How Lae Has Risen From the

Our Enthusiastic Lae Correspondent Tells Us — How Lae Has Risen From the 1946 Shambles -and Why

LAE town has grown so fast in the last few years that visitors from other centres in the Territory wonder at just how it has been done. The answer probably is that we have faith in the future of the Morobe District of which Lae is the port.

In 1948, Vacuum Oil Company set the ball rolling by building its Bulk installation on the southern side of the airport. This installation in cludes six 500,000 gallon tanks, oil stores, drum filling and cleaning departments, workshops, offices, residences for married employees and a mess and quarters for single men, plus a mile-long pipeline from the wharf area at Milfordhaven to the installation.

Qantas followed soon afterwards with its own little “township”, and since then other companies, big and small have followed suit while the Government too, has helped in shaping Lae as a model town. Lae’s overseas terminal at the airport, is the best in any of the South Pacific Islands.

Namanula which was once a bush covered plateau, is now a township in itself, for Namanula was chosen to replace the Lae flat area as the main residental and business section, and gradually it has taken shape, although in the beginning there was some opposition to the Idea.

However, there are more than 100 residences on top now, in the streets which run from First to Thirteenth plus Coronation Drive, Memorial Drive and Huon Road.

At the sea end of Namanula a business area is beginning to spread, and the beautiful War Cemetery and Botanical Garden takes up a large area of the other end of the plateau.

A European School and play centre and the Anglican and Reman Catholic churches are also on Namanula. The Catholic church has been built in the shape of a cross, to a South American design.

Lae’s Picture Theatre is up to city standards and its attached shop ping-block is very modern and a boon to shoppers.

There is no Chinatown in Lae— all business leases are now in the same section and already Chinese and European merchants are building side by side.

Kam Hong is erecting a general store, cafe and residence opposite the New Guinea Company’s new store and adjoining the block cleared by Burns Fhilp.

This new scheme did not at first meet with general approval but is now thought a good idea.

Lae is a town of clubs; right on the edge of Namanula, overlooking the sea, is the flourishing Returned Servicemen’s Club. The spacious, new boomerang-shaped Lae Club is being built on the adjoining block.

Mrs. Flora Stewart elected to build her large and modern Hotel Cecil on its pre-war site, down on the flat overlooking Voco Point, and it is often debated here whether her move was wise, as most of her “bar” customers will reside on Namanula; but when one sees the

amount of motor vehicles coming into Lae these days it seems now that it really does not matter where the hotel is situated, as the thirsty will be able to make their visits to the hotel without any undue dif ficulty.

Lae has a new permanent wharf (although it is not large enough); a fine airport (with the threat of a bigger and better one); and, at long last, will have a new hospital.

There is a nine hole golf course; a bowling green under construction; and a rifle club has been formed.

There is a swimming pool of a kind and much discussion at every meet ing of the Lae Town Advisory Council (but no real action) about a new one; and a sports reserve which could be the best in the Territory (but is not). (Over)

Lae picture theatre and shopping centre. —Island Arts Photo.

BUT a town has to have some thing to keep it living and growing (unless like Canberra or Moresby it lives on Government money) and Lae’s reason for existence is the richness of the Morobe district.

With the gradual decline of its gold producing potential new enter prises are springing up and although rice, coffee, cocoa, peanuts, beef and dairy cattle from Wau. the Mark ham Valley and Zenag have bright prospects, the industry with the big future is timber. Timber for ply-wood, for building, or for export as logs—we have it all.

While the ply-wood manufactured from klinki pine found in the large stands in the Bulolo-Watut area is being exported ready for the market, anisopteros (New Guinea Ash) peeling logs from another Morobe forest, the Trans-Busu, near Lae, are being shipped to Aus tralian manufacturers to be turned, into ply-wood there.

The two companies concerned in the export trade are Commonwealth New Guinea Timbers and South Pacific Lumber. The former com pany’s product is in great demand in the United States; and the South Pacific Lumber people have been working seven days a week to keep the supply of logs up to fulfil the Australian demand.

Representatives of two Cali fornian companies. Fiddes Moore and Pacific Coast, which have been importing the Bulolo product into America, recently visited the field and inspected the mill and re sources. They returned home greatly impressed.

Commonwealth New Guinea

Plywood ready for shipment to US. —Photo: Island Arts.

Timbers, the company formed by the Australian Federal Government and Bulolo Gold Dredging Limited in partnership, should soon be pro ducing 1,000 tons of ply-wood a month and when new men are trained a still greater output can be expected.

Although the ply-wood is be coming a great dollar-earner for Australia (more than $750,000 worth has been shipped since the first consignment left Lae in April last), the local and Australian markets have not been neglected.

Agents have been appointed at Port Moresby, Lae. Madang, and Rabaul to handle the product, while recent visitors, three members of the Ply-wood Association of Vic toria, said that the ply-wood has been well received in Australia and that the quality and finish of the product is top grade. Victoria is keen to purchase the ply-wood and they would like to see deliveries in creased.

Exports began in April when Suva loaded 219 tons for San Francisco.

Since then Lakemba has taken two shipments totalling 1,618 tons; Suva one shipment of 911 tons and Thorsisle has shipped two consign ments totalling 1,493 tons, making, in all, 4,271 tons exported to the United States of America.

During May last, the South Pacific Lumber Company made its first shipment of logs, which will be turned into ply-wood in Aus tralia, and since then the company has exported 1,000,000 super feet to Australia.

Before the trees could be felled the fast-flowing Busu River had to be bridged and the company swung an 85 foot suspension bridge (named the Dickie Moore Bridge after the company’s manager, Mr. R. Moore) in very smart time. A huge boulder is used as the base of a

pylon at one end while at the other end logs are crossed in tiers for this purpose. (See PIM for Oct.).

The company has contracted to cut ten million super feet a year.

Of this about 20,000 super feet a day is to be sawn for local consump tion while the remainder is being shipped in log form to Australia.

Besides ply-wood the exported Trans-Busu timber is being used for laths, lattice-work, slats in Venetian blinds, mouldings and as finishing timbers.

The company is shortly to instal

Logs of NG ash are trucked out across the Busu River. —Photo: Island Arts.

a modern new mill near the sea at Voco Point, Lae, where all types of building-timbers, including T and G and weatherboards, will be pre pared for the market.

Besides New Guinea Ash, fair quantities of Rosewood, Walnut, Brima, Taun, Maple, Cedar and Blackbean are found in the Trans- Busu area and in time the company intends to mill all these timbers.

South Pacific Lumber Company was formed by Messrs. Stan Murdock and Peter Murphy, long experienced timber men from Healesville, Victoria, where they conduct a mill, which cuts Mountain Ash, and two pallet manufacturing factories. They also conduct a timber yard in Melbourne.

The coconut estates on Ysabel owned by Solomon Islands Rubber Plantations Ltd. —a £70,000 Brisbane company—are now leased to BSI interests at a rental of approxi mately £3,000 per year. The pub lished balance sheet for the year ended July 31 shows that the directors are now paying dividends of approximately £2,400 per annum to preference holders. The directors are Messrs. W. E. & E. W. Savage, Mr. N, V. Whitehouse, and Colonel F. W. G. Annand.