Someone Else Will!

hey Say it Again!

level op New Guinea or Someone Else Will!

From Our Own Correspondent Papua-New Guinea was described, in March, as having an “almost frightening” potential and as a prize for over-populated countries. Development with all speed was urged.

The man who saw the territory in this light was Mr. A. F.

Bell, Director of Agriculture in Queensland and chairman of the Standing Committee of the Australian Agricultural Council.

?he Council (the permanent heads the State agricultural depart nts) plus a few Commonwealth iresentatives, made a two-weeks ir of the Territory which took m to most of the places that mted, and gave them an insight d Territory agricultural progress ,t will do them, and the Terri y, a lot of good.

Tie Standing Committee is con ned with policy and planning, 1 until the Territory tour was anged there was obviously a gap their knowledge—a fact which committee was quick to admit, hese are not armchair experts, men who know what they are ag. Government sponsored eer ily, but capable of looking at ti sides of any problem, he experts gave a brief outline their views at a special public iting of the Papua-New Guinea sntific Society, held* in Port •esby a few days before their arture. They were introduced to meeting by the Secretary of the artment of Territories, Mr. C. R. ibert, who flew to the Territory le present. Also at the meeting, he audience, was the Adminis or, and the Assistant Admin itor, Mr. Rupert Wilson, ood news for the planters was statement by Mr. F. W. Hicks, erintendent of Extension and mical Services with the Tas lian Agricultural Department, said the Territory’s extension :me for natives was excellent, there had to be more than ve settlement in New Guinea, as e were “envious eyes” on that itry. The planters have been ng that for so long it has lost ificance.

Dod news for the Administra was the statement, by the :ern Australian Director of Agri ire, Mr. G. Baron-Hay, that the itry’s problems could not be ed out in five minutes, and natives and the planters Id be first to condemn iepartment which gave them ig information because it was soon to know the correct fil iation. hich is what the Territory cultural Department has been ig for a long time.

The speakers generally had a lot to say about the need for develop ment in New Guinea.

Dr. A. R. Callaghan, the South Australian Director of Agriculture, said Australians should not fail to realise the significance of the pressure made by a world popula tion increase of 100,000 a day. Dr.

Callaghan also spoke of the dangers of planning a settlement scheme on anything but long-term occupation, and not in the light of current world prices.

Mr. A. F. Bell, the committee’s chairman, who is Queensland Agri cultural Director, said he had not seen a tropical country in which the soil had a greater punch, and he had seen a lot of tropical countries.

Dr. H. C. Forster, assistant executive officer of the CSIRO, told the meeting that New Guinea had rainfall, which was its greatest asset, and any problem of soil fertility could be overcome by science. But it needed more land surveys than it was getting—many more—and it needed more trained men, badly.

Dr. Forster said undoubtedly there would be demand for settlement, and the land had to be surveyed so that settlers would know what it was best suited for.