Sir Donald's

Retirement Is Official

By a Staff Writer

A decision taken in Canberra in April allowing the P-NG Ad

ministrator, Sir Donald Cleland,

to continue in office until the end of the year will ease the the administrative crisis that has been threatening the territory in recent months.

SIR DONALD will shortly an nounce appointment of two new Assistant Administrators and one or two other senior departmental post ings which have been vacant, and which thus helped cause the crisis.

Sir Donald Cleland turns 65 in June. He was due for retirement then. Earlier this year he asked Canberra to allow him to remain in office until the end of the year, as he plans to live in Port Moresby and to build a house there.

Canberra declined the request be cause it was lining-up a new Admini strator in the person of Mr. John Overall, 52, of the National Capital Development Commission, and it wanted the new man to take over the reins quickly and have a say in the selection of his new senior men (for the full details see “Crisis at the Top”, PIM, Mar., p. 11).

But Mr. Overall dropped out of the picture and there does not appear to be anybody else to replace Sir Donald at present. Mr. C. W. J.

Falkinder, whose name is frequently mentioned in Port Moresby as being a possible choice, is not being con sidered for the post.

The Ministerial statement on May 1 announcing Sir Donald’s retirement did not give any of the background of events.

The Minister for Territories, Mr. Barnes, said simply that Sir Donald “had expressed a desire to retire from the end of this year and the Government had agreed to his request”.

The Minister paid high tribute to Sir Donald’s “long and outstanding service”, which started in 1951 when he was appointed Assistant Admini strator. He became Administrator on January 23, 1953, after a period as Acting Administrator.

The decision to allow him to re main for a few extra months has pleased Sir Donald, who had felt that after his long service it was reason able that Canberra should accede to his request.

Although the administrative crisis has been eased there are still many and growing problems in the terri tory, not the least of them the dis content and the low morale in the territory’s Public Service.

A payments scheme for overseas public servants who eventually lose their jobs to local people, and a superannuation scheme for contract workers, will shortly be announced and there are indications that Canberra is working on other plans to help solve its Public Service problem.

And of course the important matter of a new Administrator has not been solved —merely stood over.

Sir Donald Cleland

Currently a key man in Canberra on New Guinea matters is Mr. G. Warwick Smith, Secretary of the Department of Territories.

He works closely with the Minister, Mr.

C. E. Barnes.