Of Men And Uniforms

THE Royal P-NG Constabulary guard turned out in full uni form at Goroka, NG, on June 19, to honour Corporal Kumuna, who was retiring after 30 years police service—a large proportion of it in the NG Highlands. District Com missioner lan Downs is shown wishing Kamuna luck, after the ceremony.

The corporal is wearing the uni form of the pre-war Royal Papuan Constabulary which was adopted for the whole P-NG native police after the w T ar. It has been suggested that the only reason for this was that there were some thousands of yards of blue serge in stock and it

Sir John Rankin, British Resident ,t Zanzibar, has been appointed Governor of the Western Region of Jigeria. He was Assistant Colonial Secretary in Fiji, where he was born, rom 1942 to 1945.

—Photo by Papuan Prints. vas decided to use it up. There [?]eems to be no other reason, for it [?]s obviously unsuitable for the [?]-NG climate. It is of heavy wool [?]erge, patterned after an early [?]Victorian bathing suit and (it [?]s alleged) was invented by the [?]ate Sir Hubert Murray for his [?]olice who patrolled in high moun [?]ain country. The native police [?]miform in New Guinea, before the var, was khaki drill, with a safari [?]ype jacket, shorts or lava-lava. For [?]nountain patrolling they added a [?]pool sweater. It was neat and at [?]ractive and more suitable for the [?]ropics than the Papuan outfit. The [?]umour is that when present stocks [?]if serge are used up, the whole of [?]he Constabulary will be equipped vith pre-war, NG type uniforms.