Portrait of

a Small Girl with Fish

By Peter England

One pleasant feature of life

on an outstation in New Guinea is that if you suddenly decide to knock off work and go for a picnic in the middle of the week,

there’s nothing to stop you.

“ A LAN says he’s going to give xxthe Osprey its engine trials tomorrow: what are engine trials, Pete? He’s going to Marien berg and back, he said why don’t we go; we can can’t we?

“You won’t be too busy tomorrow will you? Besides, it will be an outing for Sally.”

Sally is our daughter. There are lots of things in this world, some of them you strive for all your life and never find, some of them come along, all right, but turn to dust and ashes when you touch them.

So many mirages, so many dis appointments, but a seven-year-old daughter with short golden pigtails and blue eyes and bare feet and a fishing rod over her shoulder on the way to a picnic makes up for them all.

“Where did you get the fishing rod from, Sally?”

“A boy made it for me. Look, it’s got a real hook, Daddy. I’ve got some grubs what you put on the hook, too, I got them myself, at the roots of the trees, like the natives do.”

“The line doesn’t look very strong, does it? Tell you what, we’ll run down to Tin Foo’s and get a new one, I’ve got to get some

cigarettes anyway. Come on, hurry up, the Osprey will be going in half an hour.”

'lazing, Dozing"

So we went down the river, lazing, chatting, dozing, in canvas chairs in the roomy stern of the Osprey. Pat, the half-caste skipper, fussed over his engine.

After a while we pulled into the bank at Mombur, a timber camp.

The steady roar of the engine stopped suddenly, and the contrast ing silence was pleasant.

“Well, we might as well have lunch here, it’s after twelve. Have you had your lunch yet, Joe? Well, come on and have some with us— this is a picnic!” Anne and Barbara started to make sand wiches, and Pat put the tea billy on his primus, and Alan opened a bottle of beer.

Sally said: “Look, Daddy, look at the canoe!”

A long canoe went past smoothly and silently. Four men and two women plied their paddles in unison, they looked straight ahead; but in the middle three piccaninnies whispered and giggled.

After lunch Pat started his engine up again, and we went on down to Marienberg.

Marienberg is a name that has figured largely in the development of the mighty Sepik River, once the chief Administration station, now the mission headquarters with a sawmill as a sideline.

“Hullo, Brother Sebastian, how are you?

“Come on, Sally, we’re going up the hill to see the mission. . . .”

"I Want a Fish"

“No, Daddy, I want to stop here and catch a fish.”

“But don’t you want to go up and see the sisters first, they would like to see you, they might give you a glass of lemonade, even. You will have plenty of time to fish before we go home. And what about the cows and the goats, don’t you want to see them? Do you remember how the goat chased you when you were a very little girl? We’ll get Brother Sebastian to show us what he’s making in his carpenter’s shop. . . .”

"Look, Daddy: I want to catch a fish.”

Well, we went on top and spent a pleasant couple of hours at the Mission, inspecting the newest buildings, chatting with the Fathers and the Sisters, they are always glad to see visitors.

And when we got back, Sally was still sitting on the river bank, her eyes intent on her line.

“Well, did you catch any fish?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

"You did? Jolly good show!

Where is it? Is it a big one?”

“I don’t know if it’s a big one,

(Continued on page 101)

m the hook, I kept it there u could see me catch it.” hat? You mean it’s still there le water? You’re lucky you I’t lost it. Be careful now, it in very slowly . . . easy hat’s it. By gosh, it’s a little y, look at it wiggling it’s tail, le take it off the hook.” i, it’s all right, Daddy, I can I know how to take it off the (I I did, too, holding the fish j with her foot while she !d the barb free, erybody can’t catch one like can they, Daddy?”

I’re darn right they can’t! we went home Pat turned his on. We heard the news. It t very good news, but it all ;d very far away; on the eck, tired, happy, sat a small svith blue eyes and two pig holding in her rather gruooy s her first fish.