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New Guinea

Tea In Pre-War

Days

The possibility of commercial tea production in New Guinea was first envisaged in 1939 when the Administration established an experimental tea station at Aiyura, at an altitude of 6,000 ft in the Eastern Highlands

WORK at this station indicated that tea could be grown successfully on a commercial basis, but post-war pioneering planters in the Highlands felt it was safer to stick to coffee, although some of them did put in small experimental tea plots.

Their conservatism towards tea planting was hardly surprising considering the spectacular rise in world coffee prices in the 1950’5.

Nevertheless, the Administration continued its investigations into the commercial possibilities of tea, and Garaina tea plantation in the Waria Valley was established to carry out further experiments.

The original intention was to establish only about 15 acres of tea plantings at Garaina, but the area was eventually extended to 300 acres.

The local women showed im mediate aptitude for tea plucking and there was keen competitioin for employment.

The highly satisfactory results at Garaina led the Administration to replace its cautious attitude to one of confidence in the future of tea in the Territory, and in 1962 it gave firm recommenda tions on commercial tea produc tion.

Interest Revived

This not only revived the in terest of small tea growers, but also served to attract the atten tion of large overseas growers and several local coffee planters.

The first pickings from tea plantations in the Western and Southern Highlands, and from several of Administration experi mental plots in these areas were processed in March, using a port able tea-drier flown from the Garaina plantation.

The results of this miniature manufacture were tasted by Mr.

Richard Bradshaw, a tea broker and professional tea taster, from Wilson Smithett and Co., London, who spent a week visiting tea plantations in the area.

Not only did he comment favourably on the quality of the tea produced, but he was greatly

From a Mount Hagen correspondent impressed with the remarkable speed with which New Guinea tea comes into bearing from seed—probably 18 months faster that that of any other producing country.

Mr. Bradshaw stressed that, since the Territory was probably capable of producing good quality tea, the emphasis must be on quality rather than quantity, because the world supply of in different tea is already almost oversubscribed.

At present the supply and demand is finely balanced throughout the world, and con siderable efforts are being made to increase consumption within tea-drinking countries to maintain this balance.

Mr. Bradshaw said that im proved agricultural methods in established tea-producing countries had resulted in steadily increasing crops, whereas limited capital expenditure on machinery and factory improvements had in some cases resulted in a poorer pro duct due to factory coneestion.

He added that P-NG had a unique opportunity of erecting the world’s most modern and up to-date factories, and that this chance should not be allowed to pass without considerable thought and advice from firms who had learned from other countries’ experience.

Footnote : The first New Guinea tea to go on the market was a trial consignment from Garaina in late 1964. It had been pro cessed at a factory opened at Garaina in August 1962. The tea won ready acceptance at the London auctions as a good type low-grown tea, and sold at a good price.