Took One Fish And An Airfreighter

Lae's Mrs. Beetons—

Of Oysters

History in Lae, New Guinea, henceforth is likely to be reckoned as “before” or “after” Lady Slim’s fish. The tongues of the whole town are wagging about the animal, which is conservatively estimated to have cost £2 per inch.

WITH the usual entourage, Lady Slim, wife of the Australian Governor-General, Sir William Slim, arrived in Port Moresby on July 22, and after a rushed programme got to Lae on July 26, where she was entertained at luncheon by the Women’s Auxiliary of the RSL, and later at a Cocktail Party at the Residency.

Lady Slim flew to the Territory in a RAAF Convair, accompanied by two Dakotas. The Convair flew back but returned to pick up Lady Slim at the end of her Territory tour. The Dakotas carried Lady Slim to various P-NG centres.

It appears that for one of the Lae functions our correspondent, jerhaps prudently, does not state vhich one—a fish was required.

Not any old fish, you understand.

But a fish of stated dimensions — \ ft 6 in. long—and of the mackerel ipecies. The skipper of the Government trawler was com nissioned to do this little thing, bid after spending two days xawling away on the ocean pro iuced a 3 ft long pike, which was luly presented.

The pike, however, was not sonsidered fit for vice-regal patron ige—or did not fit the wooden flatter that had been prepared for t. It was rejected. The trawler hereupon went forth and trawled or one more day, and presumably vith better results.

To stuff and garnish this fish, it lad been arranged to bring some lysters and crabs from Manus [or so the story goes) and these

were to come forward on the milk run plane on the due date. But due to one of these unfortunate accidents that happen frequently in the Territory, the shell-fish for Lady Slim’s fish were off-loaded at Goroka, New Guinea is an air-minded country, and silly little accidents like that could not be permitted to spoil the piece-de-resistance at the vice-regal banquet, so a chartered aircraft was despatched to Goroka to bring back the wayward cargo.

Did we say that fish cost £2 per inch? That’s undressed, of course.

Stuffed and garnished with chartered aircraft oysters they come a little higher—say, around £lO per inch.

Was That Trip Rewarding?

LIKE all good stories, there probably are some corrections that could be made to the above—but there actually is sufficient truth in it to show that a VIP can never see the real New Guinea, or how the the peasants live.

When Lady Slim left the Territory a statement was issued to the effect that native women in the Territory were much encouraged and uplifted by Lady Slim’s interest. To our way of thinking, this was so much rubbish. The gap between Lady Slim and the pig-suckling, firewood-carrying, cargo toting beasts of burden that constitute the majority of native women in the Territory is so vast that it will not be bridged this century.

The women who are, providing inspiration to the native women of the Territory are the teachers, missionaries and others who are right out there in the field doing a job of work against odds that would break the heart of all but the most dedicated.

Lady Slim is a gracious and charming woman; and of all the VlP’s who have been in P-NG this winter season she was the person Territorians most liked meeting. But as to the effect on the native popu lation —no! Let’s be realistic about these things.