Sogeri Road Smash

in accident on the Sogeri Road, ow Rouna in the Port Moresby a, on March 13, sent nine people hospital, where five were ad ited. It was one of a series of idents which seem to occur on steep Rouna road, as on the d from Wau to Lae, and only Jty fences and similar improve rs are likely to put a stop to toll.

' is a pity that the Administra i is so busy pushing new roads without worrying about making existing roads a little safer. ■ fault does not always lie with driver. he March accident occurred in a utility driven by Harold ucka slid on loose gravel and t over an embankment, over ling twice. Besides the driver, vehicle contained three children five adults, luckily the children ping with little more than tches. Two others, Lloyd icka and Hans Smith, were ad ed to hospital in a serious con >n.

Noic Leaves Manus

It i?, aval offi cer in Charge of North-East Australian Area, at

Manus, performed his last official public duty on March 13 when he took the sal u te at the first ceremonial parade of A Company, PIR, at Manus. The company was recently established at Nutt Point.

Captain Walsh was to be relieved at the end of March after three and half years’ service in the area.

Captain M. J. Clark will take up the appointment.

Praise For Finschhafen

An American woman, Mrs. Mary Ruth Craig, had a lot of pleasant things to say about Finschhafen people when she made a brief visit there in March. She made the trip from her home in California to see the area from which her son, a fighter pilot, was reported missing in 1944. He last took off from the big wartime strip at Finschhafen.

(Continued on Page 113)

Ts. Craig planned the trip after war. When she arrived at schhafen she was shown over area by the ADO and his wife, and Mrs. Bob Bunting, arid srs, and she spoke of the friend -3S with which she was received.

R. Hasluck And The Psa

iiring his visit to Port Moresby Harch, the Minister for Terri es, Mr. Hasluck, would not com ,t on the attack on him by the G Public Service Assn, in re in to the cost-of-living case. He he understood the association planning certain action and it Id be improper for him to make imment. ’he association has stated it will the cost-of-living and salaries ter to arbitration, and it has i obtaining legal advice in Syd on the matter. By late March, ill had not gone to court). hile Mr. Hasluck was in the itory on his current trip he did speak to any association officials tie blow-up, nor did the associa seek an interview with him. feeling among association mem is “Arbitrate or Nothing.” Gen opinion is that the court is the means of deciding the issue be l doubt. tere is no doubt that even if Minister put forward another ■ it would be rejected out of 1 by the association, which feels tiis case that it has all Terri public servants behind it. le feeling in some of the out ons is even more explosive, and bers there are pressing the as ition council for quick action, le upset over wages is easily the ;st yet to hit the Territory, and rcussions are likely for a long yet. Mr. Hasluck is meanwhile i with an unhappy service in la New. Guinea.

Milne Bay Tremors

to earth tremors rocked Esa-Ala, le Milne Bay district, in early ;h. le first occurred at 7 pm on 'h 9, and the second shortly be -3 am the following morning, reported that there was little age. e Administration vulcanologist, leynolds, is preparing to take the available aircraft from Bougain to Manus to make another in ;ion of the submarine volcano ;. Andrew Strait. Tuluman, the mo which sprang out of the last year, has been in violent tion for several weeks, test news from the area is that main crater is now quiet, but south cone has become the °f the most violent eruptive ity yet seen. rly on March 8, a succession of >sions rocked Baluan as fiery

geysers of moulten material were thrown thousands of feet into the air. Brilliant flashes from the crater turned night into day.

Native villages on nearby Bam Island, south-east of Tuluman, are being deluged with pumice dust, which is ruining gardens and seriously affecting water supplies. It is thought that the 150 natives at the island will have to be evacuated.

Meanwhile, Mr. Reynolds has re- P Ol ted some change in temperatures in the Lake Loloru thermal region, in Southern Bougainville. He suggests that the area be kept under observation.

New Traffic Signs

Uniform traffic signs are to be erected throughout Papua and New Guinea.

The signs are being constructed by the Department of Works. They will be painted yellow, with a black border and black lettering.

At present the Territory is riddled with all kinds of road traffic signs, some put up by the Police, some by Town Advisory Councils and others by local district services officers. Most of them are said to be unauthorised.

Manus Shipping Service

Criticised

Mr. Don Barrett, elected member for the New Guinea Islands, criticised

urns Philp’s shipping services to anus Island on his return to abaul from a visit to the base. He limed that Service personnel were it getting regular supplies of fresh od and canteen goods, and sugsted that the Federal Government ould investigate the position.

Mr. Barrett said that service peranel, officers and other ranks ke. alleged that Burns Philp’s had jmised regular services, but had t maintained them. Complaints d been made to the Port Moresby adquarters of the company, he a • . , , , Jr Barrett said that the Navy’s ezer, which supplied all three vices at the Base, was designed cope with regular supplies. When ire were long delays and two vessels ived together, the capacity of the ezer was taxed. It also meant ,t there was a long wait until the :t vessel arrived, and servicemen n had to eat mostly tinned foods.

I realise that tinned goods are Dlesome,” he said, “but they are warranted in peace-time at a e where amenities are few ” t Port Moresby, the general nager of Burns Philp New nea Ltd, (Mr. Frame) described bSTO * as “ ex - [r. Frame said that Burns Philp i Guinea Ltd. had received no [plaints from Service chiefs at

Manus, and, in any case, the New Guinea company did not regulate the shipping services to the island, This was an arrangement between the parent company in Australia and the Navy Board, Mr. Frame said that if there had been any delays recently they would have been due to the conges tion and confusion on the Sydney waterfront, coupled with the heavy rain in February. These circum stances were beyond the control of any shipping company, He emphasised that from time to time the schedules of Burns Philp vessels calling at Manus had been rearranged to suit the requirements of the armed services at Manus,

Highlands Airfield

. . , A tl _. , T £ T e n ® w . airfield at Chimbu, in the ew Guinea Highlands, is almost finished. It crosses the old landing fie i d at its northern end. u Mos . t of , the work was carried out by prison labour.

An application will be made to Department of Civil Aviation within !? e next few weeks for an inspec tion to be made of the new air strl Plong police service A native of the Kikori district with 22 years service in the Royal Papuan and New Guinea con

stabulary died in the native hospital at Port Moresby in March. He was Sgt. Api, of Ravi Kivau village, who had retired from the force in January.

He accompanied his wife to hos pital, became ill at Port Moresby, and was admitted himself.

He was given a Police funeral and was buried at Kila.

Patrol Officer Flown To

Hospital

Two aircraft were pressed into service in March to get an Admin istration patrol officer back to Port Moresby from Kiunga, near the Dutch border, for hospital treat ment.

The planes, a small amphibian owned by Bahamas Helicopters, and a Qantas Catalina, both left Port Moresby at dawn on March 6 after officials had decided against send ing a helicopter because of its limited range. The Catalina, carry ing Dr. Scragg, of Port Moresby, and fuel for the amphibian, fled direct to Lake Murray and waited there for the smaller plane, which had to land at Kikori for fuel for the flight to Lake Murray.

Both planes then flew to Kiunga, where the amphibian landed on a narrow stretch of the Fly River while the Catalina circled overhead Ten minutes after picking up the

patrol officer, J. C. Baker, the am phibian was again in the air, head ing back to Lake Murray, where the patient was transferred to the Cata lina and flown to Port Moresby.

Special permission was granted

for the Catalina to make a night landing on the harbour.

The following day, the Bahama amphibian was out on another mercy flight. As it was returning to Port Moresby, it landed at Middletown, where the pilot and engineer received instructions to rendezvous with an APC launch on the Aramia River to pick up a native woman and fly her to Kikori.

At Port Moresby the Regional Director of Civil Aviation (Mr. J.

Arthur) praised the work of the crews of the two planes which took part in the Kiunga mercy flight.

He said: “The entire operation was a first-class effort on the part of

everyone concerned: I especially

wish to congratulate the pilot and engineer of the small amphibian. Such a rescue in such a small plane, in really heavy weather, was an outstanding effort.”

New Memorial Gates At

Rabaul

The Queen Elizabeth Park memorial gates (Feb. PIM, p. 39) at Rabaul, donated by the New Guinea Women’s Association, have arrived, and the association has sufficient funds to buy two small side gates.

Mr. R. Galloway told a meeting of the Rabaul Town Advisory Coun cil on March 3 that Mrs. Pratt, on behalf of the Association, had written asking for local opinion re garding the opening of the gates.

The council unanimously sup ported a proposal by the District Education Officer (Mr. F. N. Boisen)

that the Administrator be in\ to officially open the memorial g at a date to be arranged betv his Honour and the Park, trusi Mr. Galloway added: "I thihfe should all be happy to wait for representative of the NG Woir Association to come.”

The gates will be a memoria

ie NG civilians who lost their lives iring the Japanese war.

More Trees For Rabaul

After debating the claims of pell phorum trees and rain trees for anting in Kamerere Street (one Rabaul’s barest streets), the rwn Advisory Council decided lanimously on March 3 to plant in trees.

The discussion ended with the [lowing motion by Mr. J. L. lipper; “That wherever possible in unerere Street rain trees be jinted, having in mind the fact it at some future date much more night must be given by the Ad nistration to the locating of wer lines and the effect that such es will have on the beautifica n of the town.” it the same time a motion, pro sed by Mr. N. C. Barry and carried animously, asked the District tnmissioner to obtain information m Australia regarding suitable es for the lining of streets in a pical area.

Native Apprenticeships

’he first Native Apprenticeship strict Committee meeting in the ritory was held at Wau on March when the Wau-Bulolo committee mussed the application of the ;ive apprenticeship scheme to the a. t was agreed that the initial nber of Wau-Bulolo native irentices would probably be at 3t 36, covering such trades as ivial mining, underground min g. driver-mechanic, telephone ;man and baker. As the scheme gressed, the number would in ase. The recommendations of the imittee will be presented at a "ting of the Native Apprenticeship ird scheduled for about the end \pril. Similar district committee "tings are to be held at Port resby, Lae and Rabaul, and, ordmg to the board’s Executive cer. (Mr. A. Linton), the scheme probably be firmly established rtly after the board meeting.

Herican Soldiers Fined

For Free Film Show

lecause American soldiers gave free film show in return for pitality received at Lae, a US ny investigation officer fined m £4O. ’he soldiers were from American as making a survey of the New tain coastal area, and the films e shown in a hall belonging to i. P. Stewart, owner of the Hotel il at Lae. local cinema manager, Mr H rr. complained to Fox Studios, ney, that the soldiers’ free lenmg was “taking away his • The complaint was passed to the American Embassy, which t it to Washington. Washington )rmed US Army Headquarters

at Okinawa, and the investigation officer was flown from Guam.

The officer said that although he had found the complaints to be “completely unfounded”, the soldiers had broken Army regula tions by showing the films outside their ship.

Mrs. Stewart offered to refund the £4O to the soldiers.

Get Tough On Drink

Suppliers

A “get tougher” attitude with suppliers of native liquor was evident in the Port Moresby Court of Petty Sessions on March 28, when a Port Moresby man was fined £lOO for having given a drink of gin to a native.

The Magistrate, Mr. A. O’Driscoll, warned that next time offenders could look forward to a jail sentence.

He said he would be lenient with the offender, William John Dwyer, 52, contractor, in this case, because it appeared that Dwyer did not realise the seriousness of the offence.

The native was a friend of Dwyer’s and he had given him only a couple of nips.

The native, David Bourke, pleaded guilty to drinking and was fined £5.

The Port Moresby fine came only a few days after the proposed amendment to the Native Liquor Ordinance was debated at length in the Legislative Council in Port Moresby.

Dwyer’s £lOO fine came as a shock to some people in Port Moresby,

and no doubt elsewhere. Normally, drink suppliers are fined about £25.

The maximum fine is £2OO.

War Service Homes

The War Services Homes Division of Australia, in late March, opened, its own Territory office, at the Ad ministration centre at Konedobu, in Port Moresby. In future the office

U handle Territory inquiries from ople wanting to build under the ar Service Scheme. It has its n officer, Mr. M. C. McTaggart.

Erritory’S £Lo,Ooo To Nsw

Flood Victims

rhe Territory’s first donation for j NSW Flood Appeal was handed the Administrator, Brigadier D. M. ►land, on April I—a cheque for (,000. rhe cheque was handed over by i president of the Territory Flood ► peal Committee, Mr. John earn, who said that the appeal aid continue until April 15. brigadier Cleland said the Terri es response had been mag ,cent. The £lO,OOO had been col led in less than a month, and 5 an indication of what did occur the Territory in times of emerg y- . feature of the appeal has been large number of donations from ive villages—in some cases con ‘rable sums, that have been wn from the village coffers, he New Guinea native can be a y generous fellow in his own it, and his actions in this case something of an answer to those ► yell, “Exploitation!”

U Can Now Telephone The

Outposts

n important new step in the de pment of the Territory’s com lications system was taken on

April 4 when people in many out stations were able to talk by tele phone to subscribers in the main towns of Port Moresby and Rabaul.

The town subscribers could also put through trunk line calls to anybody at the outstations, so long as radio reception was reasonably good.

The new system links all the out stations working via radio to the zone station at Port Moresby with the normal town telephone system, and similarly at Rabaul. The Director of Posts and Telegraphs, Mr. W. Carter, in giving details of the new system, said that it was hoped that similar arrangements would operate in the other zone areas and that eventually anybody on a phone in the Territory could speak to any other Territory sub scriber.

The system got a test a few days before it officially came into opera tion when somebody wanted urgently to talk to Mendi, roughly in the middle of New Guinea island, from Port Moresby. The reception was excellent.

Administrator To Tour

The Administrator, Brigadier D.

M. Cleland, will begin a tour of New Ireland and Bougainville in late May or early June. The tour will probably take three or four weeks, travelling in the Administrator’s new vessel, Laurahada 11, which is at present being fitted out in Port Moresby.

It should be ready in about a month.

The Laurahada II will have a permanent crew—as master, Cap tain Bill Howard (formerly of the Administration vessel Tami, and now the Leander ), and as engineer V. J. Murray.

U Mr. Norman Deck, who spent more than 30 years in the Solomons with the South Sea Evangelical Mission, and Mr. J. Griffiths, a former director of the mission, have been visiting the mission’s stations in the

Bsip.