OFF TO NEW GUINEA.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 71, 7 November 1911, Page 8

OFF TO NEW GUINEA.

ANTHBOPOLOGICAL EXPE DITION

W ELLIN GTO N STU J )EN T S MISSION.

Mr i). Jonness, of Ballinl College, Oxford, who arrived in "Wellington from London by the lonic last week, oil an anthropological expedition to New Guinea, left Wellington last Friday for Sydney, on route to the scene of his operations. More than passing interest attaches to Mr Jonness’ plans, because he belongs to Wellington, lining a son of Mr G. L. .Jonness, of Lower Hntt. After a brilliant career at Wellington College, and Viotoiia University College, where 1 10 graduated with first-class honours in classics, ho proceeded to Oxford in DOS, as the holder of several scholarships from New Zealand. At Oxford fie gained the Diploma of Anthropology.

Some details of his mission were furnished yesterday by Mr Jemfsss, in the course of an interview with a “Times” reporter. The Expedition is under the auspices of the University of Oxford as represented by the Committee for Anthropology. The sum of money required for the purpose has been made up out of consider-: able grants of equal amount fui'nished, by the Common University Fund and Halliol, Magdalen, and Bruscnoso Colleges, whilst smaller but still considerable contributions of varying amount have been made by Exeter, Lincoln, Corpus Christ! Colleges, Christ Church, and Jesus college Sir William Anson and Dr. Arthur Evans have likewise in a private capacity afforded welcome help to the expedition fund. There is a condition that whatever specimens or native handiwork are procured, duplicates excepted, shall be offered as presents to the Pitt-Riv ors Museum.

GoodcnoygEi Island. 'The Committee for Anthropology selected Mr denuess to undertake the work of exploration. lie will leave Sydney for Papua- on November 17th. Mi- Jonness will take as his base of operations Bwifodoga, on Gondeuough island, one of the almost unknown f)’Antrceasteaux Group, off the south-

oust coast of Now Guinea. When Sir William Maegregor arranged for the partition of British New Guinea amongst ttsc various missionary societies, the- islands of South-East New Guinea fell to the Met!',odists, ami the sta--1 ion of llwaicloga is one of the latest fruits of their enterprise. Missionary Co-operation. Tim ilov. A. Balhiatync, wiio is in enlarge of the Id Bntreeasleanx Group, will lender Mr •ienness all l!ta assistj aura in. his power, and the help of the I .Methodist missionaries in that region ! is similarly assured. The idaatonanti Governor of Papua, liau. -). B. P. I Murray, i’.as .riven Ids fall approve.! j to the expedition as thus arranged, I and has promised it his oineiai supj port. Air deimcss wiil prnhaUy ho- ) gin with a general survey of the D’JOn- | trceastcanx Group, hut as soon as he I has got thorouirtdy into touch with j the nalives lie hopes to he aide to saij tie dawn to a detailed study of Good- .• enough Island in particular. The exlamination of its trade relations, how-

ever, may entail a visit to the neighbouring Trobilands. , If it prove pos- I sible, no will also proceed as tar afield as Rosscl Island, where certain ethnological problems of peculiar interest await solution. A Year’s Operations. Mr Jenness’ work will occupy him for at least twelve months. \\ it bin two years from,the completion of his operations he has to send in his report to Oxford University authorities, do will, study the habits and customs, arts and religion of tiie inhabitants, who are thought to lie an inter-mix-ture of Melanesian and Papuan peoples. Goodenougii Island, which has an area of '.thirty miles by forty, is little known to the outside world, and has remained practically untouched. Cannibalism is known to exist among the natives of the interior. Thera is very little literature on this subject at the present time, except what is contained in Government reports, Blue Books, and stray articles now and then in missionary papers. “But,” says Mr Jenness, •‘these arc of a sketchy nature. The principal book is that written by Dr. Seligmann, oj“ Cambridge, in 1907, but ho did not touch the extreme southeasterly corner of New Guinea, to which my work will he mostly confined. The interior of Goodenougii Island is quite unexplored. There is a Methodist mission station on a

corner of the island recently established, and Mthongh the missionary in charge has not yet been right into tiie interior ho knows the natives around the station, and so it ought to be fairly easy to work one’s way inland.”