[?]rrent News Items From Our Correspondents
pp. 39-49 · Read in the full issue
In Papua-New Guinea
Ghts Of People Of Mixed
Race Discussed
lie Bougainville District Advisory incil has suggested that people nixed race (“half-castes”) should [given full citizenship rights if y desire them. [embers pointed out that this ye would give half-castes the National advantages recently an mced. but the council stipulated t it should be made clear to se who accepted full citizenship its that they would automatic- I lose various rights of pro tec- I under existing Ordinances, he position of half-castes in wa-New Guinea remains a vexed Btion. It seems too often that r are snubbed by many Euro ns and natives and merely rated by others. he situation should be sorted up the authorities as soon as pos a
Dr. Gunther’S Tour
he Territory Director of Public Ith (Dr. J. Gunther) has gone tepresent Australia at a World Ith Organisation regional meet at Singapore. fter the conference Dr. Gunther
will begin a three months’ tour of Asia under a World Health Organ isation scholarship.
Before leaving, Dr. Gunther said he would pay particular attention to the methods used in Asia to control malaria, yaws and tuber culosis, and at the same time would study maternal and child health.
Rabaul Turf Club
Rabaul’s amateur turf club was re-formed in September, when 62 people attended an inaugural meet ing.
The officers are: President, Mr.
Matthew Foley; vice-president, Mr.
N. Lee; secretary, Mr. Harold Brown; treasurer, Mr. Nicholson; assistant secretary, Mrs. M. Foley.
A financial committee of three and a working committee of seven were formed.
Port Moresby’S Water
The chairman of the Port Moresby Town Advisory Council (Mr. E.
James), at a September meeting, charged the P-NG Administration with “gross neglect in failing to provide Port Moresby with an adequate water supply.”
Mr. James said the Administra tion was to be censured for allow
ing the town’s water supply to reach the stage where there was a danger to health. He said the trouble was that the Administra tion was, and had been for years, trying to make the present supply go round rather than provide more water.
Mr. James added that too often the European population of Port Moresby was blamed for using huge quantities of water. The Adminis tration, he said, seemed to forget that there were 15,000 natives in the town, and they also need and use water.
The Administrator (Brigadier D. M. Cleland) has said that he was upset to learn, on his return to Port Moresby from Manus, that the water situation was still bad.
In a statement he outlined measures taken to rectify the matter.
The Advisory Council has recom mended that a commission take over the town’s water, electricity and sewerage services. Voting was 8 to 2.
Lae’S Water Supply
At a recent meeting, the Lae Town Advisory Council was told that the provision of an adequate water supply was not only import ant, but imperative.
A grave fire danger existed, and it was essential that the provision of fire-hydrants should accompany
the provision of an adequate water supply. This was particularly so in the newer business and residential areas of Lae.
Mr. J. Birrell said that at present there was a chance that if one building in the new Town area caught fire, the lot would go up in flames.
Native Affairs Office
A re-shuffle of senior officer the Department of Native Aj in P-NG has been made.
Mr. H. L. Niall is now bao District Commissioner at Lae, sick leave, and Mr. H. L. Willi who relieved Mr. Niall, has posted at Madang as District 0
ssioner. Mr. Williams took, over m Mr. Bensted, who is now at pendetta as District Commissioner, tfr. J. P. White has been posted Mount Hagen to relieve the sstern District Commissioner, Mr. slum, who is to go on leave.
Gospel In Pidgin
Another translation of the Gospel the British and Foreign Bible Jiety will soon be distributed in pua and New Guinea. [he first edition of the Gospel Pidgin English has been printed Sydney, and will make its debut Port Moresby at the opening of ‘ Society’s Bible House on tober 15.
Territorial Forest
A 46,000-acres forest near Port Moresby has been proclaimed the first Territorial forest in Papua and New Guinea It extends from Mount Little Lawes Divide to the Brown River crossing, about 30 miles from Port Moresby.
The Territory Director of Forests, Mr. McAdam, said it was planned to replant the forest as timber was taken out. At present, two millers were obtaining logs in the area, but until now, no system of reafforestation had been undertaken.
Mr. McAdam said a start had been made in felling 30-acres of the forest for trial plantings of various species of tree, including teak.
Kindergarten Work
a world authority on pre-school centres, Miss Christine Heinig, has been visiting Papua and New Guinea to advise the Administration and parents on the latest develon ments in kindergarten and pre school education.
Miss Heinig pioneered the pre school centre organisation in America and assisted with the initial work on centres in Australia, At present, she holds the position of Associate in Childhood and Secondary Education on the National Headquarters staff of the American Association of University Women.
Miss Heinig’s rich and varied experience in childhood education
tides the establishment of the [ nursery school in the United :es to operate as part of a public K)1 system. er work was extended to fcralia in 1935, when her services ; made available by the lumbia University to the iergarten Training College at bourne.
! Wewak Hospital
ipport for the Sepik District isory Council’s request for a er hospital for Wewak than the losed eight-bed building has I given by the Wewak Town Isory Council. le District Council suggested
that any new hospital to be built at Wewak should have at least 14 beds, with a babies’ nursery and an isolation ward as well.
Mr. S. Rose said that the Town Council considered that the block at present allocated to the Hospital site was suitable for the larger hospital.
The resolution was carried unanimously.
Public Service Conditions
The Territory Public Service Association in mid-September filed an application with the Registrar of the Arbitration Court to amend its Memorial.
The association asked the Arbitrator fully to implement the recommendations of the Concilia tion Committee’s report last Decem ber, which provided a Territorial allowance in addition to a living allowance.
The President of the Association (Mr. R. Brennan) has explained
Wedding at
Rabaul
Miss Eva Lillian Mitchell and Mr.
Bruno P e g a n i n were married at Rabaul on September TO with a civil ceremony per formed by the Acting Commissioner of New Britain (Mr. J. J.
Murphy). The bride and bridegroom are in the middle of this picture, and Mr. and Mrs.
Murphy are on the ex treme left. —Photo by C. H.
Meen.
that the association considered that a living wage in the Territory of £1,045 for a family unit of husband and wife, plus the Territorial al lowance of £250 a year, represented the minimum salary to be paid to an adult male officer of the P-NG Administration.
Mr. Brennan said this would en tail an increase in total salary of £377 a year for all adult male officers, with corresponding increases in female and junior officers’ salaries.
Other approaches that would be made to the court concerned the cost of living corresponding to the rise and fall of prices, and a five day week in the three main centres of the Territory.
The Registrar of the Arbitration Court later served the association’s application on the Administrator and the Public Service Com missioner.
It is understood that the Arbitra tion Court hearing will start soon.
The Arbitrator, Mr. Wood, is now touring the Territory to get first hand knowledge of conditions under which P-NG public servants work and live.
Curfew Regulations
The recently amended Curfew
Regulations for P-NG natives have been discussed at meetings of the Milne Bay and Lae Advisory Coun cils.
At Samarai, members agreed that no abuse had been made of the new curfew hours in that area.
However, a different story told at the Lae meeting. Two mi bers in particular, Mr. G. Whitti and Mrs. Stewart, complained the 11 p.m. curfew was not im best interests of anyone, nativ\ European.
r. Whittaker said he would like Je the curfew revert to 9 p.m. rs. Stewart claimed that many ves were not getting enough p. Therefore they were doing e than their usual amount of ping in the daytime, le Lac Council, however, did not r, any specific resolution on the ter. lere seems to have been little c of the 11 p.m. curfew at Port esby, according to a PIM corres ient.
[Ydrographic Division
le Minister for Territories (Mr. i Hasluck) told the Federal Par ent in September that a Hydro ►hie Division was to be
established soon within the P-NG Administration. It would be under the control of the Public Service Commissioner.
Mr. Hasluck was replying to Mr.
Osborne (Liberal, NSW) who drew attention to the need for plotting uncharted waters and marking channels in the Territory.
Earlier, Mr. Osborne had said at Sydney that the Territory was still in the pioneering stage and a big factor holding up development was
that the waters of many parts of the Territory still remained un charted.
Escapees Recaptured
Four Goilala natives who escaped from Bomana Gaol, near Port Moresby, were recaptured after a fortnight’s freedom.
They had led searchers a merry chase over the Owen Stanley Range, but walked into a patrol in the
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Kairuku Sub-district led by PO Sharp.
They were serving life sentences for murder at the time of their escape.
Costly Celebration
The landing of an RAAF Dakota at Finintegu instead of Goroka on a cloudy morning in 1952 indirectly cost two men £l5 at Goroka.
To celebrate the third anniversary of the landing, the two men climbed to the top of the Goroka hangar and painted the word Finintegu across the roof.
The joke rebounded, however, when they were fined £l5 to cover the cost of erasing the lettering.
The 1952 incident made headline news in Australia as the plane was carrying a Federal Cabinet Minister, Mr. Kent Hughes. It was three months before Air Force personnel could get the Dakota out of Finin tegu. Soon after landing, it had sunk into deep mud.
Markham Valley Roads
Since March a considerable amount of road work has been done
by native communities in the Mark ham Valley along the 60 miles stretch from the Erap River to the boundaries of the Morobe and Eastern Highlands Districts.
In the Kaiapit area village com munities, under the supervision of
Patrol Officer D. G. Calder, worked on the section fromr west bank of the Leron River td Eastern Highlands boundary, as tance of 45 miles.
In addition to work on the road the local population has
oximately 100 miles of sub ry roads in the Kaiapit area, lother portion of the Markham !y road has been constructed by ?e groups on a voluntary basis \ the section from the new Erap r ,e to the Irumu River, road team of 450 started work lis section on July 25, and com d the task by August 5.
R Co-Operative Building
five co-operative groups along :oastal region east of Abau have )leted erection of a new store ling at the island of Lopomu.
It was officially opened by the Acting Director of Native Affairs, Mr. J. K. McCarthy, on behalf of the Administrator. The ceremony was attended by the District Com missioner for the Central District, Mr. A. T. Timperley.
The ceremonies were also associ ated with celebrations to mark the delivery of the new co-operative vessel, the Magi, which was built to the specifications of the Abau Native Societies Association in Australia at a cost of £8,500.
This particular area of the Central District is marketing about £15,000 worth of native copra a year, and has a total retail store turnover of about £22,000 a year.
The guests at the celebrations in
eluded the mother of Mr. F. G.
Driver, who lived in the Territory for about 50 years before making her home in Australia. She was on a visit to her son. tl Dr. Dorothy Shaw, of Sydney, left for New Guinea in mid-October to run a plant pathology laboratory for the Department of Territories. t When the Secretary of the Lepers’
Trust Board of New Zealand recently appealed for a sewing machine for a boy patient at Makogai Leprosy Hospital, Fiji, he received 25 machines from people in Christ church, NZ, alone, and had to re fuse further offers due to freight difficulties.