HEROINE OF GOLDFIELDS.

Waikato Times, Volume 102, Issue 17006, 20 January 1927, Page 9

HEROINE OF GOLDFIELDS.

SAVED STRICKEN MEN. HAZARDOUS TREK. There is a woman on the Bulolo gold'flelds whose name never will be forgotten by the men who are seeking weallh in the wilds of New Guinea. She is Mrs Dorothy Booth, who was on the field before many of the men who are there to-day. Three years ago—long before the richness of the field was known —Mrs Booth joined her husband, who was one of the original prospectors at Bulolo. She was unaccompanied, except by native carriers, and undertook a journey which would daunt many men. Mrs Booth travelled through mountainous country which had been seldom traversed by white men, and which was occupied by tribes of hostile natives. From Salamoa, where she landed, Mrs Booth -walked for several days through extremely rough country, her only guide being native tracks. Mrs Booth has remained on the field practically without a break, and when news of rich discoveries reached ] the outside world and the rush set in for Edie Creek she made a name for herself which the miners will never forgst. White men and native carriers making for the field were stricken with dysentery, and Mrs Booth glalaotly rose to the occasion and nursed many a sick man back to health. She established a hospital for the natives near her house, and worked day and night to save their lives. The ranks of carriers, upon which the miners solely depend for their food supplies, would have been sadly depleted but for the efforts of Mrs Booth, who is known among the men as "The Angel of Bulolo." Mr N. P. 11. Neal, who reached Sydney from the goldflelds last week, stated that the miners, in appreciation of the. heroic decd-s of Mrs Booth, had decided to show it in a practlwl way. The Morobe Miners' District Association has opened a fund to secure a gift, and to which £IOO was quickly subscribed.