[?]gnet Crayfish Venture

Still Harbour-Bound

X)NEY Truth has interested itself in the activities of the

pet Co. Pty. Ltd. (see PIM,

pst) which has spent the last

months skirmishing around idea of catching crayfish in Gulf of Papua for the dollar )rt trade.

Lth unkind humour and an dus warning to future investors, h has traced the erratic se made by the concern since formation in early 1953. The ipaper gives prominence to fact that although the company so far cost its investors about 00, without even reaching the ag grounds, it now seeks to in e the nominal capital by £50,000 proposes to make the original icate a public company, e syndicate was originally ed by ex-NSW policeman, Jack is Toyer, whom Truth describes orsaking police trawlers for the i-going type.” (It has been d also that he was Marine rintendent for Australasian )leum Co. in Papua before the ptain Toyer—“ Old Shellback” relentless newspaper calls him said to have “interested initial tors with tales of New Guinea rs full of 22-lb lobsters worth lb, and 24,000 acres of fine :al cattle country crying out development.” There was an ed £lO per week and up to £l6O nth in bonuses for those lucky ?h to be accepted as investors working partners, he is alleged ive claimed. money rolled in and on March >53, Captain Toyer left Sydney d for Daru in the MV C-Gull. other company ships were in md 15 of the 23 shareholders had invested £25,000 were •d. t then the trouble started. One was abandoned at Tuncurry as unseaworthy and the re der reached Townsville where diminishing funds caused the prise to be “temporarily” doned. ;k in Sydney on December 11, et Co. Pty. Ltd. was incor ed, with Mrs. Toyer as govern irector “during her life or until )ecame disqualified.” Further tors were attracted by a series dvertisements and records at tegistrar-General’s Department ;d Truth that the company has 38 shareholders with 45,600 s valued at £45,600. ets of the company are four s which Captain Toyer claims forth about £43,000. Investors aid to dispute this, however,

their valuation being put at many thousands of pounds lower.

The main part of the expedition is still in Sydney, and directors, try ing to safeguard the company from liquidation, say they need more cash immediately. On May 26, the Registrar-General’s Department re ceived notice that a special resolu tion had been passed to increase the capital by £50,000, and propos ing to make the company a public concern.

Whether Cygnet, C-Gull and com pany will ever reach Daru and com mence operations Truth doubts, although they admit that, basically, and in the light of other Australian crayfish packers’ earnings in the last few years, the idea is a good one.