Territories Talk-Talk

By Tolata

Old photographs certainly awake old memories of the past, and the one published in April PIM (p. Ill) of the B.P. skippers, said to have been taken about 1920, was no exception.

Captain “Teddy” Hillman (left inset) was for years Master of the good ship Mataram; Cyril or “Jazz” (■not “Taffy) Williams skippered the Montoro ; 2, 3 and 4 in the back row I cannot place, but the fifth is “Taffy” (D. J.) Williams, one of the last skippers to leave Rabaul when the Japs were knocking at the door. He was Master of Matafele and made a good get-away with Judge Bathgate, Auditor Paddy George and some bank officials.

Rothery was equally well known as Master of Melusia and Montoro.

I think it was the Marsina on which I first met Mclnnes. A most popular man with the passengers, a good bridge player. He swallowed the anchor back in the late thirties to handle a miner’s pick on the Morobe goldfields.

As for Donaldson, he was the first BP skipper I travelled with on the ill-fated Matunga in 1915, and Willy Dupain was aboard, proceeding to Rabaul to look after the BP in terests in that military centre.

Thirty years later it was Donald son who skippered the Marella, which took me out of Lae after 3 1 years in the Jap boob in Rabaul.

At Cairns Willy Dupain stepped aboard again. He was BP manager there.

W. (“Billy”) Voy I first travelled with in December, 1915, when Corrigan was his chief engineer in the Mindini, an old-time favourite with the Solomon Islanders. Phil Coote (later manager of BP’s at Rabaul) was a passenger as was also the famed Manning Straits diver, Jimmy Gibson.

They were a good crowd these old-time skippers; always obliging and wonderful for the owners of these chequer-board funnelled steamers ploughing through the Southern seas. A wonder that some facile pen has not recorded their doings over the past three decades. Their logs would make interesting reading.

Twenty-Two

Years Ago

“I have an old souvenir of the Rabaul eruption, and I thought you might like to have it—knowing that all your own records were de stroyed,” said Leo Baillie to me a few days ago. Leo is manager of

the local Bank of New South Wales in this neck of the NSW woods. I met him first in Rabaul just prior to the Big Quria, when he was on the bank staff there.

It was good to see this old souvenir, dated June 4, 1937, with its mast-head sketched by “Tony”

Anthony, who is still with Lands at Moresby.

How well do I remember churn ing out this first Eruption Edition of The Rabaul Times, typing the stencils, assisted by Bishop Vesters and his staff at Vunapope, who brought rest and relief to so many nerve-wracked folk, refugees from Rabaul as Vulcan and Matupi blew their tops.

The frangipanis bloomed again in Rabaul and, despite individual optimism, the official dictum was

to move the Capital to Lae, but before that action was completed.

Nippon put its oar in and in ’42 made the town and harbour its southern base of operations. By ’44 the town was a mass of rubble from Allied bombing and yet. . . Once again Rabaul reared its head and has, in these post-war years, be come a flourishing modern town ship.

Surely Rabaul’s capacity, within two decades, to overcome the wrath of Nature and of Modern Warfare, is unique.

Thoughts On The

SP Conference

From what I gather from the SP gathering at Rabaul, it seems that natural native IL'\ being gradually absorbed by western civilisation, claims the highest marks. And I wonder what im pression many of the highly-civil ised Polynesian delegates—wearing their native costumes —made upon the trousered Melanesians.

Why must we Westerners delight in putting our so-called converts into shirts and trousers?

Those responsible for drawing up the SP Conference agenda must be congratulated on the good timing for the speech delivered by Chimbu Headman, Kondon, who added just

Some of the 22 students and ex-students from Tudor House, Moss Vale, NSW, who were given a 10 day trip through P-NG in May, photographed in Goroka. At left is Mr. R. A. Kearney, senior master, who accompanied the group. Details were organised by Mr. Bob Bunting, MIC.

"Tolala" says: "Hats off to the organisers of the tour. The itinerary included Wau, Bulolo, Goroka, Lae and Popondetta. Now this IS something that Australians badly need: A first-hand realistic contact with a country and its conditions so little known by the people of the Main land. Especially is it of value at the impressive Teenage, and if Bob Bunting had anything to do with it the boys would have a good insight into true New Guinea life, not just the window dressing which accompanies so many of these officially-arranged tours, high-lighting only what the Administration has done for the country."

it soupcon of primitiveness to phasise the general advancement the more sophisticated delegates m P-NG. It was an admirable tical move. )f course, you can’t please every , and Rabaul critics were some it caustic about the Adminis :or’s SP party in Rabaul which, trary to his past policy of sup ting the loosening of alcoholic s, was “dry”—with tomato juice, e and lemonade predominating! : ull Dish here’s no doubt that Minister luck has had a well-filled dish digest for some months past, here was the NT Legco “strike”; Namatjira incident and the )gation of judicial power; the uneram Inquiry; P-NG Taxation the subsequent stand of the :o Members: the consumption a village constable by “Tiger ntry” natives in the Upper ari area. (Fortunately, not in Trust Territory, so it’s none of )’s business). And now the Sear :en case, with its attendant icity and protests, launched by »le and organisations whose ranee of NG makes their hbes nothing less than farcical, ;ical or fanatical, ies (the Ram), governing the logical destinies of Paul uck—he was born April I—must ■ had some bad aspects during period!

Hines

’. Hasluck’s Department never much of a go from the Press, an example of unsympathetic • work take the headings of the ley papers when the Spleen “broke”: ined £l5O for Slaying Native,” ing Verdict. Judge Tries ler,” “Judge Refuses to Jail e Killer in NG.” “Fine, No Gaol, European Who Killed NG re,” “Minister Requests NG h Probe,” “Inquiry on NG Fine billing,” anted, the Judge’s candid com s were unwise in face of nt-day global racial conscious granted, also, that the ;ed’s action contributed to the ental death of the native. Was sufficient justification for such tional headings? A “Slayer” a “Killer” is usually connected one who deliberately causes i. This was not applicable to I repeat, the publicity iring in the Sydney Press was unfair and unfortunate, one can blame the Minister ie speed with which he called full Inquiry. Possible reper >ns to P-NG incidents in UNO, i Union and Church quarters )nly too well appreciated by Hasluck and his Department, the danger lies not in the

but how the event is wvfSii b6d^u by P olitical opponents, whether they be Afro-Asian Mem bers of UNO, Trade Union Officials or Missionary organisations with a chip on their shoulder Developments in recent months have made many jittery over the Racial Question, but picking on the P-NG Administration for some imagined act hostile to racial in tegration, is not going to make the slightest difference in the global at titude towards the Colour Question The real cause goes back long be fore our life-time, and these Aus tralian political critics are offering nothing to ameliorate the general attitude.

They are years too late. We are merely carrying the sins of our fathers “unto the third and fourth generation.’’

The writing is already on the wall in Singapore. And what red spot on the map has been better hand-fed than that area, where they are now shouting: “Out with the Whites!”

Some Personalities

A trip to Sydney Town last month gave me a few contacts with some of the B4s who still gather at the popular caravanserai that caters to P-NG tastes: There was big Syd Pasley from Kavieng-way, with divided interests between sporting events and Dr.

Calov’s consulting rooms; there was genial Vic Pennefather, looking re markably fit considering that Vic served in the Boer War; Tex Roberts (Vic’s mate) taking life easy these days. And there was Colin Marr, down from his property at Orange to attend the Sheep Show, looking as hale and hearty as ever, but reported his Dad (Sir Charles) was not in good health.

In a recent letter from Up Yonder my correspondent wrote that Bishop Wade had come out of hos pital, but was to receive further treatment amongst relatives in the USA, and have a “good holiday.”

He left at the end of April en route for St. Joseph’s Hospital, at Orange, California, which is conducted by the same Sisters as those at Haheila (Buka). If anyone is deserving of a good rest it is Bishop Wade, who for just on 30 years as Bishop of the Northern Solomons has devoted himself unsparingly to the work.

We were next-door neighbours down in Buka, before he was con secrated as a Bishop, and we tried our skill as hair-dressers on each other I was not too hot with the shears “Never mind,” he consoled me “what’s the difference between a good and a bad hair-cut?”

I didn’t know. “Three days, he renlied with a chuckle.

In a letter which the Bishop wrote not long ago to another well known Buka identity—Fred Archer he said: “I remember you coming