Territories Talk-Talk

By Tolala

’ ONG ISLAND’S volcanic out ll burst was by no means its first.

Turning over the pages of an 11 Pacific Islands Year Book jout 1936; I should say, for the virer is missing—l came across an ;;eresting description of Long sand, penned by Patrol Officer Nurton, following a visit he made ick in 1932. He describes volcanic h thirty feet deep, under which tre “the remains of a charred rest, wonderfully preserved.” The nsus of the Island population at ;e time was 92 males and 72 ma l es A few years after this patrol, irton struck a bad patch over in the ,idor district on the mainland (I link it was) and collected a spear imnd, after which he retired from e Service.

Talk about volcanoes reminds me a letter to hand from Doc. sland, whom I quoted in April 7alk Talk,” concerning his re arks on the Rabaul quria on Anzac e, questioning his qualifications as i expert. I now learn that ilcanology is one of his hobbies, f this I was unaware: and if my marks appear unfair then I nder my apologies to the worthy oc—but maintaining my original unions regarding Rabaul. ’Twould 5 a sad world, indeed, if we all jreed.

The Doctor quotes from Dr. ;ehn’s original roneo report (p. i): “We can see no reason what er for believing that volcanic stivity may not occur here at most any time,” and then recom ends the evacuation of Rabaul as ic main administrative centre, but ates that commercial develop ed is outside his scope.

The “we,” presumably, would be r. Woolnough and himself.

I remember well speaking to Dr. ;ehn after he and Dr. Woolnough id made their surveys in 1937 and ie former did not appear in any ay apprehensive about the safety Rabaul, providing adequate warn g measures were introduced, oming from Java, where there is » much seismic disturbance, one in readily understand Stehn’s at tude as compared with that of r. Woolnough, who, coming as he d from undisturbed Australia, was Dt at all happy about Rabaul’s iture.

Incidentally, Doc. Deland, ending is letter, quotes from an Australian swspaper; “That perverse affection >r their environment that seems > possess dwellers on the slopes of Dicanoes.”

Quite true. But who is not liv ig on the slope of a volcano these ays—with atom bombs and iron urtains all about us?

The Mendi clash in New Guinea last month is what is to be expected in such an uncontrolled area when tribes want to fight out their differences, (What goes on in Korea to-day?) . . . But the Raluana affair should cause greater concern, for the assault comes from a community which has had contact with Europeans for over seventy years, and the Raluana native is amongst the most sophisticated in TNG. It would seem that the adoption of the

village council system—the thin end of the wedge for native self-govern ment—is not unanimously approved by the native himself, despite the efforts of the UNO, and the fact that it was first experimented with in TNG back in 1936. This opposi tion has been apparent, or at least existent, for some years in this par ticular area.

The court proceedings arising out of the Raluana incident should make interesting reading—and also give the anthropologists and soci ologists something for consideration.

There is a tender spot in my heart for the old, unsophisticated

*tive, with his natural dignity and s strict adherence to old tribal Lstoms; his observance of caste, ,id regard for moral rectitude — his , jt necessarily ours.

Sophistication really started to »me in around Rabaul about the iddle of the thirties, when the mng bloods of a village thought ieir old-time _greeting was too rimitive. It consisted of a peculiar iroaty sound something like “u-uki”, id was used day or night; and a iendly hail it was. Not satisfied, Dwever, the younger generation ad to mimic the European with ie native equivalent of “Good Lorning,” “Good afternoon,” and > on, and so their greeting became 3ona milana,” “Bona ravien.” It [ways lacked the peculiar sincerity f the old-time “u-uki!”

It was about this time, too, that ie Chinese residents took exception > the pidgin-English term “Kong bng” being applied to them, and lugged for the more civilised Uhinaman” being used; a word not isily pronounced by the native.

Time marches on. The European Mister” seems to be handed out ) all and sundry. In the Blanche ;ay dialect “To” as a prefix to a ame signifies the male, and “la” ie female.

At a dairy industry investigation recently, in NSW, a dairyman com plained of the need to protect butter from competition by mar garine. He claimed “copra planters in NG hire labourers “at a basic wage of 15/- a month, plus free board and lodging,” and do not pay income tax, and the dairyman thought he should be entitled to the same privileges. And then “A tariff wall was needed to keep out products not produced by labour paid on the Australian standard.”

The same antagonism towards margarine (or oleo, as it is called in the US) was rampant nearly thirty years ago in the US, as I mentioned a few months ago. Any way, how many NG employers nowadays get labour for 15/- per month—or many times 15/-?

And so the production snarl goes on. What a happy world we live in!

A party wrangle is at present be ing carried on in political circles over Australia’s defences in the “Near North.” Labour decries their inadequacies, while the Government bravely attempts to justify the absence of any material prepara tions—or, rather, the position as it is to-day, alleging that “northern defences can be assessed not by

counting the number of ships or the disposition of forces at any given point, but in relation to de fence preparedness in general.’

I seem to have heard very similar remarks about a dozen years ago; and when the show-down came the

situation was chaotic. Surely our Service heads have learned from bitter experiences during early 1942, and are able to persuade the politicians what should and should not be done. Or will history repeat itself?

At the Manus base (which, it is reported, will be complete in three or four years’ time) servicemen meanwhile are an unhappy crowd (if one can believe the because they are taxed on their phenomenally high pay, and have also to pay heavy import duty on canteen goods, while other Terri tories residents escape income tax ation.

There was a modicum of grizzling by the occupation force in Rabaul before the Jap came down in the last war. The main bone of con tention then was the difference in status between the AIF and the “Chocos”; the privileges enjoyed by the former to the disadvantage of the latter. It did not make for harmony in a country where tempers are inclined to become easily frayed.

I’m glad to see E. A. James, MLC, at Moresby, is having a word to say anent the number of ordinances passed by the Local Legislative Council (PIM, May, p. 14). As in the past, the fault, no doubt, lies at Canberra, where with bureau cratic aptitude the bullets are made for Moresby officials to fire.