NEW GUINEA GOLD

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 154, 27 March 1937, Page 10

NEW GUINEA GOLD

Part Planes Have Played

Probably in no other part of the world has the civilising influence of aviation been so marked as in the case of New Guinea. Only 20 years ago almost any part of inland New Guinea was unsafe for the white man, for the coastal natives were always at war, more or less, with the inland tribes, and head-hunting was as popular as Rugby football iu New Zealand, and a good deal more exciting. Visiting Wellington at present is Mr. Laurence L. Williams, shipping manager for Burns, Philp and Co. at Salamaua, New Guinea. Though this port is not very well known, it is one of considerable importance as it is one of the two ports which serve the goldfields area of New Guinea, a district which is exporting gold at the rate of about £200,000 worth a mouth ou the average.

The other port is Lae, a small port some IS miles along the coast. Salamaua, said Mr. Williams, is a quaint little place, strung out along a sand bank, which, with the headland from which it extends, gives shelter to a halfmoon bay. This is the only piece of flat land in the vicinity, for the coastal mountains rise abruptly to a height of from 5000 to 9000 feet above sea-level, aud as the country has a very heavy rainfall the whole of this almost precipitous mountain country is densely clothed in almost impenetrable bush, through which there are no roads. At the best there are the rough bush tracks of the natives, but by the use of them a journey inland would take 10 days, whereas it can be done by aeroplane in a few hours. Mr. Williams said it was the discovery of gold in the interior which put New Guinea on the aerial map. That discovery was made by two hardy prospectors, Royal ami Glasson, in 1926, not yet 11 years ago, yet the whole destiny of this great land has been changed iu that brief period. They discovered gold in quantity at the head of Edie Creek at an elevation of 7500 feet above sea-level. At about the same time Mr. C. J. Levien, a man of outstanding vigour and foresight, began a movement which resulted in the formation iu Adelaide of the Guinea Gold No Liability Company to win the gold they knew to be there. How to get it out economically was the point. At first they used "boy” carriers, but. finding that method of communication between the diggings and the coast much too laborious, they decided that the air was the only route, and in 1927 purchased the first plane ever used in New Guinea. It was a small one—it carried only 600 pounds weight. That was only the beginning, but it was the beginning of a remarkable development which made possible the establishment in the very heart of the second largest island in the world of a mining town equipped with aerodromes, and wholly supplied with trade goods and machinery bv air. L'p to the end of last year, said Mr. Williams, the machines had landed 32,080 tons of machinery, consisting for tlie most part of four mining dredges and machinery for a hydro-electric plant, and had carried some 45,982 passengers. The machines now being used were threeengined Fords aud Junkers, the largest being the Junkers, each of which was large enough to carry two saloon motorcars or weight up to 71001 b. During the whole of the 10 years the company had lost only two pilots and one passenger, so that, compared with other services, Guinea Airways was a most successful undertaking. The loss of clients’ goods bad amounted to less than £lOO a year on the average. Yet the planes were called upon to do strange things. There was a party of prospectors working about halfway between the coast and the Bulolo field who contracted with the airways company to supply them three times a week with meat, butter and eggs, which were sent to earth by parachute attachments as the planes flew over the spot on their way to the fields.

Included in the services operated by Guinea Airways is regular communication with Port Moresby, the capital of Papua. That is the first port outside Australia at which Australian vessels going to New Guinea call. Passengers may leave the ship at Port Moresby, travel to the goldfields of New Guinea by air, spend 10 to 15 days on the field and join the same steamer on its return to Australia.