Highlanders in Thatched Huts . . .

TF you were interested in New Guinea A exploration in the early ’Thirties you may remember that the story that Australian newspapers gave to the world then described the natives of the NG Highlands as “almost white’’ and “tall, and of superior type.’’ Now, almost 20 years later, anyone with the necessary plane fare can fly in to the Highlands from Lae in about three-quarters of an hour and see these Wonderland people for themselves. And, unless they are the sort of people who see swans where mere geese exist, they will find that far from being “almost white,” they are the usual Melanesian chocolate brown; that they are somewhat short in stature and, that if they are superior in intellect to coastal natives, no one yet has succeeded in proving it.

The conditions under which they live in their villages are certainly about the most primitive of any Pacific Islanders anywhere. And out of ken of sea, and ships and coconut palms as they are, they cannot fairly be called Pacific Islanders, either.

Photographs on the left were taken a few months ago in a village about Id miles outside of Goroka, NG Eastern Highlands. The village is sur rounded by Casuarina trees and the slab walls of the round houses do not rise more than two feet from the ground. The typical thatch goes up to a point like a coolie-hat. They are grimy and, inside, as dark as the Bottomless Pit.

We arrived just as the communal earth oven (or more precisely, a hole in the ground) was opened and the second photo shows the villagers eating sweet-potato, etc., that had been cooked therein.

Everywhere our Landrover went we were greeted with bunches and bouquets of flowers. Those who missed out on the forward journey were waiting by the roadside for our return—with bunches

of flowers, coloured leaves and grass mounted on sticks. The Landrover soon looked like a travelling flower show. (Bottom photo).

Bottom right is the Yufiyufa Bridge—a big suspension bridge across the Mabimoka River, built by a local contractor. It is an important link on the road between Goroka and Gusau—the Kainantu-Gusap section of which was officially opened by the Administrator of P-NG, Brigadier Cleland, on July 2. Great credit is due to the District Commissioner of the Eastern Highlands, Mr. lan Downs, and his District Services personnel who have been responsible for roading this section of New Guinea without help from the Commonwealth Works Department. When he opened the road, Brigadier Cleland paid particular tribute to Cadet Patrol Officer R. R. Haviland who had super vised the work and had lived in road construction camps, on the job, for six months.