In Papua-New Guinea

Current News Items From Our Correspondents In Papua-New Guinea

I Tourists See Moresby

The Orient Liner Orion, which lid a 2-days visit,to Port Moresby : early September, was the first uise-ship carrying Australian urists to call since the war.

Port Moresby managed to do a od job of entertaining in spite of e fact that the 1,000 passengers creased the town’s population by e-quarter overnight.

A real factor in this success was e way in which the Administra n co-operated to the hilt, putting smselves behind arrangements e any Chamber of Commerce uld. Their help probably made difference. rhe visitors seemed to have had good time, and certainly the raspeople did. highlight was a canoe race oss the harbour with tourists mg as ballast—and spirits ren’t damped by the ducking le of them got when two of the ft collided in mid-harbour. •ort Moresby shops, on their best orative behaviour, sold out prac illy everything worth selling as tourists started in on a buying- O ne shop, in a few hours, I £2OO worth of multi-colored •ts of indescribable pattern

The shops are reported now to be even more interested in encouraging more of these tours, and possibly a mooted Chamber of Commerce will finally get sufficient support to get it going. Two past attempts have come to nought.

The festivities during the Orion’s visit weren’t all gay. On Tuesday afternoon at Bomana War Ceme tery, about 90 relatives of war dead buried there (relatives came to Moresby on the Orion through an arrangement with the Imperial War Graves Commission), took part in a moving service.

Madang Discusses

‘Boy-Trouble”

Madang now is having some trouble with native sex-offenders and at a recent meeting of the Town Advisory Council, ways and means of nipping the trouble in the bud were discussed.

Some members suggested that native compounds be moved out of the town. There then would be fewer natives for the police to con trol.

A woman member, Mrs. E.

Sowerby, asked if something could be done by way of warning mothers new to the Territory about

native servants. Many of thesp mothers were told that the servant! were reliable, but she viewed whh grave concern the number of offences that had taken place particularly against children.

Members agreed that the position become worse in the last two num k er of attempted thP come t 0 the n °tice of the authorities.

P, ist^ ict Commissioner Giles said that at one time in Papua a Black Book was kept, and when offenders were released from prison they were ordered to stay in a certain area them 6 regular checks were made on (Over)

Dr. C. Haszler suggested the use of identity cards with finger prints for all natives seeking employment.

The Council carried a resolution that all natives convicted of sex offences be banned from town areas and restricted to a particular area.

Expert Talks To Scientific

Society

Are there koalas in New r Guinea?

The matter came up for discussion at a September meeting of the Papua New Guinea Scientific Society in Port Moresby, during an address by the visiting mammalogist at the Australian Museum. Sydney, Mr. Ellis Troughton.

Mr. Troughton, with a prepara tor, Mr. Norman Camps, had just completed a two months’ collecting expedition into the Highlands.

He told the meeting that he had heard many rumors about NG koalas, but they seemed to be about as elusive as the Queensland striped cat. He would like very much to be the first scientist to say positively there were koalas in the Territory, but personally he doubted it.

One member said she thought that, about 18 months ago, there was a koala found at Amau, behind Abau, on the south coast of Papua, but she was not sure. She thought the koala had been taken to the Kwato mission but had died later.

Mr. Troughton suggested that New Guinea people who see some thing unusual, or hear of something

that the natives think unusual should get hold of a specimen, perferably its skull, if not all of it, and send it off to somebody who knows—they might have something valuable.

Nz Frigate’S

Exuberant

Arrival

The New Zea land frigate Pukaki cut a 9-ft. piece out of Port Moresby’s new wharf when she arrived on a four day visit on Sep tember 10. She also damaged her own bows.

The ship was on her way home after 12 months in Korean waters, and her 150 offi cers and men got a warm welcome in Moresby, des pite the damage to the wharf.

Moresby’s new wharf is getting its baptism of fire early. A month or two ago, the APC 900 - tons steel vessel Hanne Sven put a large dent in the other side of the wharf,

cutting off the water supply to area.

Commemoration Weekeis

And Sogeri Show

It was the Territory’s Commen ation Day and Show Day at So|

Pukaki. and the dent in the wharf. (Papuan Prints)

'the ranges outside Port Moresby, \ September 15.

The administrator, Brigadier D. , Cleland, used the show to give i annual holiday address, drawing tention to the fact that the spot is an historic one, being so close the Kokoda Trail, where some of ; foundations to the Territory’s iftly growing traditions had been d.

Jogeri, too, he said, was also one the spots where the onwards ve had been planned, and a base m where the Japs had first been ight and driven back.

'he show itself got an unexpected nper from repeated showers. ;t year the same thing happened, I the show had to be postponed ! week. Maybe next year the ■icultural Society will try putting >n earlier, probably about June, ch is well inside the “dry” period, otal of about 1,500 Europeans it through the gates, not nting the children, and Port 'esby, 20 miles away, seemed to deserted during the day. t Rabaul during the holiday the ie number turned up to watch a it baseball match, or series of ches, at the sports reserve. is time perhaps, that Rabaul on a show. If Madang and Wau Sogeri can do it, so should aul.

Ore Mofs For Moresby

Hotels?

mtas announced in September as from September 17. two ?ad of three Sandringham ig-boats will carry out the ley-Port Moresby run each light. The statement said that increase to three Skymasters sek on the run would enable the to be made, because the Sky ers could handle the traffic. a result of the alteration, Irmghams will arrive in Port sby from Sydney, each Monday, none will arrive on alternate ■sdays. e alternate aircraft carried out *un from Moresby out over the lan Gulf to Daru, before re mg again to Sydney, but in e the Western service will be every second week by one of

Monday Sandringhams, after it

•fetes its normal run to New in or Bougainville, us there is no interference with nal services on the face of it. ay. wever, it means that New ea people taking the south d Sandringham on the altern .hursday, will have to w*ait in sby from Thursday until Sat- 7 > until the Sandringham com -5 the western run. :hey do not wish to wait until ‘day, they can go South on ys Skymaster, but this means ircraft change and an extra m Moresby anyway, is to be hoped that Moresby > can stand it. But we doubt

it. It sounds as though it will mean that more mattresses are dragged out to be put on more hotel floors.

Pink Seas And Hot Islands

Queer things continue to happen in the Bismarck Archipelago The latest is pink seas.

A definite pink tinge was reported in the sea at Namatanai, on New Ireland, on September 17 for about five minutes after two earth tremors were felt. The tremors came in two waves and lasted about 20 seconds.

More pink sea has been seen in the St. Andrews Strait, south of Manus, where submarine volcanoes recently have been busy pushing un islands. H The largest island has appeared

from the sea, and sunk again near three times in the last snnci^ 0n S| but foll °wing its last X P re a to n stay n JU ' y “ 866,118 to b 6 then te ADO jfc Landman and the Rabaul vul canologist got together and decided J; 0 , . name it “Tuluman Island” » m the local language, is hot. On last reports it was several ln size and about 40 ft out of the water. The island is horse shoe shaped with the crater shoot ing from the centre.

It appears to be joined to nearby Lou Island by land and the second emerging island nearby may easily be joined, too. * (Svt/)

More Scholarships For

European Children

Four more privately-endowed jondary education scholarships for rritory students have been estab tied in P-NG. Available to all ropean children whose parents i resident in the Territory, the lolarships are for £5O a year, lable for five years. Examinations them will be held in November.

Scholarships are in addition to i secondary school grants and re n air-fares made by the P-NG ministration.

'his brings the total number of vately-endowed scholarships to Six have been made available the anonymous donor “AMV,”

I the New Guinea Club is finan ? four, Mr. Gilbert Renton one, I Mr. and Mrs. J. I. Cromie three. ;y are designed to assist in meet the expenses of students’ mdary school education in Aus ia. he extension from year to year he scholarships is conditional on i parents continuing to reside in Territory. Successful candi es are selected by the donors n students examined and recom ided by the P-NG Department Education. Age, intelligence s, and for certain scholarships, financial position of the parents considered.

Keeping Chimbus Happy

issatisfaction among some P-NG iloyers with Highland, and par larly Chimbu, labour has npted the Administration to ex ne the all-over results of the iland labour scheme. •me of the recommendations nested for getting better value of Chimbus will probably make time Territorians howl with , but as the Director of District ices, Mr. A. A. Roberts, points Chimbus are keenest to offer for uitment and Highland natives esent the only big reserve of ur to meet increasing Territory ands. •r good or ill, therefore, Terri ms seem stuck with Chimbus. nee the scheme began in lary, 1951, the total number of /es employed by private enter ! has risen to 50,870. Highland fits —of whom 90 per cent, are nbus— comprise 9.3 per cent, of total labour force. Many em 3rs are satisfied with the Chim and employ them regularly as bulk of their labour force, here trouble has arisen, investi m by Administration officers frequently shown lack of ability ng European supervisors, and attention paid to the welfare ne Chimbus. A tendency has n among some employers to ct trouble from Chimbus and a ral atmosphere of distrust has up on both sides, e District Commissioner of the srn Highlands, Mr. I. F. Downs, recently he was convinced that ;ype and location of work was

a relatively minor cause of dissatis faction among Chimbus. He con sidered that if given proper atten tion, combined with good labour relations, they would do any type of work satisfactorily.

It was essential that the High landers had their own cooks, and that wherever possible, their food

vVw d b • Co P£ ed as it was in their the ground in a stone oven. Other suggestions for keeping them happy included providing them with pigs as week-end rations; showing them movies; teaching them to play football; and organ ising hunting parties for them. (Over)

Hospitals, At Last

Tenders have finally been called for a new native hospital at Port Moresby.

It will be 300 beds and connected later to a new European hospital, the whole project with equipment costing in the vicinity of £1,000,000.

Site is on the Taurama Road, near the Rouna Road.

Work on the new Lae European hospital having started a few months ago, it seems likely that there may at last be some progress with Mr. Hasluck’s much advertised (over the last few years) £7-millions hospital programme for the Terri tory.

The Three-Years’ Plan

Possibly the most important an nouncement, for a number of years, was made by the Minister for Terri tories, Mr. Paul Hasluck, on Septem ber 22, during the debate on the Estimates in the Commonwealth Parliament.

Mr. Hasluck said Cabinet had accepted the principle of a 3-years development programme for Papua- New Guinea and the Northern Ter ritory.

Each April, the programme will come before a Cabinet sub-com mittee which will decide how much of the 3-years programme can be accomplished. This will assure there is no hiatus between the end of the financial year and the passing of the Budget.

It is this hiatus which has caused all the trouble for years in the Territories.

There has been a particular in stance in Port Moresby in the last

year when work on the Bro> River Road ceased because t Works Dept, had run out of fum Consequently, several months’ go work in the dry season was 1(

On September 1, a children’s Fancy Dress Ball was held at the Red Cross [?] in Port Moresby. Seen at left, some of those who took part in the Grand Parade; [?] on the right, a young “geisha” receiving her prize. —Photo by Papuan Prints.

itil next year’s vote could be ssed, by which time the work was ain held up because of the wet.

Everybody knew, of course, that 5 road would have to be finished B year if not the next. With a 3irs programme, and the money >mised, the money will be avail e if the work is done more ickly than expected.

Rtc For Highlands

i radio telephone zone station luld begin operating at Goroka, the Eastern Highlands, about member. It will be the first RTC ie station in the Highlands, all present stations working to a e centre in Madang. a ter, it’s planned to have direct nk telephone links from Goroka Port Moresby and Lae.

L Will Cater For Women’S

Interests

ort Moresby ABC station, 9PA, feature a women’s session in programme for the first time month. he session will be conducted by n Stevens—in private life Mrs. denhofer, the wife of an Ad istration official and the mother wo children. iss Stevens, who was recently in

ney familiarising herself with

pattern of a similar session, that her new session would 8 news and interests from the ide world to the many isolated len in the Territory. /erseas travellers would be in iewed and guest speakers would institute hobbies and pastimes, assist in medical and child wel work.

Mud Banks At Kikori

>rrential rain in the Papuan District in September closed flying-boat alighting area at iri. complete new survey will have 5 made to see where the chan now are, as the landing area developed mud banks, which re y caused a Catalina to do some

*e bumping.

a result of the closure, the lar Qantas Sandringham ser to Daru is upset, the Sandring s flying direct to Lake Kutubu returning via the coastal ports, allowing them to do the whole without re-fuelling at Kikori.

Ero Club On The Wing

e Aero Club of Papua got one 5 two Tiger Moths operating in miber. e second was expected to be ? a few weeks later, and this aft will be used mainly for in

ting trainee-pilots,

e club is the only licensed fly chool in the Territory, and will iseful to amateur pilots who to keep up sufficient flying 5 to retain their licences, ib membership is about 70, with greatest number of these all mg to be pilots, and most of

them taking evening courses in aeronautical subjects as a pre liminary.

In response to an appeal from the nursing sisters on behalf of the patients at Makogai Leprosy Hos pital, Fiji, a supply of movie films recently arrived from Hollywood sent by the Family Theatre organ isation there. The films were brought to Fiji free of charge by Pan American World Airways

wL Form l r re sidents of Apia, Western Samoa, who have recently been paying a visit home are Mrs hinse Sasse, from New Zealand and Phflipp r ines la MUenCh ’ fr ° m Minila ’

The Fiji Broadcasting Corn el 1011 *! 18 re P° rted to be planning to shortly open another transmitter m the Suva area to provide altern ative language programmes. The transmitter is expected to have a oin V f r watts and operate on

040 Kc/S.