PAPUA.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 45, 22 January 1936, Page 12

PAPUA.

A NEW INDUSTRY. About five years ago a small group of Papuan residents and Queensland sugarcane growers formed a company known as Sangara Sugar Estates, Ltd., and secured from the Government of Papua a lease of 20,000 acres of land situated 15 miles inland from Buna Bay, on the north-eastern coast of Papua, for the purpose of growing sugarcane and, if it proved satisfactory for tliis purpose, to erect a factory for the production of raw sugar. The company felled and cleared 50 acres of dense scrub land, planting out both indigenous and Badilla canes — the latter being imported from Queensland. Records of the plant and ratoon crops of each variety of cane have been carefully kept, and the results fully justified the confidence of the members of the company that raw sugar can be produced in Papua m competition with any sugar-produc-ing country in the world. _ To date £12,000 has been expended by the company in experimental work, and the stage has now been reached where the erection of a modern factory is justified. Negotiations have been entered into with oversea capital which is interested in the manufacture of sugar in other Dominions, who lately sent out an expert to inspect the property, and his report is most favourable! There seems little doubt that with the assistance of the Federal Government at the forthcoming conference of representatives of sugar-producing countries to be held in London, in obtaining a quota for Empire sugar for Papua, a sugar factory would be* erected. The capital required for this undertaking, which would include, in addition to a modern factory, a wharf at Buna Bay, railway, etc., would amount to approximately £400,000. Visualising what the 'establishment of the sugar

industry would mean in employment of natives, increased revenue, etc., those in control of Papua have given the members of Sangara Sugar Estates all the help possible during the period the experiments have been carried out. The above statement was obtained in an interview in Sydney with Mr C. G. Rutledge, who is an original shareholder in Sangara Sugar Estates. Mr Rutledge stated that the members of the company are very disappointed with the Jack of interest so far displayed by the Commonwealth Government in the work done by the company. In spite of the fact that the Papuan Government was kept fully advised of all that lias been done, and the oversea expert referred to has confirmed the company’s statement of production costs, which compare more than favourably with any other sugarproducing country, the present Minister of External Affairs (Sir George Pearce) states that sugar cannot be grown commercially in Papua, and therefore should be discouraged. It would, be interesting to know on whose authority Sir George based his opinion. Mr Rutledge stated that it appeared difficult to reconcile this attitude on the part of the Minister of External Affairs with the expressions of other members of the Federal Cabinet, who have more than once stated publicly that if Australia and its dependencies are not soon utilised to their best advantage, then our right to them will end.