All Roads Lead To Goroka

Goroka

r&IZS P ? s £ nd story hy Joan and Gordon Garter, of Papuan Prints, Port Moresby, who recently visited the NG Highlands

THROUGH the drive of District Commissioner lan Downs and his young officers, the people of the New Guinea Highlands are get ting roads to replace the war time jeep tracks, and all of them lead to Goroka, unofficial capital of this whole mountain area.

Recently a grader was flown in to help the good work, but most

°^. roa d work has been done by primitive natives with not much in the way of equipment but bare hands.

Recently, about three miles out of Goroka, we watched very prim itive people doing a mighty job of road making, it seems that they come from the fringe of the un controlled area some way from

Goroka but had heard of these wonderful roads that link the various outstations and villages, and wanted to be in on the scheme.

They sent a deputation to see why they could not have a road, and were told that they first would have to learn how.

Hordes of them then arrived to learn the art and were put to work

These two bridges, at right angles to each other, span tricky mountain watercourses on the Goroka-Hagen Road.

Part of the Goroka-Kainantu section of the road.

Like a nest of black ants

improving a piece of the Goroka - Gusap road. They looked like a nest of swarming black ants as they scurried back and forth digging earth out of the side of a cutting.

As shown top left, opposite page, the road now goes 130 miles west ward to Mt. Hagen; and 100 miles eastward to Gusap. From Gusap it is hoped that, one day, roads will lead down to the coast at Madang and Lae. (This roadside sign was recently erected at Goroka).

A considerable amount of tree planting has gone on along the roads and in years to come they should be pleasantly tree-shaded.

At present a great deal of the road winds over treeless ridges and mountains.

The greatest headache in reading the Highlands has been the con struction of the numerous necessary bridges. Some of this work has been done by local contractors and although some of the bridges are hair-raising in appearance they fill the bill, and—so we were told— are much stronger than they look.

At Right: Pav

day. Mr. Downs, at the Asa r o Road Centre, pays in shillings one of the native chiefs whose people helped build part of the Goroka- Hagen road. About a dozen chiefs par ticipated in this pay out.

Below. At Left:

Mr. Downs inspects a new bridge being built across a gorge on the Goroka- Hagen road.

Below. Right;

One of the hair raising swing-bridges on the Goroka- Kainantu section of the road. This type of bridge undulates with the passing of the vehicle over it.