Central Highlands,NG

From Notes Made in Central Highlands,NG

By

R. W. Robson,

At Goroka

r ithout Machines The Australian achievement in ie Central Highlands of New uinea —seen in such things as izens of serviceable airstrips in ores of valleys, over 100 buildings led along streets around the oroka airstrip, a water-race many lies long, a jeep road stretching indreds of miles from Mt. Hagen Gusap—is very impressive; but lat strikes a visitor more than ything is the fact that these pub works have been carried out thout the aid of modern ichinery, Nowadays, no one thinks of doing ;h things through broken country thout bulldozers and graders and sorts of powered machinery; but strict Commissioner lan Downs’s blic works have been done in re it years merely with teams of ;ive labourers armed with picks 1 shovels; a limited amount of ignite: and cadet patrol officers ing as roadmasters. )ne can understand that the ;hlands’ entire dependence on air amunication made the introduc i of heavy roadmaking chinery difficult; but it also ms to have prevented the intro :tion of the learned officers of Department of Works. The Dis t Commissioner had no Public rks men to help him—most of road from Goroka to Mt. Hagen, example, was constructed under direction of Mr. Jimmy Wilton, ) has had no training as a pro ional road engineer, but is ious for the numerous water 'S which he put in around the obe goldfields district. would appear from what Mr. bon has done that the instinctive ing for a grade which allows him ring water in for miles over hilly itry, is also the quality which oles him to put in a well-graded 1 that climbs mountains and ps over valleys.

lamo Downs

aving looked over the area, I 'tily endorse the summary of ley Sun writer F. R. Peterson, has just toured New Guinea, who says this of Eastern Righ

ts District Commissioner:

ou don’t have to be in Goroka to realise that there is some imo behind all this. You don’t ! to be a detective to discover it is Downs.

'owns, who gets embarrassed impatient at praise, modestly es this. He says, ‘Everybody s here. Goroka is no one-man That’s true enough, but you a spark for this sort of thing, ns is the spark.

He’s a mighty man,’ a young

coffee planter told me. ‘He’s the sort of man who, if he got lobbed in the middle of a desert, would make it an oasis.’

“ ‘Without him,’ said a second young planter. ‘Goroka wouldn’t be here.’

“A man with over 20 years’ ex perience in New Guinea told me, ‘He is the best government man ’l’ve ever seen. He has vision, drive, ideas and enthusiasm to a degree you just don’t expect from people whose basic job is administration.’ ”

About a dozen of Mr. Peterson’s articles were published in leading Australian dailies in August and September—sober, well-written ap praisal of the fine job being done by the P-NG administrative service But even Mi-. Peterson, with all pos sible goodwill, found it hard to dis cover any distinct pattern in the Canberra policies to which these men are working.

Concerning Frieda

ladieT V corner°) n overheard in Doreen: I believe the Doctor’s pups’ Fneda ’ has anot; her lot of Mrs. Pitt: Oh, not again!

District official’s wife, bitterly; Frieda has more pups, of a more ob jectionable kind, more often, than any other bitch in New Guinea' Mrs. Pitt, more bitterly: Not only are her morals deplorable—she is a consistent thief. There isn’t a safe m this place that really is a safe when Frieda is on the prowl.

Doreen: Can’t something be done effort calls for a community (Small unofficial sub-committee formed to interview the Doctor and deal with” Frieda.)

Cattle Problems

The sudden death of Bill Mac- Gregor, at Baiyer River (see else where) came as a shock to the large and growing community (mis sionaries, officials, settlers) who are

experimenting with stocK—and e pecially the establishment of cattl farming. MacGregor, for the Agi culture Department, had done a ti: job with his herds at Baiyer Riv< and his advice was much soug after. (See Obituaries, this issue.) Most people agree now that, ev more important than finding t right breed of cattle, is the pro lem of discovering the most suital grasses to take the place of t useless indigenous growths. Oc good pastures are establish* cattle-farming must become an ii portant industry in these highlani Most of the cattle which a being experimented with in t Highlands District now are fed hand. That is the position, for € ample, at the Goroka Agricultu: Station. According to one old si tier, the stock generally cannot s enough sustenance from the inti duced grasses, such as kikuyu, pj palum and clover —he says they c finitely lose their sustenance va] when they are planted in t tropics.

Only a Dream I was introduced to what is cal the “hypochondriac’s dream” by !

Jeff Joynton Smith, who is a r and enthusiastic resident of Highlands. It is gin and passl fruit juice, brought to the ri. temperature with the addition ice. Mr. Joynton Smith is try to persuade Mr. George Greathj to introduce this as a side-line Cottees Passiona—namely, bott passionfruit juice and gin—he s it will sweep the Southern mar/ But Mr. Greathead shakes his hi

Two miles out of Mount Hagen, on [?] quiet mission station, the PIM edi [?] found a very old friend in Father W.

Ross, who has given these natives a l [?] time of service. His beard now is wh [?] and his outlook very tolerant; but [?] still retains his soft American accent, [?] time has not dimmed the twinkle in [?] eye.

nd points wearily to the cost of irfreighting an empty bottle —let lone a full one.

i Matter of BO!

An interesting sociological angle is ien in the proposal to build in oroka a boarding-house for coastal atives. An increasing number of ained native workers are being iken into the Highlands to do >ecial jobs, and those who have ;en for some time in contact with Liropeans are more cleanly in their ibits than Highlands natives. The tter protect themselves against the dd by liberal coatings of pig-fat, id so smell rather unpleasantly; hereas the type of coastal native do now is spending some time in e Highlands is usually dressed satly in European cloth.

It is proposed that a boarding •use shall be provided where coas- I natives will have their food operly cooked and where there II be trained house-boys to look ter them. Thus they will not be liged to live with Highlands tives.

Phe “Chimbus’ ” lack of sophis ation gives them some merit in e eyes of Europeans, whereas the Dwing sophistication of the coastal tives is much to be deplored. But 5 fact remains that the Highlands tive, in his present stage of de lopment, is not a creature whom e would live with by choice.

hoes Belong Missus”

Phis story will serve to illustrate ; fact that the local natives think ; sun rises and shines on Mrs. en Pitt, who recently established i now conducts the excellent el at Goroka (Eastern High ds). lot long ago, Mrs. Pitt decided it a pair of shoes had served ir purpose, and she threw them o the garbage can. Next day, clean and polished, they were bored to her by a Chimbu, who xously felt he had done his good d for the week. So Mrs. Pitt ried the shoes away and heaved m into a rubbish pit, about 10

feet deep. A few hours later another smiling Chimbu, in a dirty condition but apparently exuding happi ness, knocked at the back door and faithfully restored “shoes belong missus.”

While Mrs. Pitt described this inment she was presiding over a rubbish fire in her backyard and in the middle of the Are were those shoes, slowly being consumed Faith in Coffee Coffee is being planted all over these Wahgi valleys, from Kalnantu nght through to Mount Hagen, it is a happy, thriving, hard-working Vl ere are B S? d rela tions between the young European planters and the natives, who work willingly; excellent relations between the civilians and the Administration; and good service provided by the airways-and why not, sin?e coffee at present prices can easily pay airways’ outward freights.

James Leahy—who, with Jerry Pentland, was about the first settler in the Goroka area—began planting coffee in January, 1949 . In 1952 he collected just over a ton of berries, then worth £7OO per ton; in 1953 he got 10 tons, worth about the same; now, with coffee at £B7O per ton. he has already

1953 harvpci- Ho coffpp H h 45 acres under dct ic A

An 25 Years Ago

“ extensive experi ™ents with cattle in New Guinea, it wc ™ noting that, before World hilp *! ad ex Pended considerable money and resources in attempt to acclimatise cattle in T h pSSS* Solomon Islands. Mr.

J. Peterson, manager at Lae—who retirement 1, a ftU T ‘Jlf poin ‘ of told SI that BP’s serv ‘ ce - He?efo?fs into k thi lre i u , lly mens 25 vears a™ S? 10 ’

“atTon at y ßerande ' a breedmg in? X fbp in w ntS p W^ re *?? ade in cross and RpS f u lth distrihu^ B f£™, d u the animals were nvii Fbp ll < ?° l conut Planta- Hereford Zebu Prn!? l 0 growing and J™ » yield of beef huf fw ? substan tial dairv catH?’ Vpto b o u n S tg 2Sfi at thpi? 6^?^ of^ d Wlt ? cross-breeds BS? anrf l S w P^ Marsh ’

there we?e War ♦?’

SolSmras than S J he

Guinea The main trnnh?ic ° tbp r«t pctt? o r K?i n^ troUbles met by

S. 1 Ts

Punishment!

One of the minor grievances of Administration officials in the High lands of New Guinea has to do with the transport of their liquor sup plies. The purchase of liquor by Administration officials is accepted in the coastal areas as a necessity, and provision is made accordingly.

But the Administration refuses to provide for the heavy cost of bring ing in liquor supplies to the High lands by air—the only means of transport. That is an expense that must be borne by the officials them selves. Consequently, a transfer to a Highlands Station is regarded by some Administration Officials as a form of punishment.

Other Countries, Other Ways

A procession of jeeps wended its way along the new road, through new, primitive country, between Goroka and Mount Hagen, Central Highlands of New Guinea. The last jeep (driven by Jim Ellis, long salted in the coastal areas but new to Highland ways) had engine trouble. Finally, in a populous valley, Jim pulled up, lifted the bonnet, and got his head down to a faulty carburettor.

He was sweating and puffing, when suddenly he felt a cold,

clammy hand inside his shorts, and something happened which Mr.

Ellis still has difficulty in believing.

He gave a startled howl, and turned a seven over the engine, and came up fighting. A highly decorated native, of chiefly mien, smiled amiably—he clearly was well disposed.

“Hey!” shouted the outraged Mr.

Ellis, “Whaffor you push around white fella master?”—or words to' that effect—and he descended upon the miscreant.

Fortunately, the other traveller in the jeep was Mr. Jim Taylor, who actually was one of the discoverers of that country, 25 years ago. He grabbed the furious coastal dweller, and explained that what he had suffered actually was the High land native’s idea of a very cour teous greeting.

Mr. Ellis still breathes heavily when he relates the incident. He was not mollified when I quoted the French saying, Autres pays, autres moeurs.

Nondugl Experiment

During a few minutes on Nondugl airstrip, I had a brief chat with Mr.

Barry Osborne, now manager of the Hallstrom Trust Experimental Station there. He told me that the 1,200 Romney Marsh sheep there

are now doing very well again the flock had been troubled for time by local diseases—and that th recent lambing gave 75 per cent.

Although Sir Edward Hallstror turned over the Station to a speck Trust he still takes a keen persom interest in the setup. He lately pai no less than £7,000 for a large quar tity of iron fencing material, whic was sent from Sydney and aii freighted into--Nondugl. to secure) fence the property. A new Lane rover has just been delivered by a (all paid for by Sir Edward), and noticed several bags of grass rool which had just arrived —evident that they are trying to reconditio the pastures.

They get rid of the kunai by mov ing it down, and letting the stoc eat the young shoots which follov and then they try to introduce tt grasses of more temperate zone But a native paspalum gets in vei quickly and, once established, is worthless as a fodder. If kikuj grass can get a good hold in i early stages it does give sustenanc

Presbyterians All!

The hospitality of Father Micha Bodaar. of a Roman Cathol station in the Central Highlands, typical of the missionaries who a: giving service in that new part <

v Guinea. Not long ago he had first visitors for a month— nely, two members of the liard Scientific Party, and Mr.

Mrs. Gordon Carter, of Port resby. He provided them with excellent dinner and good beds— was rather bitter about the fact t he had to rise before dawn the awing morning to say Mass, le the others lay comfortably in r blankets. His first visitors for hole month—and they were all 3by terians!

iceming Tea

0 lan Downs and his attractive 1 put on a cocktail party in oka for the visiting German sassador on August 26; and in pleasant gathering I met Mrs. by Gibbes, and learned that her

sand —pioneering, as always—

ow giving a lot of attention to He has 1,000 acres in the Mt. en area, where 40 acres of coffee :h he planted a few years ago now paying dividends; and he has planted a few acres in tea.

(Continued on Page 1*29)

[?] ve bemused goldfish were attached, Sydney, to the luggage of Master Kelly, [?]epressible heir of Mr. and Mrs. W. J. [?] y, returning after leave to the ADO [?] at Chimbu, Eastern Highlands of Mother-love and father-patience over [?]e travel complications at Port Moresby, and Goroka. and the goldfish, slightly [?]n and panting heavily, eventually [?] hed Chimbu. This photograph was [?] n as the proud owner, complete with neg lectful servant and jar of fish, left [?] Pitt’s hotel at Goroka on the last [?] e of the journey.

e was then away South, working i a machine which he has invented r tea-picking. Mrs. Gibbes says it ands on legs which go down on ch side of the row of bushes, and ; pushed along, and the gadget irks on the leaves from above, any people, realising that in tea oduction, there is more in finding Hied labour for picking than in irning how to grow the bushes, ve tried in vain to make a ichine; but Bobby Gibbes does t turn away from it because lers have failed. h Lae, I met a young Customs icial who comes from Ceylon and o, with his charming wife, is now permanent resident. Their lilies are tea-growers and they nt out that generation after leration of tea-pickers and tea 'kers are maintained by the big estates. The average wage of a -picker is 4 - per day, which ludes food. The oeople live com ;ably, but frugally, on rice and ry, coconut milk, vegetables and is; and their skill in tea-picking I tea-curing is handed on from eration to generation. Can the nitive peoples of New Guinea trained to pick and cure tea lin a period measured in dec s? The alternative, if a tea in try is to be established in New

Guinea, would not be tolerated for political reasons—namely, the in troduction of trained Asiatic tea plantation hands.

“Orion” Means Cash Passing through Moresby, on the way up, I found the whole town in a twit because of a pending visit bv the luxury cruiser Orion, with 600 passengers and 500 crew. The shrewder traders were making special provision to entertain the crew, rather than the passengers.

Returning, I found Port Moresby in the full blast of the Orion visit. The streets were packed with hundreds of eager people, sweating in unsuitable clothes, buying the most unsuitable things, and in a good many cases using most unsuit able language to the hundreds of completely sophisticated Haruabada natives who had assembled for this special “Killing”.

Exhausted merchants, next day, calculated that the Orion left over £3,000 in hard cash in the little town.

“Native Rights”

Official sensitiveness on “native rights” has made conditions tough for Europeans in P-NG since “Edwardian” days; but Port Moresby’s latest ukase seems to be carrying matters to extremes.

i\/r Tho u e is much building around M° r esby : and builders, needing HpoS h bu fu ti ” l^ er and gravel, have been in the habit of simply going out onto unoccupied and apparently ownerless land, and taking what they need—as they would do in similar circumstances in Australia Now Top Brass says that this practice must cease; the District Office is receiving complaints every day from natives that Europeans are taking their gravel a™* and now, if they want such things, they must seek out the native owners, and get permission.

“If they cannot find the owner” says high officialdom, “they should ask at the District Office and an

agreement will be worked out them.”

No Zoning In Lae The original plan for the tc of Lae, New Guinea, has bro down so far as it provided separate sections for the Europ and Chinese populations. It is i the decision was made by Colone K. Murray—he objected to segre tion of the Chinese and said t if a Chinese wished to live in part allotted to the Europeans had a perfect right to do so.

After that, Mrs. Wong F( well-known storekeeper, was gi a permit to build a store in area called Air Corps Road. A Seeto Chim was then allowed build a good store in the same a Now Mrs. Wong Fong has I another store in the Milfordha Road district which according to original plan, was to be strictly served for industrial purposes. 1 Wong Fong has three shops Chinatown, so, with the two wl she now has in the Europ quarter, she has five stores in ; H Miss Camilla Wedgwood, se lecturer in Anthropology and Na Education at the Australian Sc! of Pacific Administration, is mal a study tour of the main educa centres in P-NG. She has viously done anthropological : work ‘in the Territory, Betv September 3 and November 14 will visit Rabaul, Kavieng, Ma Lae, Finschafen, Madang, We l Maprik, Vanimo, Goroka, Moresby, Popondetta, Samarai Kerema.