Possible Plan to Develop
pp. 55-56 · Read in the full issue
[?]Opes Of The Waria
Syndicate
Possible Plan to Develop [?]rge Area in N. Guinea
I From R. W. Robson
London, Sept. 4.
) long as Heinrich Rudolphe RVahlen retains his extraordinary [energy—and it shows no sign of linution, although he is 82—the up of German, Swedish and jerican financial men with which is connected will push on with [Waria Syndicate’s claim to cer i privileges in a large area of Imainland of what formerly was pan New Guinea. [ spent a half-day with Mr. plen. in Hamburg, last week, and told me the history of the [dicate, and showed me the maps Ich delineate the area granted fWahlen and his associates by arm agreement signed by the man Government in Berlin btly four weeks before World r I broke out on August 4, 1914. [you draw a line from the coast Huon Gulf just southwards of Imaua, and follow roughly the ncesco river line right through the New Guinea-Papua border
(on top of the Owen Stanley Range) but keeping definitely southwards of the Wau and Edie Creek dis tricts, you will have a large area of triangular shape. It has the coast on one side, the Papua-New Guinea border on the second side, and the line described above on the third side.
That is the area that was granted to the Waria Syndicate in 1914.
The Waria River runs through the middle of it. There is some good coastal plain; a lot of rough valleys leading up into higher and rougher country; and many high, precipitous mountains. There are one or two good harbours—notably, Morobe port.
But this area, south and south east of the Morobe goldfield, has enjoyed less development than almost any other part of the Terri tory. Gold fossickers went through the valleys in the ’Twenties, and found some appreciable gold—but soon were attracted by the richer finds over in the Bulolo Valley; and tw T o or three plantations have been established near the coast; but generally the whole of this corner of the Trust Territory is untouched, and as it was in 1914.
THAT is what makes the plans of the Waria Syndicate interesting.
Although its claim over this area has been knocked back by the Titles Court of New Guinea, it has
been taking the highest legal advice, and it proposes now to proceed by way of an appeal to the High Court of Australia, and probably with a simultaneous approach to Australia, at Government level.
I gathered that the Syndicate has high hopes of the latter move. Aus tralia wants to see New Guinea de veloped; the German, Swedish and American financiers behind the Syndicate, if given some recognition by Australia, would be prepared to engage in mining and agricultural activities in that Waria area on a large scale. They might even be prepared to work in some kind of partnership with the Australian Government.
As this area presumably has been well examined by Australian mining and other interests since World War I, and ignored, I was curious to know why the Waria Syndicate is so eager to revive its rights there; but I did not get far. I gathered, however, that some of these people are confident that (a) certain valleys, while of no use to small men, could be profitably worked by big-scale gold dredging or sluicing; (b) there are interesting deposits of uranium somewhere in the area; (c) the coastal areas are capable of agricultural development.
I was told something of the legal argument which convinces the Waria Syndicate that it still has rights in New Guinea, despite all the expropriation laws and
machinery of the Post-World War I period; but I could not understand it.
But I can see something more promising, perhaps, in the Syndicate’s belief that it might be
encouraged and assisted by; Australian Government to § and profitably develop a large which now is practically untou and likely under present condt to remain so.