Territories TALK-TALK

It was back in July, when Buka was still more or less in the headlines, that some up-and-coming Administration spokes man released the “news” that a road was to be made on Buka from the Passage to Kessa plantation—a distance of some 45 iniles.

ECALCITRANT tax-payers, plus i the coming of the US tracking lion, no doubt contributed to this aningly needful publicity by an

pie-polishing Administration.

Actually there has been a road — chain wide and suitable for Ocular traffic—along the East coast Buka since 1911. It was con acted shortly after German Com jsioner Doellinger took over the ;ta district. He was a keen road ker, and little wonder, for he had [y just finished serving as No. to the famous Buluminski, the

coast as there is on the more populated west coast with its lagoons and sheltered bays. Sheer rocky cliffs end in a small stretch of white sand beach and on top of these— some two hundred feet high—are situated the villages with small temporary settlements for fishermen along the beach. A developing gov ernment has built a wide road that runs parallel with the cliffs and con nects one end of the island with the other for a distance of some 40 miles.

Narrow native tracks run inland across the island and join up with the western coast. (“Tropic Equa tions”, by Don Gordon).

Why are our Public Relations people so loath to give credit, by ignoring exisiting conditions, to a past generation? Surely they must realise that such a policy makes other statements of theirs suspect and loses