Territories Talk-Talk

By Tolala

ty Bob a Head

lere’s certainly no discrimina te be shown in the proposed 7 bob a head-tax on adult js in PN-G. le estimated 75,000 contribu te the coffers appears con ative, but no doubt this number increase as will, probably, also forty bob ante. It’s the very end of the wedge and the Tax irs’ Association can be happy it is not a great deal thicker =n at its start. le last time “direct” taxation on peans was launched in P-NG back in the early twenties, i the government started a ness Tax on all males earning ; than £400 a year. iat was the minimum salary for tarried government official in > days. t the tax didn’t last, was found, after a couple of >, that is cost more to collect tax than the amount received, would be interesting to know how much of the £150,000, lated to come from the new is clear profit. It would be even interesting to know just how

much of a cut the so-heavy Ter ritorial Public Service takes out of the £IIM present from Aus tralia, which is passed on to the Territory ostensibly for the purpose of native welfare, One reason why there has never been a squawk from Australian taxpayers is probably because it would be considered not cricket to begrudge monies earmarked for the under-privileged primitives!

The mushroom-growth of Public Servants has already caused a bit of a flutter in Canberra, A Financial Review columnist, touring P-NG, lets go in these words anent this self-same top heaviness; “There had been a colossal mushroom growth of the Public Service in the last few years; the growth was too much in paper-immersed bureaucracy.

If the growth took the form of practical field men there would be little complaint.”

It’s the chair-borne bureaucrats who cause the criticism and raise the hackles on the folk trying to develop the country. Its the field officers themselves who are made to squirm and sizzle under the barrage of inter-office communi cations; prying and probing into the expenditure of pennies, whilst pounds-worth of Progress has to be held up to answer dictatorial screeds from a too-eager clerical staff.

Give the Field

Staff a Go It seems to me that the field staff are being checked up on to the nth

degree, while the chair-borne mem bers of the Service have an open go, judging from reports on the Service and remarks from the Audi tor-General.

A misdemeanour by a member of field-force staff is usually against a sacrosanct indigene; but a mis appropriation, or juggling with ac counts, is merely an offence against the Australian tax-payer.

Is one to be prosecuted while the other condoned?

It is a wonder that the Assistant Administrator, who is a known sup porter of staff personnel, does not hop into the breach and do some thing about this; for he is, after all, an anti-bureaucrat and he has con solidated his position sufficiently now.

Dr. John Gunther appears to be making a good impression in his new job. I have heard eulogistic remarks about him. (Over)

Happy Travellers

[?] Mr. R. G. Ormsby, Magistrate of [?] New Guinea, who left Lae on Sep [?] 25 on board "Malaita" for a five [?] holiday in Australia. Mr. Ormsby, who [?]ent the last three years in Madang, has [?]n the Territory over 20 years.

T: Mr. Wilfred Robinson, brother of the "Sepik Robbie", who also sailed on ta". He comes from Doncaster, York [?] is in love with the Territory and can [?]nderstand his brother's attachment. He or a three-months stay and stayed seven [?] and hopes to come back again. Mr. [?]n will stay with his daughter in Aus.

37 Varieties

For its age and size P-NG must be the sectiest country in the world.

Sydney columnist, Jim Mac dougall mentions the recent licens ing by the Administration of the 37th new religious sect to operate missionary services. “That’s a lot of religion even for the wuzzy fuzzy wuzzies,” he says.

It is a lot. In fact many people think there are too many warring factions reaching out for the souls of the indigenes; just as there are too many public servants complica ting the system of government. And this numerical strength does not tend towards that Peace which is supposed to be the foundation of the Christian faith.

From one area comes a complaint that Jehovah Witnesses had super seded another mission previously established. An entire village had dropped its old sect for the Wit nesses who, the report stated, had told the villagers “that a war would come soon, and if they did not join the Jehovah Witnesses they would die with everyone else; but if they joined, they would be saved.”

A report in The Rabaul Times states that some planters in New Britain claim mission interference with native labour arrangements is undermining discipline and work routine. The mission is alleged to be attempting to enforce the obser vance of religious days amongst plantation labourers.

Another report from Rabaul deals with the concern of Dept, of Ter ritories Secretary Lambert over mission encouragement for natives to form their own cocoa ferment aries in opposition to government— sponsored fermentaries by local vil lage councils. It would appear that this is a continuance of the old

strife between the missions and the Administration over village councils. (Tolala evidently bases his last paragraph on reports appearing in P-NG local newspapers.

It was denied at the October meeting of Legco that Secretary Lambert had in any way im plicated "the missions" in the fermentary trouble. The reason for the proposed break away was given by native MLC John Vuia at the same Legco meeting.—Editor, PIM.) Happy to Meet This old Macquarie town in which I live —Campbelltown—must have some subtle attraction for ex-New Guineaites.

I was admiring the gold-leat lettering on the plate-glass windows of the new Wales Bank building when a well-groomed business ex ecutive type emerged, a sheaf of papers in his hand and glancing at him, his features rang a bell in my memory’s belfry.

I passed the time of day (as one does in rural towns) and he replied, I then discovered that he was Leo Bailie, the new bank manager, who was in the Rabaul branch back in 1937 and then we spoke of his erst while colleagues: Manager Bow ditch, Ken Diamond. “I still have an old eruption copy of The Rabaul Times, he said.

A few days before I had met Jim Rudge, who is down on long leave from his medical duties and we spoke of Sohano and of medical patrols in and around Bougainville.

He has got himself a nice new home here and recently gave P-NG some good publicity when he put on a filming of NG scenes in aid of a Kiddies’ Christmas Tree fund.

And then the other day I had a flying visit from world-traveller A.

H. Cresswell, down from Rabaul for a few days and on his way to call

on Harry Ersklne out Camden Other NGites hereabouts are : Millar, whose husband is now veyor-General at Darwin. 0 used to be up around Wewak ago.) Then there are Lew Fro* and his wife. He was entomoli for years in TNG and now a man as Agricultural Show s tary of both Campbelltown.

Camden societies.

And the local newspaper is oc by Syd Richardson, who us© be on the old Morobe News old-time miner-editor Bretag. . there are others.

They Say They

Are Natives

Just how nomenclature consj can some of these long-hi dwellers in ivory towers get?

Some time ago it was sugg

Two world-travelling bug-hunters. Dr.

Munroe and Mr. G. P. Holland of the Can Department of Agriculture, are currently ing P-NG for a period of about four m[?] Their mission is to collect insects of c[?] groups to be added to the Canadian Na[?] Collection.

Mr. Holland is studying fleas and prin those associated with native mammals su[?] 'possums, cus cus, wild rats and c[?] (spiney ant-eater), and is particularly an to get on the track of some live ec[?] So far he hasn't been successful.

Dr. Munro is collecting one group of moths (which he collects at night usi[?] ultra violet light trap. Take: Someti[?] gallon and a half of moths during a night The two men expect to visit a number different parts of the Territory. They already spent several weeks in the Moresby area and are how off up to Sarawaket Mountains, north of Lae. Afte[?] they will probably go to the Highland[?] Sepik district. Dr. Munroe is on scl with his moths, but Mr. Holland is findi[?] going more difficult owing to the search native mammals. They hope to do when they get away from the more ci[?] centres, and can interest natives in br[?] the live mammals to them.

At the end of November Mr. Hollan[?] return to Canada with the collections Dr. Munroe will go on to the Pacific S[?] Conference at Bangkok, and thence to [??] for several months to study at the Museum before returning to Canada. . .

Mr. Holland is head of the Insect Syste[?] and Biological Control Unit of the Enton Division of the Canadian Department of culture, and Dr. Munro is Principal mologist with the same outfit.

r a theorist that the word “native” applied to P-NGites was distaste 1, and should not be used when f erring to them. Since then sev al letters have appeared in the cal Moresby paper from (pre mably) P-NG indigenes endors g the use of the word as applied themselves.

And quite rightly, too. It’s rather weird idea of a controlling gov nment to thrust upon a somewhat credible world the idea that there e no natives in an island the size New Guinea. allowed Ashes One of the most touching and, at e same time, appropriate cere anies ever carried out in TNG nd there have been a number) us the scattering of the ashes of e Territory’s late Chief Justice ir Beaumont Phillips) on the ipes of the Mount Mother at Ra ul. [t was at the foot of the moun in that, as “Montie” Phillips, he ed in his artistically furnished ngalow during the pre-war years ten he gave such good service to 5 Territory. [n the shade of Kombiu he made my a just decision following ar ment in the Central Court; here had collected together rare scimens of native handicraft and iceless souvenirs from all parts the world. With his well-trained iff of Buka house servants, he ipensed hospitality in his own mitable manner. special feature at his delight . intimate dinners was the per lally-painted place cards and, variably, an appropriate gift for :h guest. “Montie” was a wonder - . host. \nd now on the mountain sur inding his old Rabaul home, and ■se to Refuge Gully, which he es alished when he was Rabaul’s ief Warden awaiting the possible ;ack from enemy forces, his mor ashes have been spread, rhe ceremony should always act a reminder to the generatiohs to ne of a very gallant gentleman, lose spirit remains in New linea. fhere have been two other out mding NG personalities whose aes have returned to the Ter ory: Those of Queen Emma, )ught from Monte Carlo and in red at Kokopo and later re ived to an unknown destination; d those of Cecil Levien—the man 10 made his dreams of the Mo be goldfields come true —which re scattered from a plane over - Bulolo Valley and inspired lon ness’ book title “Gold Dust and hes.” rwo years ago the ashes of a low of the almost-forgotten sub wine AE 1 crew, which disap ared in 1914 off Rabaul, were apped over the sea near Manus.