Waria Syndicate

New Stage in Huge Claim Over NG Goldfields

FHE announcement in August

* that the Waria Syndicate (a

jrc-1914 German concern which

lad received certain mining con

jessions in New Guinea, and

vhich now is appealing to the

Guinea Administration and hreatening a further appeal to

he United Nations) had “got the

irst leg in” has puzzled most

>eople interested in New Guinea

[lining.

: They do not know what it means, t was understood that all German ssets in New Guinea were liquidated 0 years ago through the Expropria lon Board, and no one has ex ilained how or why the Waria lyndicate escaped.

The Waria Syndicate was the reation of Heinrich Rudolph Wahlen, a well-known German lerchant and planter, prominent in rerman New Guinea until 1914. he Syndicate was given mining oncessions over a large area of the Few Guinea mainland, apparently icluding the Morobe Goldfield, dis overed and developed after World Var I.

In some way, the interests of the yndicate became divided between rerman, Swedish and American in vests; and it would appear that ; was the Swedish and American iterests which lodged some sort of claim —apparently involving title nd compensation—in 1953. The laims were lodged by three people amed Warberg, and one named peigleberg—all Americans. Their laim represented 10 per cent, of le original concession; and another erson named Erf ass, a Swede, )dged a similar claim, in respect E 75 per cent, of the original con sssion.

The Registrar of Titles in Port loresby (Mr, R. P. McCubbery) de- Ided in 1953 that the Warbergs nd Speigleberg were members of le partnership of M. M. Warberg : Co., whose interests were ex ropriated; and, in regard to the Irfass claim (which Erf ass said he ot by transfer from Wahlen), he aled that under the provisions of le German Civil Code it was im ossible for Wahlen to have sold is interest in the way that Erf ass laimed. The net result was that e decided that the claimants could ave no share in any mining in jrests in the Morobe goldfield.

After that, both sets of interests lade formal objection to the ruling iven by the Registrar of Titles. A laim now has been lodged directly n behalf of the Waria Syndicate ;self, through Mr. Wahlen (now 75

years old, and a resident of Ham burg) . This is now before the Re gistrar.

The latter heard the application early in August, and has adjourned the hearing to enable the Syndicate to submit evidence about the prig inal composition of the Syndicate and also the changes that occurred in the Syndicate. The Registrar expressed the following opinions; The evidence at this stage dis closed that some sort of right was created by the agreement between Dr. Solf (on behalf of the Imperial German Government) and Mr.

Wahlen (on behalf of the Syndicate) in July, 1914 (just before the out break of World War I).

The right so created was in existence in January 10, 1920, and it appears that it was still in existence when the first New Guinea Mining Ordinance came into force in 1922.

The matter was adjourned in definitely, pending the submission of evidence regarding the history and position of the Syndicate.

In a letter to the editor of the PIM, Mr. Wahlen says that the Syndicate is seeking compensation for the gold taken out of the area of its concessions, and recognition of what it claims is its existing rights over the area. He says also that if its claims are not by the Australian authority in New Guinea, it will carry them to UNO.

He has made some interesting com ments on the history of the Waria Syndicate, but they are now suo judice.