Senior Citizen

Of Papua

Hobart Spiller Of Papua

has survived an unusually long time in the Islands, despite the

dangerous and unhealthy con

ditions which existed in the dim

past of the early days.

HE was born in 1886 at Napier, New Zealand, where his family were old residents. After local school ing he joined the Napier Harbour Board, whose nine employees were known to visiting ships as the “Nine Hungry Buggers” because of the ini tials NHB on their caps. After a few years he struck out to seek his for tune, arriving in Sydney late in 1908.

He joined Burns Philp and was sent to the Solomons in the Moresby (Captain Francis Bayldon) in February, 1909.

Hobart spent five months at Makambo Depot, where he went down with malaria. He was carried aboard the Makambo, but recovered on the voyage to Sydney.

His next job was purser of the Makambo for one trip, before being transferred to the Moresby. Captain Bayldon had left the company, and the new captain of the Moresby was William Voy. The ship stranded at

the Mile-and-a-half Passage and J passengers were taken to Lii Island while the ship was reflos In those days the two ships use»; work through the Solomons to W<' lark and Samarai, and called at O' town each trip.

In March, 1910, Hobart went BP’s Samarai branch, but left a later to go to planting up ;he 0 flicts. In 1914 he went Soum toe list, but was rejected as being skinny, and returned again Samarai.

Here he found two fleets of p* ing luggers from Thursday Isll unemployed since the collapse ofi shell market, and some of them ’ temptingly up for sale. He bought the 32-foot Petrel and T into trading, recruiting and other 1 jobs. In 1916 he was able to ses a property up the North-East o of Papua called Menapi, whichl sold in 1957. While developing: property he went down with a bou blackwater fever, but recovereo Samarai.

In 1920 he was married at To( ville, but his wife died at Mes five years later. Their son, B was taken to live with relative; Northiam in Western Australia he was 10, after which he wem boarding school at Chailers Tov During the war the same son beo a navigator and a DEC winner,, is now married and living in BrisH In 1942 Hobart was evacuate; Australia, where he worked withi Allied Geographical Section at bane. He transferred to Milne with the US Army, and got rel© at the end of the war to resume plantation and trading before m other traders were able to get e:; lished.

Hobart sub-leased Menapi in and spent a year in retiremem Brisbane, but felt drawn bacM Papua.

He now lives in Port More where he bought a house in Au Drive, Boroko, with convenio and comforts undreamed of inr early days in the Islands.

Hobart has done some trips art every few years, the first being to East in 1937 in the old Nellore.. has visited New Zealand three tt since the war, and in 1953 he vir England and Europe. He’s ven for his 75 years, and may yet live his mother’s longevity. She in New Zealand a few weeks?

before her 100th birthday.

Hilder.

A Brett Hilder Profile