CANNIBALS AND GOLD

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 689, 14 June 1929, Page 10

CANNIBALS AND GOLD

PROSPECTORS TELL OF NEW GUINEA SUPPLIES BY AIRPLANE (Special to THE SUN) OAMARU, Thursday. The development of the goldfields in New Guinea by a Melbourne syndicate is described by | Mr. Ivan Paterson, formerly of Oamaru, in letters to friends. “The finest in the world” is the description given by Mr. Paterson and his companion, Mr. Macdonald, also of Oamaru, to the climate of the upper tablelands of the country inland, in striking contrast to the feverstricken coastal regions. At their camp on the fringe of the unexplored country they meet natives reputed to be cannibals. They are a shy race and difficult to photograph, the sight of a camera or a gramophone sending them flying to the j woods for safety. They have, howj ever, become used to calling on the ! prospectors and bartering food for | trinkets and knives. Pineapples, j banana palms, breadfruit trees and | all kinds of vegetables grow in pro- | fusion in a cultivated patch near the ; camp. i Mr. Paterson hopes to build an hydi aulic plant in the Upper Watat claims, which are alluvial. They are easy to work, such troubles as fre<zmgamishortage of water, common m the Shotover fields of Otago, being bnm o fv! n ' "t water race has been built through the jungle. ! . Su PPiies reach the men bv air- ° £ the , New Guinea Always Company, with its headquarters at M au, 0,400 ft above sea level. Two Junkers freight-carriers and a Moth and Se m S ? r P! , ane are USed ’ A railroad ! and m °t°r highways are now being ! su ,7 eyed from the coast to Wau, 60 ! T ® tnland, and then on to the top ° ev ek C dle Plaleau - 7.000 ft above sea