President-elect Kennedy?

The Editors' Mailbag

imance Of The

NG Postal Service

fhere’s a romance about Papua w Guinea’s early postal history. handout we’ve received about says that up to about 1939, mail s still being sent overland be 3en Angoram and Wewak by iner. Police runners left Wewak i Angoram on the same day, met if -way, exchanged mail and re ned home, the total trip usually :ing three days.

Jailbags issued to the runners in ; Sepik and other Territory dis jts had to be regularly checked ensure they were waterproof, len floods occurred the runners i sometimes to swim the rivers.

Lbout the same time, others were ng a manually operated radio nsmitter at Lake Kutubu. A team 10 to 20 labourers worked the nk on a relay system, each man ng able to take only a short shift ause the crank was stiff and ivy. ill this is apropos of an appeal m New Guinea’s director of Post 1 Telegraphs, Mr. W. R. Carter, d is looking for information to iplete the historical records of New Guinea postal and tele ph service. Because many early ords were lost during the war, y little information is available tn the official files, te asks anybody with any know ?e of the early days of the Terri -7 service to send information to i at Port Moresby—including

any photographs or other materials of historical interest. A history of the postal, telegraph and telephone services in New Guinea will then be compiled.

It’s a worthy cause, and PIM and PIM readers will help all they can.

Here’s a contribution from us right now: What’s so specially noteworthy about the overland mail in the Sepik “up to about 1939”? The Territory has been running an over land mail service more recently than that. Runners were handling mail in Bougainville in this fashion up to the end of last year, when air services improved a lot. Runners regularly went around the island.

We know poor old Bougainville gets neglected by Port Moresby, but that particular island run is worth a chapter in itself if you are really looking for romance.

The Rabaul Memorial

Never Had a Plaque

Our Lae correspondent, Miss Pat Robertson, has the answer this month to one of PlM’s queries —the one raised on p. 33 of the October issue about the memorial stone at Rabaul to those who lost their lives in the Montevideo Maru.

As the photograph shows, the stone looks as if it had had a plaque on it at one time, and there have been a few queries on this in the Rabaul area.

Pat Robertson says she has been told there was never a plaque on

the stone. She says it was erected by the Australian Army after the war, at the same time as one at Vulcan, where the Japanese landed in Rabaul, and another on Shaggy Ridge, on the mainland. About 1950, Returned Soldiers’ League members suggested that plaques be put on the stones, but after inspection it was decided that what were needed were sandstone blocks for memorials. But the RSL was low on funds at the time, so this scheme was dropped.

Data About the

Late John F. Stimson

Any residents of Polynesia— especially French Polynesia—who have any data at all concerning the late John Francis Stimson, of Tahiti, are asked to send it to Dr.

Donald S. Marshall, of Far Lands House, Danvers, Massachusetts,

Usa.

Dr. Marshall is urgently seeking help in this direction, Mr. J. F.

Stimson lived at Tahiti for about 50 years prior to his death, and be came famous as a scientist and for his contributions to the records of Polynesian ethnology. He was known among the Polynesians as “Ua Tane”.

Dr. Marshall is writing a book about Mr. Stimson, to be published by Messrs. Doubleday, of New York: and he would be very grateful for any assistance that can be given him letters, memories, photo graphs, anecdotes—by anyone who knew Mr. Stimson during his half century in Polynesia.

Who Was That Who Helped

President-elect Kennedy?

Former leading Coastwatcher Eric Feldt (author of The Coast Watchers ) has some information to add on PI M’s query on p. 45 in the October issue, about “Who

[?]'s Tavua township, photographed from the air by Rob Wright—one of a recent scries done by Wright of Fiji's main towns and other areas.

The "Montevideo Maru" memorial stone in Rabaul. There was never any plaque on it, according to information received this month.

was the Kiwi who gave wartime aid to Senator Kennedy”?

The PIM story told how the Senator won a Navy Cross and a Purple Heart in the Solomons during the war, and how on one occasion his PT boat was cut in half by a Japanese destroyer. PIM wanted to know the identity of a New Zealander, a Lieutenant Wincote, who was supposed to have helped Kennedy later.

Eric Feldt writes that PlM’s account differs from a US war history account after the point where contact was made by Kennedy with friendly forces. He says Morison’s account of it in Vol. VI, p. 211, of the History of US Naval Operations in World War 11, states:

“On 5 August friendly natives delivered a message scratched on a coconut shell to the Coast Watcher in Wana Wana, who despatched a war canoe to the rescue and sent word to Rendova, where memorial services had already been held for the crew of PT-109.

“On August 7, with Kennedy hidden under ferns in the bottom of the war canoe, natives paddled to Wana Wana, waving gaily at un suspecting Japanese planes, “That night, Kennedy boarded a rescue PT, piloted it to the camp and picked up his men. On the way home, one devout sailor sat on deck with his arms around two mission natives, all three singing, ‘Yes, Jesus Loves Me’.”

Eric Feldt says he has no recor of that particular rescue, because : was one of many, but by the tim and place he thinks the Coast watcher would have been Sut Lieut. Reg Evans, of the Australia Navy, who had withdrawn froi Kolombangara about that tim With him was Sergeant Nash, tt only American to operate behin the lines with the Coastwatchers.

Eric Feldt says he has no recollec tion of any NZ forces operating i New Georgia. The first reported ai those under General Barrowcloug] who landed on Vella Lavella aboi a month later. However, he saj there may have been NZ troops ( New Georgia attached to tt Americans for experience in jung: fighting before that date.

He suggests: “Perhaps Reg Evai can settle the problem—if anyor knows where he is.”

Can he, and do they?

Details of Flying

Saucers Wanted

Also on this month’s “want list are flying saucers. If you have seen any, lately, please get in touch with the Rev. N. E. G. Cruttwell Anglican Mission, Menapi, v i Samarai, Papua-New Guinea.

Mr. Cruttwell, who writes us from Victoria, but who will be back in Papua in late November, says: “I am extremely interested in your reports in the July, 1960, issue of further appearances of mysterious lights in the sky over Fiji and New Caledonia.

“You will remember we had a cro[?] of similar reports over Papua last year. I have met many of the eyewitnesses and can testify to there reliability. Some of them are per sonal friends of long standing, {who?] have compiled a full detailed report of all the Papuan sightings known to me from 1953 onwards.

“I am very anxious to obtain details of these new sightings and [?] compare them with the objects seen over Papua, with a view to verification. Can you disclose the source of the reports to me to enable me to correspond with the observers? I would be most grateful if you would do this.

“I have heard rumours of further sightings in Papua lately, and shall investigate these when I return. I think there is little doubt that there is something very strange going on Many of the observers are reliable missionaries, Government officers, planters, a doctor and the ex-head of the Department of Civil Aviation to mention only a few.”

Mrs. Hardwick, who was well am favourably known in New Guinea a manager of the Hotel Papua ii Port Moresby, and who more re cently joined the Northern Hotel circuit in Fiji, has been anpointe( manager of the Grand Pacific Hotel Suva.