Daily Routine

At A Patrol Post

Pomio patrol post, on the south coast of New Britain, is one of 149 stations manned by the Department of Native Affairs

throughout Papua-New Guinea.

THERE are 15 district headquarters, 56 sub-district headquarters and 78 patrol posts or base camps from one end of the big territory to the other.

The patrol post at Pomio covers an area of 2,690 miles, most of it mountainous but with about 150 miles of coastline. It was originally established in 1938 by Mr. P. Molli son, and re-established in 1947, after the war. Present population there is about 15,000.

The Pomio post is an attractive, well-kept station, as the picture at top left shows. As in every other post, the daily routine includes the traditional retreat ceremony, where the guard of constabulary presents arms as the station flag is lowered.

Another regular duty at Pomio, as at any other post, is the running of a banking agency. Here Cadet Patrol Officer Gibbs receives a quantity of money—all in silver—from one of his 240 customers.

And not far away, schoolteacher Peter Hill gets some answers from his bright class of 75 pupils. Pomio school is a typical Crash Education Programme school, and there is also a mission school at Pomio.

At bottom right a party of Pomio schoolgirls enjoy the midday break by having a swim. “Bikinis” are no problem—they design their own with the aid of a few palm fronds.