Australia Active

On West New

Guinea Border

The most isolated patrol post

i Papua-New Guinea is being

stablished at Olsevip, high in

le Star Mountains in the far

orth-west corner of Papua.

T will bring a measure of . civilisation to 5,000 Faiwolmin lountain-men and to an extremely rimitive group of 300 semi-nomads ho live in a remote valley into hich no white man has yet been.

The Star Mountains, rearing to low-capped peaks of over 13,000 let, span the border with Indonesian test New Guinea.

In valleys shrouded by mist and it off behind jagged ridges have yed tribes who knew nothing of ie outside world and followed a ay of life in which ritual scarce imoved from the Stone Age played ie dominant role.

Since Indonesia took over from 'olland in West New Guinea, -NG’s Administration has been >ending big money in the Western id Sepik Districts along the border, itablishing a string of patrol posts ) watch the tracks linking the ustralian Territory with West New uinea.

Top Priority

It is top-priority policy to bring ie entire border area under control ; quickly as possible.

About a year ago Patrol Officer D. Fitzer with another officer, ) native constables and 30 carriers lent 184 days exploring the foothills I the Star Mountains—they had ;en sent to contact the people and id a suitable airstrip site.

They slogged through country om 2,000 to 8,000 feet high, over mestone ridges, down gorges, over aoded mountain streams and irough rain forests where they had ) hack every yard of the way with ush knives.

Among the Faiwolmins they found “foreign” group of 300 extreme rimitives who had never before :en a white man. Except for a snital gourd the men went naked.

They planted a few vegetables and loved about the country hunting igs and birds.

Fitzer found only one site suit ble for an airstrip—this was at

Olsevip in the headwaters of the Fly River, 280 air miles from Daru.

It was perched 800 feet above the Fly—the only piece of flat land in more than 2,000 square miles of Faiwolmin tribal territory.

Four months ago, a second party under Patrol Officer Mike O’Conner flew from Kiunga to Telefomin, then walked to the site.

They told the Failwolmins the strip would bring the aircraft which before they had seen only from a distance.

This caused a sensation—several hundred natives turned out demand ing picks and shovels so they could work on the project.

O’Conner cleared a heliport and built a rest house.

For the past few weeks a helicopter

based on the Upper Fly has lifted five tons of suppies to the new post.

It has been making return trips with one ton of cargo in only 70 minutes.

District Officer lan Holmes says that material was first shipped to Kiunga by Administration launch— from there to the helicopter base 70 miles upstream it was taken by outboard canoe.

It was unloaded at the farthest navigable part of the Fly and taken in a further 55 miles by helicopter.

But much work remains to be done before the airstrip opens. The area is covered with limestone boulders which are proving difficult to remove.

But the strip should be open within the next three months.

Two patrol officers are to be stationed at Olsevip,