apron leading to the new ter minal site.

The central runway, out of use since the war, will be reconditioned.

A.t present, the two outside strips are in use—one a Marsden matting runway with old metal strips and :he other a sealed gravel strip used mly by light aircraft. All three were put down in the haste which characterised most wartime jobs in ;he Territory, and were never de signed for steady long-term use.

Soon there will be only the grass ?rown half-moon revetment bays to remind visitors they are using an aerodrome where the skies were mce crowded with fighters, mobbers md transports, which carried no guarantee of a return trip. That is, Df course, unless the curiosity of :he peacetime air-traveller should ;ake him to the simple dignified memorial to the late Squadron Leader Jackson after whom the

field is named. This is located at the site of the new terminal, and is still awaiting the long-deferred dedication service, rumoured to be taking place within the next month or so.