Territories TALK-TALK

With Tolala

Ex-Territorian Jos Holmes, now living in Dorset, England, did indeed dig up a bit of my murky past when he quoted one of the poems of my misspent youth (in Editors’ Mailbag, February, page 25).

1 PLEAD guilty to the verse with the explanation that it was written over 50 years ago and I think it was more or less customary for every new arrival in the Islands in those days to either write doggerel or work tortoise-shell (or both). And, actu ally, the person to be censured should be the editor of the magazine for allowing its publication. But I’ll go quietly.

The last time I had word from Jos Holmes was in the form of a radio message from London in 1942 and which was published in The Rabaul Times of January 16, 1942—the last issue of that paper to be published be fore the Japs occupied the town the following Friday. I quote the par. from the “Local and General” column: Old friend Jos Holmes in London lost no time in sending out a sym pathetic message as soon as he knew of the raid on Rabaul. In a radio message to the editor, dated January 5, he says: Thinking of you all in New Guinea. We greet the dawn , not the setting sun.

Thanks, Old Timer, enemy bomb ing has forged a link of sympathy between us.

Incidentally, the somewhat euphe mistic phrase about the “dawn and setting sun” was a bit too much for the team of Jap security officers who spent some weeks examining the files and papers in the editorial sanctum after the fall of Rabaul, before mak ing a bonfire of them, and one of my

most difficult periods was explaining to their satisfaction there was no hidden insult in the phrase to the Japanese flag.

A Numa Numa Incident Thinking of Jos Holmes has sent me off on a journey down the by-way of the past. What prompted my error of placing Jos at Numa Numa in 1913 was the fact I thought he was present there during 1914 when bush natives made several raids on the plantation and threatened to massacre the whites, even as they had suc ceeded in doing to a Captain Fer guson and his crew on an island off the Numa Numa Point some years previously.

Arthur Booth was manager at the time and he sent word to me at Arigua (a few miles south of Numa) to swell his forces. The incident was not deemed sufficiently serious to call on the government for protection. In those days a planter was supposed to be able to protect himself under normal conditions.

Having posted armed native sen tries along the boundary one night we retired to the homestead and re lieved the tension by playing a game called “Corner”, which entitled each player to call loudly for the particular card he required. This game was in full swing when in walked Herr Hey denreuther, a six-foot-two fully bearded German overseer, popularly known as “Masta Grass”, well-armed

replete with gun and bandolier very wrath indeed when he four all playing a game when he expi the shouting to be the cries half-a-dozen white men and w< being massacred!

It was this gathering in whi thought Jos Holmes made one .

My memory falters as the yean on.

Vale "Kassa"

Townsend And so George Wilfred Lan OBE, ERGS, has gone to his earned rest.

As PIM (February, page 140) he “had an outstanding career”, was an exceptionally gifted and bloke, dedicated to his work wh it was in the District Services i a member of the Secretariat to in New York. Incidentally, he the first head of ANGAU.

Before joining the TNG Adr tration Service in 1921 he wai gaged as cashier in the old Guinea Kompagnie store in Rs later taken over by the Exprob It was the sign “KASSA” ove cashier’s cage from which his name was derived. There several Townsends in and ai Rabaul at that time.

Postscript: I note that a Guinea newspaper refers to the 1 plate above the cashier’s cage as inscribed “KASSIR, the German for cashier”. I always understoo word for a cashier was Kassierei for the cashier’s office it is Kas Kassa, which is also applied in 1 keeping. I am nearly sure the in the NGC store was KASSA. j it often enough (with Kassa hi behind the grille) but seldom him any cash. Most transactioi those days were by book entries

Geographically

Speaking

There are several phases of recent Buka “incident” at He which have caught my interest the least of them, when listenii ABC news, was the repeated refei to “Buka in the Solomon Island Of course, geographically spea Buka and Bougainville are in Solomons, but primarily and pc ally they are an integral part o Trust Territory of New Guinea.

Anyway, it is rather interestii know the reason why they are n the Solomons —politically, and j out going too far back in our hi books.

When a British Protectorate declared over the Southern Sold in 1893, the northern islands (Ys

;ul, Bougainville, etc.) fell to my, but in 1900, following the ent over Samoa between USA, i and Germany, Britain secured 1, Choiseul and the Shortlands Germany by relinquishing her to Samoa. It was another one )se instances when politicians 1 around with territorial boun and brought confusion to our phy. ther misleading suggestion was Sydney Sunday paper, which 1 a native wearing a upi hat, he caption: . . this week aok off their fancy hats, used bal junkets . . .”

Buka native does not wear the fhis custom is confined to a section on Bougainville.

Territorians know the upi now, is depicted on the Id stamp, in 1952.) The upi is not re from the youth’s head until he npleted his initiation ceremony anhood. then there were the things lade me smile (though some ;rimly, when I thought of the e reactions and the effect on vanity): Comparing “Francis Hagai” to Castro, by a Sydney Sunday And what of Dr. Gunther? ’resident Kennedy? lie primitive roadway (as de in Sydney papers) from > to leta (Buka Passage) down die prisoners had to walk . . . years ago there used to be a notor road from the Passage alis. aders ve all know, the gentle art of asion is one of the oldest s against the Powers That Be; dging from the court reports in newspapers, still practised to onsiderable extent even in the ivilised communities. Most of lember Wat Tyler from our books —and that was well over jars ago. It is a phase of ng down to government con > which some people are un ibly disposed. irimitive New Guinea there sen many instances of “revolt” such payment. But often unds have been unaware of cidents and therefore few, out ficial circles, have been ever of them. he past life was so much more in those halcyon days when iunds were based in Sydney cal correspondents used their nt, uninfluenced by com i, as to what they would con )

Such stark revelations as are made today by competitive newsmen em barrass officials, who have not only Australian politicians on their back, but international organisations watch ing their every step and ready to use every means to build up adverse criticism.

And so we have Minister Hasluck contributing to the build-up of a fanatical cult determined to create a “master race” with “10 selected persons to reproduce the race promi scuously”, when he probably knows very well—being a bit of an anthro pologist himself—the old Buka legend of Brutziengi.

Brutziengi is the giant pig on Nissan, and there was an exodus of the people from that island, save two old women who eventually and un naturally gave birth to two males

who in turn became the fathers of a Master Race—the Buka . . .

Were the Bukas dragging a red herring across the path? Or have the Buka adopted an old Manus custom of establishing a bordello house in the village? If so, it certainly does not indicate a tendency to “turn back the clock”. The Buka woman in my day (which certainly is a few years ago now) was always an example of virtue.

It would appear, after reading official statements published in the Press, that in most cases where native people show a tendency to “be agin the government” they are described as formulating or resurrecting some kind of cult or fanatical movement in opposition to the Powers That Be, inferring that the offenders are a “bit off centre” and their claims are

so fantastic they do not warrant logical consideration.

Would it not be wise for the government to seek out the reason for this native dissension, instead of peremptorily brushing it aside and writing it off as a cult or fanatical action?

The reaction to the paternalistic and educational attitude of the Ad ministration is now setting in, far too soon for the benefit of the natives themselves and embarrass ment to the Administration. The natives have acquired a certain amount of knowledge, but they lack our standard of logic.

From reports, I glean that one of the main reasons for the refusal of the Hahalis natives to pay taxes was the fact that they had been promised a medical aid post, which was later refused. Be that as it may, there is some deep-down reason (in their

opinion) why they should not co operate with the government.

Is it not up to the government to determine what that reason is, and if at all possible to remedy it?

The Buka is a difficult type with whom to deal. I know him funda mentally, from 50 to 30 years ago, and I suggest that with the final deal ings of the court the government should have no delusions about hav ing cleared the atmosphere altogether.

Like the elephant, the Buka has a long memory.

Local disturbances of this nature, which are not diminishing by any manner of means, may cause the Ad ministration to consider favourably recommendation of the Local Govern ment Conference that European Native Affairs field staff should be allowed to stay in the same area for at least six years.

At present an officer no sooner has

his finger on the pulse of the and the people than he is rushe on leave, returns and is posh another area altogether, wher has to start off from scratch.

The fundamental reason foi majority of these incidents is la knowledge by the officials. ¥ ledge can only be attained after contact with the individual nativ matter how much the official read about them. It is the pei contact which counts in the lonj SOS For Shells Austrian Mountaineer He: Harrer who, after scaling the NG mountain Carstenz Pyr found himself short of local cur for his carriers which, nat enough, was the white cowrie was at least honest in his scare the genuine article and did not to attempting to pass off any coi feits as was done by a certain sionary society in TNG before War ll—but without success.

A huge packing case was 1 at Rabaul from an overseas vessel consigned to a mission si on the NG mainland. It was si contain chinaware, and that i: what it was but ... in the foi imitation white cowrie shells, i factured somewhere in Europe The “shells” were an exc replica of the genuine article may have been acceptable b] Highland natives, but the imp never had an opportunity of fi out. The shipment was confii and the whole matter hushed u Let’s hope some enterprising, mongering Public Relations Offii Indonesia does not get the id et all shells are ammunition and < to light with banner-headings tralia Sends War Materials to Irian”.