VOLCANIC AREA

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 156, 3 June 1937, Page 7

VOLCANIC AREA

SCENE OF ERUPTION. ADMINISTRATIVE CENTRE. Except for a few small administrative stations scattered along the coast of the is] I id, Rabaul, which appears to have been the centre of the volcanic eruption in New Guinea, is the only aprpeciable settlement on the island of New Britain. It is the main administrative centre of the mandated territory ,of New Guinea. The population consists of a minor section of Europeans who conduct

the administration of the area and are employed by the important trading companies. There are few European traders. Chinese traders and artisans have a separate quarter, and there is a wide assortment of natives, whose many' types are encountered nowhere else in the South Pacific REGION OF VOLCANOES. According to Mr W. R. McGregor, head of the biology department of Auckland University College, who is well acquainted with the scene of the disaster, Rabaul is on Simpson’s Haven, itself apparently a flooded crater of an extinct volcano, which is an inlet of Blanche Bay. The township is built on a swamp ledge of flat land surrounding the bay, and the majority of the buildings and bungalows of the Europeans are erected on j elevated piles to escape tbe excessive

dampness of superabundant rainfall. I The whole region is remarkable for the intensity of its volcanic activity. In the immediate vicinity of Rabaul there are three large extinct cones which throw their shadows across the | town. On the slopes " of the cone I nearest to the town, North Daughter, there is the parasitic crater of Mount

Matupi, which is within two miles of the settlement. It has shown disturbing signs of activity for many years past, and actually owes its origin to a violent eruption which occurred in 1878. FORMER ERUPTION. Terrific earthquakes and tidal waves accompanied this upheaval, which caused what is now known as Vulcan Island to rise from the sea bed to a height of 60ft. out of the water. It lias since shown considerable subsidence. Another island in <

Blanche Bay, Matupi, which now supports a thriving native community, was cut off from the mainland during the former eruption by the submergence of a neck of a peninsula. The Beehive Rocks, jutting out of the sea some distance off shore in Blanche Bay, are the remnants of a former island, which was said to have been sufficiently extensive to support five populous villages, { Miii'or eruptions have frequently shaken Rabaul. The prevalence of | earth tremors is indicated by the fix- j tore of heavy furniture, such as wardrobes, to the walls of the European homes. Water tanks rest close to the ground, with holes beneath the taps in which to place buckets.

■LIFE OF RABAUL. The original German settlors planned the layout of the township in picturesque fashion. Fine trees line the streets, and afford excellent shelter from the tropical sun. The buildings of the main street are largely hidden from view, except while one is abreast of them. Conditions among the natives are still rather primitive, and drainage and sanitation-are practically unknown. ' \ , ■' j Surrounding the village are many coconut plantations, dating back to early German colonisation. Copra is the principal p/odiict of the island, where the importation of food constitutes a major problem to the inhabitants. Refrigeration of fresh meat has reduced this worry in recent years, but it is still necessary for all vegetables and milk to be imported in cans. Natives hold daily markets in the streets, and exchange their wares, mostly fruits. They appreciate the value of money, their coinage being shillings, but still called marks, as a further reminder of earlier German influence. Where money is not available, a form of barter enters the markets. Fourteen miles from Rabaul lies Ivokopo, which was the main centre of the island until HXXi. The, Germans then moved their headquarters to Rabaul, doubtless on account of the greater shipping facilities and the ideal harbour provided by Simpson’s Haven.