Current News Items From Our Correspondents

In Papua-New Guinea

Deaths In Traffic

Accident

Two deaths resulted from a motor accident near Port Moresby on tfay 26.

A senior officer of the Territory Department of Education, Mr. larry Buckland, was fatally inured; and another passenger in he car (a small sports model), Mrs. fera MacDonald, also of the De- »artment of Education, died in lospital several days later.

The driver, James Thain, escaped nth slight injuries. He was charged nth manslaughter, but later cquitted.

The accident occurred when the ar ran off a road and plunged into everal feet of water off the main oad leading to Port Moresby, about mile on the town side of Koki.

Mr. Buckland, who was Superinindent of Teacher Trainine in the rative Divisfon of the Education department at the time of his eath, was well known throughout apua-New Guinea. He arrived in apua in 1935 with the Anglican [ission ahd during the war became

the first headmaster at the Sogeri Education Centre.

Health Hazards In The

Territory

Papua-New Guinea Health Director, Dr. John Gunther, believes that the Territory can never hope to develop until all disease among its people is eradicated.

He was speaking at the Academy of Science Symposium on Life in the Tropics in Brisbane, and said that malaria, tuberculosis, tropical ulcers, virus diseases and fevers were holding back progress in the Territory.

Malaria lay like a dead hand on the native people, making them an indolent, undernourished and unhealthy population. If malaria could be controlled, the native population could be doubled in 17 years; infant mortality rate could be halved and expectation of life doubled.

Dr. Gunther estimated that 12 per cent, of coastal natives had tuberculosis but he believed the disease could be beaten in 10 to 15 years.

Home On The Range

Mandated Airlines, late in May, flew four charters to Gusap, carry ing 14 tons of pickets, barbed and fencing wire which is to be used to fence the first 1,000 acres of the Atkinson family’s 20,000-acre pastoral lease.

The family has undertaken to fence 1,000 miles and to install 1,000 head of cattle within two years.

The cattle will be Zebu-Shorthorn ccws, and will be mated with Santa Gertrudis bulls. (See PIM, June).

In a Territory where fences are few and far between, the Atkinson fence will be the biggest thing of its kind.

400 Canoes And 4,000 People

At Manus Exhibition

A move is being made to make the Manus Agricultural and Handi craft show an annual event. The first show at Baluan, late May, at tracted 4,000 natives from 60 villages. The thousands of exhibits on display covered the whole gamut of the native people’s lives.

Just on 400 ocean-going canoes gathered at Baluan for the Show, described later as “an outstanding success.”

Anglicans With Wings

The Anglican Mission in Papua-

New Guinea has taken delivery of a new Cessna aircraft —a gift from Anglicans in America.

The Bishop of New Guinea, Bishop Strong, was flown from Dogura to Port Moresby in the new plane to attend the May meeting of the P-NG Legislative Council.

Bishop Strong told PIM that the Mission in the Territory had three qualified pilots to fly the plane, which would be used by himself and Bishop Hand for their work in their separate areas, and also to carry mission medical staff.

A stretcher can be fitted inside the aircraft to carry one patient in cases of medical emergency.

Taipan Invasion

A 5 ft 4 in. taipan, Papua’s deadliest snake, was killed in Upper Port Road, Port Moresby, on May 31 at the home of a Navy Repre sentative in Moresby, Petty Officer Alan McKoll. The same day, a six foot taipan was stoned to death about 200 yards away.

Petty Officer McKoll’s two young children, one, 4 years old, the other, 18 months, were rushed inside the house when a native servant saw the taipan coming up a flight of steps onto the verandah. The children’s father grabbed a shot gun and killed it.

Petty Officer McKoll said he had killed another taipan in his back yard about three weeks earlier and he had seen several others.

Rabaul, Too, Has Horse

Racing

At least 18 horses will race in an amateur turf club meeting to be conducted at Vulcan, in Rabaul, on July 3.

Ten of the horses will arrive in Rabaul from Australia shortly before the event. The President of the

Club, Mr. Foley, says plans for thei meeting are well advanced.

Port Moresby had yet another (the; third) successful race meeting on Queen’s Birthday holiday.

Queen’S Birthday

An estimated 8,000 people watched or took part in the official Queen’s

rthday celebrations on Ela Beach, ort Moresby, on June 4.

These, however, represented only small portion of the people in the ain centres and in the outposts of ie Territory, who saw flags flown, oops march past or the Royal /andard unfurled to honour the ficial birthday of Queen Elizabeth.

Brilliant weather in Port Moresby

added the final touch towards makmg the 1956 ceremony among the best on record.

T h C e A ChaL F ° R fT f GE ?

Ad™ or? ciuncil, Mr G Whittaker”

told a recent Council meeting that he believed a scheme should be established by public subscription and subsidised by the Administration on a pound for pound basis so that a home for elderly people could be set up.

Mr. Whittaker said that he knew of one area of land owned by the Administration near Aiyura which would be ideal for the purpose.

The question Of a home for the

aged arose during discussions by members on the plight of an elderly European man who is now in hos

-New where"

f ° r the aged are already full up -

Edie Creek Road Reopened

rp, —~ . . .

Creek Road in the Wau £ P 5 n f t 0 traff i c ®* am after k em S blocked for nearly two years, . Durin S that time, miners work ing on the Edie had to have their supplies and mining machinery carried from the Blue Point slip to their workings—a distance of more than four miles.

(Continued on Page 57)

At a party at Badili, Port Moresby, on lune 2, Miss S. Johnstone announced her engagement to Mr. D. Fowler. (Above.)

Acting Administrator R. Wilson, and Mrs.

Wilson (above), were guests of honour at the [?]avy Bail, Port Moresby, June 8.

On May 29, Miss Rita Watkins was presented [?]th an award for her long and devoted Service to Port Moresby European Hospital, [?]r. R. Wilson here presents the medal. —Photos by Papuan Prints.

3/- A Week Twins

There were big celebrations among workers on Karulla Plantation, lougainville, recently because of the irth of twins to the wife of one f the native copra-cutters. Cause f the jubilation is a bonus of iree shillings a week from the Ad linistration. In native life, twins re not regarded with any par cular joy.

A Health Department official ex lained that the bonus was paid to ncourage the mother to care for

both the children. Formerly, many native mothers were inclined to care for the stronger of the two babies an d allow the weaker to die. The bonus is paid until the children are two years of age.

Army Engineers Welcome

To Practise In Ng

Recently, General McNicoll, of the Australian Army Engineers, said that the Engineers would be avail able for assisting Governments and shire councils in construction jobs.

This has appealed to the common sense of the Eastern Highlands District Advisory Council, which points out that if Army engineers need practice, there is no better place than NG for them to get it.

The Administration was urged to apply immediately for engineers to assume control of roads, surveys

Port Moresby Arts Theatre presented a successful Revue, "Flying High" on June 13. hown, the Spanish scene. —Photo by Papuan Prints.

and bridge and wharf construction in the Territory.

There was unequalled opportunity

for training there under conditions which would assist the Army in this type of work, and at the same time, be of immediate benefit to the Territory.

Melbourne Generosity

Results In Band

Patients at the Roman Catholic Hansenide Colony, 30 miles from Kavieng, New Ireland, will soon have their own brass and string bands, thanks to an appeal made in Melbourne by the proprietors of the Melbourne Herald.

The Herald asked Melbourne people to send in their unwanted musical instruments and, as a re sult, the first batch will be on their way soon to Kavieng, With the violins, guitars, ukeleles, trombones, etc., and other instru ments will go simple instructions on how to use them.

A former District Commissioner at Kavieng, Mr. T. Aitchison, sug gested the scheme to the Red Cross Society. The Society then approached the Herald and the appeal resulted.

There are about 240 patients at the colony.

Hands Off Bride-Price

Three former District Commis sioners of the Eastern Highlands, together with a Roman Catholic missionary and an anthropologist,

have warned the Administration of the dangers of interfering with the native “bride-price” custom.

At the June meeting of the District Advisory Council, Mr. lan Downs pointed out that payment

was shared by a clan and was not made by the groom. It was re ceived by the woman’s clan which divided it to assist the young men to purchase their wives, Mr. Downs explained also that the

payment was not for the woman but for the child-bearing capacity of the woman. Children of the marriage entered the clan of the father and obtained the social status according to the laws of descent, inheritance and succession.

Two other former District Com missioners of the area, Mr. J.

Taylor and Mr. G. Greathead, sup ported Mr. Downs.

The missionary, Father Alfons Schaeffer, said the bride price was the main deterrent to divorce, and played an important part in the protection of a marriage. Any in terference was a blow to the in centive of native production, hunt ing and trading. On many occasions, trading between tribes started with the bride payment.

Pigs And Peanuts

The Eastern Highlands District Advisory Council is recommending ;hat the South Pacific Commission )e asked to give assistance towards cutting native animal husbandry n the area on sound hygienic lines.

Council members pointed out at heir meeting in June that disease vas rife among native pigs in the irea and could be controlled only f natives fenced pig areas instead >f fencing their gardens. This would lave timber, keep pigs for vaccina ion and disease control, prevent irop damage, and provide a basis or improved breeding.

A Roman Catholic missionary on he Council, Father Schaeffer, said lighland natives would be willing o co-operate with the Administra ion if they were given a lead to Ic so.

Members pointed out that the pig Toblem in the Highlands was dif

ferent from other areas and that the pig population numbered five times the native population, itself very large.

At the same meeting, members decided to ask the Administration to take steps to help the native peanut industry by impressing on growers the need to process their product.

It was pointed out that hundreds of tons of native peanuts were un saleable, due to the lack of drying

and the natives’ failure to use good seed.

Members said that whereas there were no peanuts in the area 3 years ago, there were now many tons.

However, Department of Agriculture officers were no longer buying the native product and settlers were purchasing inferior peanuts at a loss to themselves to keep faith with the natives.

(Continued on Page 109)

On June 9, Mrs. W. Wyatt, of Port Moresby, [?]pened the Pre-School Centre at Ela Beach, Port Moresby. Shown with her here is Mr.

D. Spence. Photo of the Centre appears on page 109. —Photo by Papuan Prints.

M Becomes Uncontrolled

Area—For Some Natives

Steps are being taken to control e movement of migrant natives the Port Moresby area.

The Director of Native Affairs, r. A. A. Roberts, announced on ne 7, that Port Moresby had been

declared as a place in which migrant native people may not reside unless under the immediate control of a non-native.

Mr. Roberts explained that this declaration provided the Adminis tration with authority to deal with vagrants and other migrant natives who were living in unauthorised settlements in and around Port Moresby.

The legislation does, however,

make provision for a District Officer to grant a permit to any migrant native to live within the area with out being under the immediate con trol of a non-native.

Don’T Go Down The Mine,

Dad—Go To Rabaul

The Rabaul Town Advisory Coun cil is asking for a minimum of

Port Moresby youngsters moved into this new £6,000 Pre-School centre (kindergarten) at Beach on May 13. (Ela Beach is one of the most pleasant beaches in the whole South [?]ific.) The gaily-painted modern building accommodates 45 children during the morning classes [?] another 25 will be able to attend during the afternoon. Previously, the 3-to-5 year olds their drawings, sang their songs and played their games in the Moresby Red Cross Hall.

£20,000 to be made available as a matter of urgency to overcome the town’s “dust problem.”

Speaking at a council meeting in June, Dr. E. J. Wright said he be lieved the time had come for the people who had lived in the dust polluted areas of Rabaul for some time to begin to regard the matter as serious.

He suggested that if “smog” gauges were placed in the bad dust areas, there would be a higher reading than in any large city in the world.

The worst areas of these cities record smog deposits of 100 to 200 tons per square mile per month.

Dr. Wright went on to say that in Rabaul, a few degrees from the Equator, there was the spectacle of homes closed and sealed as if they were only a few degress from the South Pole.

He told the council that two specialists who recently visited the Matupi Farm area told him they considered the dust pollution in some areas to be worse than in a coal mine. (At the same time, one of these experts, at a public meet ing in Rabaul, said the dust did no apparent damage to health).

People breathing the smog of Rabaul, Dr. Wilson said, would breathe more dust-laden air into their lungs in ten years than a chain-smoker would inhale tobacco fumes in a hundred years.

Dr. Wright said cancer of the lung had occurrred in Rabaul and added

lit although he could not say de [itely that dust was or was not 'actor, he was satisfied that dust nld cause attacks of asthma, hay 'er, and sinusitis and some re ratory tract irritations.

Fhe only way to overcome the jblem, he suggested, was to seal ; roads.

Ee Wau, See Everything

fhe Wau area is becoming a pular tourist attraction to the ,ny hundreds of Australians mak j the round trip on the various :sels going to the Territory.

I party of 38 Bulolo passengers jv to Wau from Goroka on June and after lunch at the Wau tel, were taken on a brief sight ing tour. Two smaller parties m the vessel made the trip by ■ and returned the same day to > vessel at Lae. rhese tours are proving popular h the tourists as they give the jortunity of seeing mining, farm saw-milling and coffee all in i one concentrated area.

Arning To Speak To The

Native

Jore than 50 people, including a tnber of women, have enrolled h the Public Service Institute in •t Moresby to learn Police Motu i Pidgin English.

Hasses in the two languages rted in June, and it is under od the Institute will start classes pure Motu next year.

Hie Principal of the Institute, . Glastonberry, says applicants the Police Motu and Pidgin sses come from all sections and levels in the P-NG Administra i. The majority will concentrate one language but some have oiled for both classes.

Ir. Glastonberry explained that main purpose of the classes was enable Administration officers to iverse more fully with native il servants. n many spheres, the classes in tu and Pidgin have been hailed “the best thing the Institute has le.”

This is not before time. Police tu, the official language of )ua, is rarely heard in Moresby se days. Pidgin is spoken cor tly only by those people who led in the Territory long before war. All post-war residents sub ute baby-talk gibberish for both tu and Pidgin and expect the pie to understand. It says a at deal for their intelligence and patience that most of m do.)

Change Visits Between

Dutch And Australian

Officials

he Commissioner of Police in ;ch New Guinea, Mr. Van renswaay Classen, believes more ch Police Officers should visit ua-New Guinea to study Terri

tory Police procedures. In turn, Territory Police Officers should visit the Dutch Territory.

Mr. Classen, who paid an official visit to P-NG during June, said he would recommend this to his Gov ernment.

He said also he would recommend the establishment of a Police band similar to Royal Papua-New Guinea Constabulary band, which he de scribed as “outstanding.”

At present, he added, there are 1,400 native police in Dutch New Guinea, compared with 3,000 in Papua-New Guinea.

All Roads Lead To Goroka

All eight patrol posts in the New Guinea Eastern Highlands are now

linked by road to Goroka, follow ing the opening recently of a new road to Lufa Patrol Post, 50 miles to the south of the town, The road, which was started in 1954, crosses 23 creeks and two

major .

On his first visit by load to Lufa, the District Commissioner, Mr. H. L. Seale, was met by a large crowd of natives, who asked him to have an Administration school established there.

Policeman’S Child Burns To

Death

A 6-years-old native child was burned to death in a fire in the Police Barracks in Rabaul, on June 19. The body of the girl was found

tong the smoking ruins of a kunai t assigned to a married native istable and his family. The fire )ke out at about 2 a.m. Brigades shed to the outbreak but because the intense heat could not save ; building.

During the recent session of the

P-NG Legislative Council, the elected member for the New Guinea Islands, Mr. Don Barrett, suggested that native police were so badly housed in Rabaul that it was a wonder the Administration retained the loyalty of these men.

He said it was now ten years

since the war, and married con stables and their families in Rabaul were still housed in kunai shacks.

He said that private employers would not have been granted an exemption from erecting proper quarters for a period of 10 years.

Moresby Tops The Road

Accident Poll

Territory Police officials have nominated Port Moresby as one of the worst motor accident centres in the world. Figures show that there was one accident last year in the town for every 7 vehicles registered.

This compares with the NSW figure of one accident for every 20 vehicles registered.

Up to mid-June this year, there have been 170 accidents on Moresby roads, resulting in five deaths.

At present, there are nearly 3,000 registered vehicles in the town with approximately two registered drivers for every vehicle.

Police figures show that, although there are more registered native drivers, Europeans cause, or are in volved in, more accidents. The ratio is about 6 to 4.

Finschhafen-Lae

Meanwhile, work is progressing steadily on the road which will eventually link Finschhafen with Lae, and the survey on the Mark ham Valley road, which will link

Enjoying themselves at a Pacific Islands Regiment dance on June 16 are well-known Port resby residents—left to right; Padre Bloxham, Mrs. N. Williams, Lieut. N. Clarke (standing), [?]. N. Clarke and Mrs. Major-Kayler-Thomson. —Photo by Papuan Prints.

Lae with the Highlands, is going ahead steadily.

The survey team is now trying to locate a suitable crossing point of the Leron River.

The Sth Chance

Administration and APC field staff are being issued with a small but handy booklet prepared by the Government ecologist, Mr. Ken Slater, dealing with the dangerous snakes of Papua.

A limited number of booklets are also available to the public.

Mr. Slater tells how to identify the five known dangerous snakes of Papua, and what to do in the event of being bitten.

The booklet points out that four of the five species—the Taipan, the Papuan Black, the Papuan Whip Snake and the Small-eyed Snake — all readily avoid men when warned by heavy footsteps. Mr. Slater ad vises his readers to watch where they walk through the bush; to use a torch at night and to tread heavily through the undergrowth. (Presumably the only action to take when meeting X (or unnamed) fifth snake is evasive.—Ed.)

Didn’T Know It Was Alive

Police in Port Moresbv, June 16, charged four Papuans under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

The natives had attempted to roast a live pig on the beach at Koki. They were each fined two pounds for the offence.

They claimed that they thought they had killed the pig before at tempting to roast it.

Air Lift For Power

Mandated Airlines, during June,

delivered 36,000 lbs of materials anj electrical equipment to be used ij the construction of a Hydro-electra scheme at the Government Expert mental station at Aiyura, Easter] Highlands.

One Dakota made six trips t move the equipment. It landed a Kainantu and the goods we r j

:rried by road the 12 or 14 miles Aiyura.

The Department of Works has arted on the installation and it is pected to be finished in about ?ht weeks.