Current News Items From Our Correspondents
pp. 43-49 · Read in the full issue
In Papua-New Guinea
Boat Voyagers Should
Notify Police
% People who go to sea in small boats and do not inform the authorities where they are going or when they should get back are tak ing unnecessary risks, said the Superintendent of Police at Port Moresby, Inspector J Palmer.
His statement followed the ex perience of eight Moresby people who spent a night at Fisherman s Island in August and no one knew about it until they did not report for work the following morning.
The group of people started out through moderately rough seas for a boating trip, but at Fishermens Island they decided the seas were too rough to start the return trip.
The result was that they spent the night at the island.
At 10 o’clock the following morn ing somebody notified the police, who sent a launch out.
Said Inspector Palmer afterwards: “It would be a big help if people dropped into the Police Station and told us where they were going and what time they expected to get back.
Then, if they don’t turn up, we can do something about it.”
Popular Official Is
Transferred
I One of the best-known person alities in the Department of Civil Aviation in P-NG, Mr. Tom Drury, has been transferred to the De partment’s head office at Melbourne.
He will leave for Australia in the Bulolo, accompanied by his wife and two of three young sons. The third son is at school in Australia. . Mr. Drury arrived in the Terri tory in 1947, and worked for Guinea Air Traders, Mandated Air Lines and Qantas before joining the De partment of Civil Aviation in July, 1949. He was airport manager at Lae before being transferred to Port Moresby as Examiner of Airmen and Airway Surveyor.
For the last two years, Mr. Drury has been Acting Supt. of Flying Operations in Papua and New Guinea.
Native Stewards
[ Qantas Empire Airways were com mended by the P-NG Administrator, Brigadier Cleland, when he learned that the airline was training natives as flight-stewards for regular Cata lina passenger services in the Terri tory. [ “It is another step forward in the useful employment of natives in the Territory,” said the Admin istrator.
Natives have previously assisted flight-stewards on Catalina flights, but for the first time in August, on the services to Daru, New Britain and Bougainville, the European steward was left behind and a native filled the job.
A PIM correspondent who travelled by the Bougainville ser vice reported later: “Our native steward was immaculately dressed in khaki shorts and shirt and per formed his duties admirably.”
Captain Phil Oakley said that the native stewards are still being “tried-out.” At present, four are receiving instruction.
Fatal Kokopo Crash
A young European boy was killed and two other children were in
jured when a jeep and a three-ton lorry collided at Kokopo. The children were returning to Rabaul in the lorry after attending a Red Cross picnic on August 14.
The boy killed was John Crawford, aged 7, of Rabaul. Those injured were Gordon McDonald, aged 9, who was flown to Australia several days after the accident, and a young Chinese girl.
At Port Moresby a native died in mid-August from injuries re ceived in an accident three days previously.
Shark Lassooed
A monster shark was lassooed at Lae in August.
(Continued on Page 43)
I It was swimming up and down alongside the ship Delos and for reasons best known to itself, made two complete jumps out of the water.
I The third time, the chief boat swain, Lee Wan, somehow managed to lassoo its tail. After a fight the shark gave in, and with the aid of the Delos’ winches, it was hauled on board.
I It weighed well over a ton and ■Treasured 18 ft.
Papua’S Prawns
• A preliminary survey of the fish ing resources of Papua shows that lertain of its waters abound with prawns. f The Fisheries Division of the De partment of Agriculture has pre pared samples with the idea of get ing an expert opinion on their commercial possibilities.
I The Chief of the Division, Mr.
Rapson, writing in a journal pub lished by the South Pacific Com mission, says that no fewer than six species of prawns have been found in the Western Gulf of Papua. There was reason to believe that good stocks would also be found in the Eastern Gulf.
The fisheries survey of Papua is being made with the aid of a 60-ft vessel chartered from Mackay, Queensland. w Referring to the Division’s long range plans for developing the Territory’s fishing grounds, Mr.
Rapson says it is hoped to intro duce new methods among native fishermen to encourage them to organise their activities in local waters.
Drought At Rabaul
A drought at Rabaul in August brought water prices in the town to an all-time high.
Chinese water-carriers were do
Infantrymen of both World Wars held a Minden Day dinner at Port Moresby on August 6. Guests at the official table included (left to right): Sub-Inspector H.
S. Thomas, Col. R. K.
Wilson (president) and Mr. F. C. Townsend. (Papuan Prints).
mg a flourishing business, chargi 10/- for a 44-gallon drum H normal rate is 2/6.
Long lines of all types of vehic queued up for water at the vario watering points.
Bridge-Building Recore
A record number of bridges w» built by the Commonwealth E thp t 'iQ e "S t « F ork;s . in P-NG duri me 1954-55 financial year.
In that time, just on 3,000 ft bridging was opened to traffic . were , con structed of ste concrete and durable hardwa ?£?’r, acCO I dmg t 0 the Director the Department, Mr. Vidgen, col be classed as semi-permanent the most “ m/, t ?h« L th f.v, brld^ s erected we oyer the Markham River, the Er the Peric les River out; SfJi' Labu . r r^ d ’ together with t; bridges at Kiamadan, Belik ai Kolonoboi, in New Ireland. out that during t; last five years, only 150 ft of sem permanent bridging had been and stroyed in the Territory, and tli was only after exceptional floodin Many of the streams in the Ten tory were unstable and there we seldom any flood-records an heighte' reC ° rdS t 0 predlct riv. ir. B s dging engineers had to deck in many cases whether to build bridge that would withstand all ui known factors or to build a relative economical bridge which might cfrStaSce a nd S eStr ° yed exceptio “ cases iT id |? n Said tbat in mo cases it was considered moi economical to build a lightlv-coi structed bridge and rebuild it necessary than to build a cost! certai e ntv hiC f h hl ad ° nly a reason ab: certainty of being permanent.
Upper Tauri Patrol
A Native Affairs Patrol whio went from Port Moresby to tl Upper Taun area has made peacefl district With the Kukukuk n in tE r 35 e fl n Pat n rol is accompanying a Ne T^ n i!r a Resources Survey tea which had been harassed by tl tribesmen.
The patrol will remain in tl area until it is recalled.
Accommodation Query
The P-NG Public Service Associs. tion is annoyed by the rejection « the appeal to check the flow of tli new officers to the Territory unt adequate accommodation is avail able for them.
The Secretary for Territories, Mfc Lambert, told the association thgj the situation had to be regardß not simply as an occasion for clos< mg down on recruiting, but also o a challenge to greater effort in tli!
Territory to overcome the accom modation shortage.
Several of the members of the Federal Parliament who toured the Territory were “grabbed” by asso ciation officials and shown the accommodation in which some Administration officers have to live.
Twins At Chimbu.
Another “first” was recorded in the New Guinea Highlands in lAugust.
It was the arrival of the first set of European twins in the district.
They are the twin sons of ADO and Mrs. Bill Kelly, of Chimbu. The babies were born at the Goroka Hospital.
Lae Wharf Question
A detailed reply to criticism by the Lae Town Advisory Council about proposed lengthening of the Lae wharf has been made by the Administrator, Brigadier Cleland.
At the meeting in question, mem bers said that the proposed 100 ft extension to the wharf would be
[“practically useless.”
It was stated that the extension would be carried out in the fiist year of the Three-Year Plan of development, and further extensions would be added until the wharf reached 800 ft.
/ On this point, the Administrator said the Council’s understanding of plans for the future was “not correct.” There was no proposal to continue progressive extensions to
800 ft. When potential develop ment warranted it, consideration would be given to construction of a second wharf of 400 ft.
(Continued overleaf)
Brigadier Cleland pointed out that the proposed 100 ft extension to the present wharf would mean that overseas vessels could work all hatches to full capacity. This was therefore not a “useless” develop ment.
He mentioned that only two over seas ships and three Territory vessels were delayed through await ing a berth at Lae during the four months April to July, inclusive.
Regarding the Council’s sugges tion of congestion at the wharf, the Administrator referred to the find ings of a special committee of ship ping representatives called in May.
The committee established, among other things, that the Customs De partment was in no way to blame for congestions, and that congestion was caused to a large extent by the failure of shipping agents to take prompt delivery of cargo.
“Australian Rules”
There is hope yet for the devotees of Australian Rules football who have to listen to the argument: “It will be a good game when it’s played overseas, like League.”
In August, with all the appropri ate fanfare, the first organised competition of Australian Rules outside Australia opened at Port Moresby.
To mark the occasion, the P-NG Administrator bounced the ball to open the Papuan National Football League’s first match.
Two native teams played the curtain-raiser.
Annual Pilgrimage
A Roman Catholic nun, the sole survivor of a massacre in the Bain ing Mountain area of New Britain 51 years ago, took her place in
August among a group of pilgrim: to the scene of the murders.
Asa young missionary, the nun had been the companion of twr Catholic priests, three Brothers anc five nuns who lie buried near tin. foundations of what was to haw been a mission church.
r On the day of the massacre, the nun was sent by her Mother Superior to the coast at Vunamarita for a supply of salt water. £ The massacre occurred on August 13, 1904, when a native, forbidden to marry another man’s wife, led a revolt against the missionaries.
I The pilgrimage to the small I graveyard is now an annual event. An application has been made to the Vatican for the missionaires to be beatified..
Mal’S New Dakota
Two Mandated Airlines pilots, Messrs. J. K. Perry and G. Withers, left Lae in August for Hongkong, where they will take delivery of a aircraft for the company. At present, MAL’s chief engineer is at Hongkong checking the plane and carrying out modifications for the tropics.
Another Python
i Another python may soon be in ; residence at Taronga Park Zoo,
[Sydney.
I The python, which is at present .at Goroka, is about 12 ft long and should grow to about 20 ft. [ The P-NG Administration has telegraphed the chairman of the Taronga Park Zoo Trust, Sir Edward Hallstrom, asking if he wants it.
A 25-ft black python, caught near Bomana Gaol, Port Moresby, was delivered to the zoo a month ago.
It travelled in the Bulolo, and, according to a reptile-keeper at the zoo, it was the first seasick python he had seen.
Admitted To The Bar
’i A former president of the Law Council of Australia, Mr. Edward Reynolds of Melbourne, was ad mitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of P-NG at Port Moresby in August. [ Mr. Reynolds is a leading Aus tralian Queen’s Counsel.
Schooner’S New Role
A well-known Sydney schooner yhich once roamed the China Seas with machine-guns and depth Sharges, will soon leave Sydney for york as a plantation vessel in New
guinea.
: The schooner, the 66-ft Amohine, yas built more than 20 years ago ind was used as a pleasure craft mtil the war. The Navy took her iver and commissioned her in 1943. i4achine-guns were installed on her fooden decks and she was later Itted with depth charges.
The Amohine then served two ’ears in the China Sea and the ailne Bay area as a patrol-boat.
After the war she was converted o a pleasure craft, and has been ought by a New Guinea planter, ar J. A. Thurston. Amohine left *ydney for Rabaul on August 31.
New Guinea
Team
The New Guinea Rugby League Firsts team lost to Papua in the final match played at Port Moresby on July 31.
Photo by Papuan Prints.