[?]d Like a Rubber

Road

ample of an inventive turn d is seen in a 20 ft. stretch d near the Sineada patrol

i Papua’s celebrated Milne

rubber road—the brainchild Clive Single, of Baniara, a noted ideas man (recently ;n reported working on a flying curred to Single some months at if the local roads were sed, rubber trees could be on each side of them so lance material would be right 3. There is a lot of rubber d from the Milne Bay district. his experiment Single used be white liquid rubber straight ie tree, which he bought from planter for a few shillings a With a hand pump he 1 this on to a 20 ft test strip Ith of a wheel track, and be set, put a thin sprinkling of i it. The next day he sprayed id coat of rubber and another I, and repeated this procedure eral more coats, me across the result late one ainy night when I was hiking

the two miles from the bay to the station. I wasn’t expected and the station staff had long gone to bed, and I wasn’t sure of the road anyhow’ but despite the heavy rain and the circumstances I stopped at this stretch,

puzzled.

What was it?

It was smooth like concrete, yet it wasn’t concrete. It wasn’t any coral mixture, although it showed up light against the gravel of the rest of the road. I gave up and kept

walking.

Clive Single is not now at Sineada, but PO Des Pike has been keeping his eye on the experiment, and when I

was given a closer look next day— this time with the aid of a Land- Rover—Des showed me that the test strip was beginning to peel here and there in fine strips. Otherwise it was still sound.

“Probably he should have put a few more layers on it,” said Des. “It certainly fills the potholes anyhow.”

The idea isn’t probably too practic able using the ADO’s methods, but there may be some other method that is. I don’t know. Anyhow, it’s an idea and it’s a sample of initiative— and Native Affairs officers have never been accused of being deficient in

either.

SI.