Natives Wanted To Elect Or Buy Johnson

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30401, 28 March 1964, Page 13

Natives Wanted To Elect Or Buy Johnson

(N.Z P -A.-Reuter— Copy right)

PORT MORESBY, March 26. President Lyndon Johnson was not among the candidates in Papua— New Guinea’s first general election, but for the 7000 natives of one tiny island in the territory he was the only man they wanted. When told thty could not elect President Johnson to the new House of Assembly the natives set out to “buy” him They even raised £443 before Administration officials put a stop to the scheme.

Papua-New Guinea’s first general election under a common roll, in which both natives and whites had an equal chance of returning a candidate, ended on March 18 after a polling period which began on February 15. The natives who wanted to buy President Johnson live on the tiny island of New Hanover in the north of New Guinea. The trouble started when New Hanover was visited by a United States Air Force geodetic survey team.

Bos Mailik, a 20-year-old native of New Hanover, acted as mediator between the Americans and the native population. The Air Force paid well with American goods for vegetables and other services, and Bos was soon an important man in his home village. An Australian plantation manager on the island, Mr Stanley Weston, said recently that when they left the island, the Americans told Bos there

were plenty more goods available in the United States and Lyndon Johnson was “the man to see about them.” After the Americans left, Bos lost bis standing on the island, and then decided the obvious thing to do was to bring President Johnson to New Hanover, when American goods would return. This was at the start of the elections.

Bos gathered his followers from Materankan village, and on the first voting day, and patrol officer, Mr I. T. Spencer was greeted at the island’s headquarters to Taskul by a crowd of about 1000 natives who demanded the right to vote for President Johnson. Mr Spencer refused and sent the natives back to their village. Mr Weston said Bos was incensed at this statement and ordered his followers, who still numbered about 1000 of the island’s total population of 7000 not to pay this tax (about £3 a year) to the native local government council. Instead, Bos told them, they should gather the money to buy President Johnson, who would come and rule the island.

The District Commissioner, Mr Mick Healy, from the port of Kavieng on the island of New Ireland, went to New Hanover. In his official report on the incident, Mr Healy said Bos immediately backed down when he confronted him, and Bos handed over the £A443 which he had collected to buy President Johnson.