Current News Items From Our Correspondents

In Papua-New Guinea

Lag In Housing Loans

The Administrator, Brigadier D. M. Cleland, has promised that Housing Loan applications will be dealt with more quickly.

He was commenting on criticism by the Eastern Highlands District Advisory Council, that there was much delay.

At least one man, it was said, had given up the idea of an Admin istration loan and made other arrangements to build a house.

Another member of the DAC said that an applicant, a builder, had estimated that he could build the proposed house himself for half the price the Administration estimated that it would cost.

There have also been complaints in Rabaul where one of the few people there to take advantage of the Loan had had to wait months for payments.

New Wharves Help

Communications

Two new wharves have been built at Kerema, in the Gulf District of Papua, and the main wharf of more than 300-feet means that ships will not now have to anchor offshore and have their cargo ferried by canoes.

Both wharves were built by the Administration.

The contractors (Constructors Ltd.) who are completing the Kavieng wharf expect that it will be finished in October, five months ahead of schedule. This must con stitute something of a record for the Territory.

Previous to their starting t last February, Kavieng wharf sisted of the two legs of the shaped structure—with one shorter than the other. This n the berthing of any ship exc ingly difficult.

Fires—Problem Of Thi

Dry Season

A strongly worded war: about the dangers of grass fires issued by the Administrator Papua-New Guinea, Brigadier E Cleland, in July.

It was directed mainly at Port fcresby people, but was also a gen al warning to the Territory. The tiling was made after a par lularly black week-end in Port Sresby when grass fires kept fire en, including hundreds of native »lunteers, busy in all sections of se town.

Anyone making the trip from the {•strip into the town area would tve been shocked by the bald and ackened sight of the hillsides |ich, only in May, were greener an we had seen them for a long ne. [n his warning, Brigadier Cleland id the law would be vigorously forced against people starting es: he said that in most cases, ey were started by carelessness [by the desire of people simply I see fires burning—in other

trds, “firebugs.”

fie denied that the main reason I grass fires was the native habit [ lighting them for hunting, ropeans had been proved to be k culprits in too many cases.

Cheques That Bounce

the passing of valueless cheques Port Moresby caused the police p banks to unite in July in an bmpt to stop it. At the end of [ month they were able to report it there had been an improve

fnt.

during June, the three Port fresby bank s—Commonwealth, w South Wales and ANZ—had honoured between them more in 150 cheques, and according to B bank manager, most of these re written by people who knew •y well that they did not have i cash to meet them. He said it the number of valueless cques had increased tenfold in 5 last nine months.

Bank opinion is that In Port ►resby, as in other parts of the rritory, many people have been ng bank accounts who would not rmally warrant a reference in stralia. However, it is the normal ng for Territory firms to pay ges directly into accounts, which ans that many men who prob y ought not to be trusted with cheque book are getting hold of !m. □lose who have been caught and o have had cheque books taken m them, often get around it by growing” a cheque form from ‘ nearest mug in the saloon bar. ey keep this up until they go ith and nobody catches up with im.

Che Territory has a law which ibles police to prosecute persons in though they claim they did not dw how much money they had the bank.

Chree Port Moresby men were lit with recently in the courts and each sentenced to three nths’ jail.

Territory On Tv

Representatives of a small Holly wood documentary film company— Film Productions International— are now in New Guinea making a colour documentary of the work of the Lutheran Mission.

They are Mr. D. Pedrick (director) and a cameraman, Mr. R. Smith.

The film will run for 45 minutes and will later have music dubbed in. It will give an overall picture of the work of the mission, and there is a possibility it will eventu ally be shown on television in America.

The Lutheran Church is the largest distributor of religious films in America.

Malaria Drug Kills Infant

The dangers of young children getting hold of the malaria sup pressive, Daraprim, were under lined in the Territory in July fol lowing the death of a young child The child, aged 2 years and a months, had swallowed 16 tablets.

Since there have been other cases of children getting hold of Dara prim, the Public Health Dept, issued a warning to parents to keep the drug locked up when not in use. In normal doses, Daraprim is not toxic.

More Volcanic Activity

Following activity on the sub marine volcano in St. Andrew’s Strait (south of Manus), on July 10, the crater became visible above

sea-level. A few days later second crater was visible, and be to build up steadily.

During the eruption, large ma; of red-hot pumice were thrown i the air at intervals and the wl area glowed brightly at night. 1 volcano has shown activity off ; on over the last 12 months.

Native Clerks Go Back

School

Almost 200 native clerks are r attending Administration classes English and arithmetic at I Moresby. The classes were star in June after some natives as for the tuition following bad eta ination results.

The classes are organised by Native Wages Board and the ] partment of Education. Stude: ages range from 16 to 45.

Native Labour Force

Increases

More than 66,000 natives w employed throughout Papua 5 New Guinea in May—an increase about 500 on the April figure.

About 50,000 of this total w employed by private enterpr mostly under agreement.

Anticipating The Lae

Highlands Road

In July, a Lae carrier, Mr. T Kelly, successfully drove a loa< four-wheel drive diesel truck fr Lae into Kaiapit, taking two da It was the first time a truck 1 been driven into Kaiapit from 1 since the war, and it was Kel. third attempt. He carried 7 tons material for the Lutheran Missi On his return to Lae, he sta that he would like to try to get Gusap, 30 miles further on, as t would prove of assistance to Hig land farmers who may now dr by jeep the 230 miles from I Hagen to Gusap. It is propoi that one day, roads will lead fr Gusap down to the coast at 1 and Madang. Bridges over the ma rivers are the greatest obstacles this plan.

On his trip to Kaiapit, Mr. Ke had no trouble with river crossin as has been the case when otf drivers have attempted it. But did get bogged in soft soil arou village gardens.

Markham Bridge—Half-Wi.

Across

Work on the Markham Pt. brie near Lae has progressed w; since the photo (page 99, July) v, taken in May. Work is expected be finished by the end of the yeat It is now nearly half-way acr» the river and progressing well. Tl final shipment of piles is expect to arrive early August from Bn bane. The most difficult part the river has been bridged. Thr of the 17 spans have already be erected.

Oil Boom!

All classes of people now ws to be in the oil boom.

■ Recently two more or less inter locking groups have made applica tions for oil prospecting areas in the Territory. One group comprises William Jjohnson, a bus proprietor and manager of a garage; Clem Cleve son, on the staff of a Sydney news paper organisation; Michael Cassim, a dentist, John Gibson, a mining engineer. The other group does not include Mr. Johnston but includes John Ogden Cassim, a music lecturer. ; One application is for about 9,700 square miles of Papua and New Guinea. The area includes a strip of ocean along the Gulf of Papua, extending outwards to the edge of the continental shelf, and nearly 25,000 square miles in area.

The groups between them have applied for 5 different areas, most of them near or adjoining permit areas now held by APC, including the Omati area. [Another area includes part of the Eastern Highlands, in the Central Range district.

I The applications will have to be considered in Australia, and then Referred back to the Territory.

Museum Expedition

[ Well known Territorian, Mr. Nep Blood, led a field expedition into the Jimmi Valley area of the High lands in July. [ The party includes two experts from the Australian Museum, Syd

ney—Mr. Ellis Troughton, the curator of Mammals, and Mrs, Norman Camps, a preparator (or taxidermist).

A manufacturing chemist, Mr. G.

Hermon Slade; Dr. R. McFadzean, of Griffith, who is interested in orchids: Mr. Ederic Slater, a clinical photographer who is interested in wild life photography; and an orchid expert, Mr. York Meredith, made up the rest of the party.

The Museum members of the party will be looking for specimens for the Museum’s collection and hope to get some rare ones, in cluding some birds of paradise.

Australian Museums get many of their specimens by courtesy of well endowed expeditions from overseas, and the current expedition is unique for Australian museums. It is a pity —with the expenditure of more money Australia could put together some unique exhibits, instead of be ing in a position of getting most of its study notes and samples from other countries.

Bishop Goes Abroad

The Anglican Bishop of New Guinea, the Rt. Rev. P. N. W.

Strong, left Port Moresby on July 25 on a world tour which will take him to America, the United King dom and parts of Europe over the next four months.

First he will go Minnesota, USA. where with representatives from all over the world, he will attend the

Anglican Church Conference. This is the first Congress of its type and it will meet every ten years to discuss matters of world importance to religion.

Later, the Bishop will visit his mother at Oxford. He expects to return to Papua on November 28 after lecturing in America.

Another Native Death

The APC was unlucky again in July when a native labourer was killed and two injured following the fall of a tree near Kuru, in the Gulf District.

There have been several deaths by accident in Western Papua in volving APC labourers in recent months.

More Administration Land

The Administration has bought 300-acres of native land in the town area of Port Moresby, behind Murray Barracks. It was bought from heads of the Korobosia village for a reported price of £l9 an acre—the average price for good land in the Port Moresby area, these days.

Light In Rabaul’S Darkness

A senior engineer from the Com monwealth Department of Works, in Melbourne, Mr. C. Rosenthall, visited the New Britain and the Morobe Districts in July to report on possible hydro-electric schemes.

In New Britain, he was looking for suitable sites to provide power

|°r !£ e - Gazelle Peninsula, which comparable to the scheme which is Kesby e a n t g Ro P u r n 0 a Vi F e a d ,, s for P ° rt

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these took place in the three main centres of Port Moresby, Rabaul and Lae.

Ng Participant In Redex

Trial

Well known NG pilot, Mr. Maurice Crowley, owner of Crowley’s Airways at Lae, was forced down at the end of July on a flight between Lae and Cairns, Qld.

Headwinds caused him to land on the Iron Range airstrip on the Cape York peninsula. Two Lincoln bombers went out searching for him Crowley eventually turned up at Cairns.

He was on his way to Sydney in a Percival Gull to take part in the Redex air trial which began in August.

Civilisation In Outer Is

A limited degree of civilisation now being brought to the Mortla and Tasman Islanders of N Guinea. Hitherto they have be almost as remote as the recem located natives in the Tari valle in the Southern Highlands.

The 437 Mortlake and Tasm; islanders are blown away Pol nesians, although the nearest oft; islands is about 160 miles eastwa from the top tip of Bougainville.

The islanders live on a diet of fi and coconuts and because t islands will grow little they ha been left very much alone. Th are off the main inter-island tra mg routes and as the highest poi on any of the islands is 14 feet abo sea level, they have not been ea to find.

However, in the last two yea they have received increased a tention from the P-NG Distri.

Services department and a tradii vessel has now been induced to mal periodic calls there to buy cop and trochus.

With the money earned from th trading, the natives are buying ric meat, sugar and other food to va: their restricted diet.

The islanders have lived isolation so long that the ship visits could be a mixed blessing i introducing common ills unknow there. But here, at least, civilisatic has benefited by past experience ar the crew of the vessel must have clean bill of health before landin The natives are anxious to ha - ? schools established in the Grouj and will send young men to Nei Guinea as trainees. The P-NG D« partment of Education is willing 1 co-operate—although it will mea another kink in the already knott problem of language. The Mortlafe and Tasman Islanders speak Polynesian language.

Forty-Day Patrol

ASSISTANT District Officer W. I Allen recently made a 40-da patrol through the coastal am inland section of the Gulf regioi of Western Papua. The part; covered the coastal region south west of Kikori, then 100 miles ui the Turama River by launch, over land toward the southern slopes g Mt. Bosavi, and back by raft aloni the He-Gigio River.

The country from Turama to thi He-Gigio was extremely rough, am the raft journey hazardous owini to strong current, narrow passages rock outcrops and swift shallows..

The whole area covered wai peaceful and only a few minor comi plants were made to Mr. A. Alien General health was good in the 2i! villages visited.

U Mr. M. L. Cody, chairman o; Loloma (Fiji) Gold Mines N.L., ant a director of Emperor Mines Ltd! left Melbourne on July 22 to im spect the mines in Fiji,