Wau/Bulolo is not a poor man’s field

By MALUM NALU

A powerful new book on the history of the famous Wau/Bulolo goldfields of Morobe province, to be launched by renowned Papua New Guinea friend Professor Ross Garnaut at the State Library of New South Wales in Sydney on August 19, promises to tell the story of the goldrush as it has never been told before.

Not A Poor Man’s Field (book cover below), by Australian Michael Waterhouse, explores Australia’s colonial experience in New Guinea before World War 11 – a unique but little-known period in PNG and Australian history.

Back in May 2008, Waterhouse (pictured below) corresponded briefly with me about the book he’d written on the Morobe goldfields pre-war, and although things had moved ever so slowly, it is my pleasure to report that the book has finally become a reality.

It is a big book of 120,000 words plus end notes, 150 photographs and seven maps and has been financially supported by Barrick, Morobe Mining Joint Ventures, Bank South Pacific, Lihir Gold Ltd and PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum.

Waterhouse has close family ties to the pre-war goldfields, his grandfather Leslie Waterhouse having been a pivotal player in their development, as a director of the largest gold-mining company, Bulolo Gold Dredging, and the biggest airline, Guinea Airways.

“My relationship with Wau and Bulolo is through my grandfather, who from his Sydney base oversighted the development of BGD’s operations from the time of his first visit in 1929 to his death in 1945, at which time he was planning the resumption of its operations after the war,” he tells The National.

“He travelled there regularly but left day-to-day management in the hands of a general manager.

“He was a director of Placer Development, Bulolo Gold Dredging and Guinea Airways and so was pivotal to much of what happened pre-war.

“I embarked on researching and writing the book after being asked to write an article on him for the Australian Dictionary of Biography.”

First copies of A Poor Man’s Field are expected to arrive in Port Moresby next month for sale at the University of PNG Bookshop, and the PNG launch to will be on October 15 at the Crowne Plaza in Port Moresby.

Waterhouse and his wife are coming to Port Moresby on October 4, overnight, and then travel on to the fabled Morobe gold towns of Lae, Wau, Bulolo and Salamaua – in a historical tour de force - before returning to Port Moresby for the book launch.

He says that Not A Poor Man’s Field is not simply another “white man’s history” as he explores the experience of villagers and indentured labourers as best as he can in the absence of written records.

“For the record,” Waterhouse expounds, “while the sub-title refers to it being an ‘Australian colonial history’, this is because the main market is in Australia and the book has to be positioned as ‘Australian history’ to be commercially-viable.

“However, I’ve gone to considerable lengths to bring a New Guineans perspective to the history.

“This is not simply another ‘white man’s history’.

“I do feel strongly about this – it is your country’s history as well, and I’ll make this point at every opportunity.”

Not A Poor Man’s Field is a dramatic account of small miners, an extraordinarily rich gold discovery, visionaries and the construction of giant dredges, power stations and townships in a remote jungle area

It is also the story of how risk-taking pilots, flying aeroplanes ranging from single-engine plywood biplanes to large Junkers G31 freighters, opened up an otherwise impenetrable country.

New Guinea led the world in commercial aviation throughout the 1930s; world records were often set and as often broken.

The book discusses early encounters between villagers and Europeans from both white and black perspectives, as well as the indentured labour system which drew New Guineans to the goldfields from all over the country.

Other themes include the camaraderie of white settlers in an alien environment, race relations in a colonial society, the ineffectiveness of Australia’s administration of New Guinea under a League of Nations mandate and the Japanese invasion and its consequences.

The book takes a multi-disciplinary approach, analysing the colonial experience from economic, social, ethnographic and political/administrative perspectives.

 It also conveys a compelling sense of time and place by extensively quoting participants, both black and white, and through the judicious selection of old photographs.

The result is a portrait of unforgettable contrasts.

Not A Poor Man’s Field takes its name from the Administrator of New Guinea, Brigadier General Evan Wisdom, who when trying to discourage Australians rushing to the goldfields in 1926, wrote: “A poor man’s field in Australia is understood to be a field to which a man without anything can go with his swag and live by the gold he gets from the field; he is not dependent on anyone helping him. He can go out with a swag and a tin of ‘dog’ and get enough gold to keep him going. But you must have natives here to help you, and money to pay them, money to carry you there, and on when you get there; therefore it is not a poor man’s field.”

The title conveys a sense of why this goldfield was so different to any other and encapsulates a theme that re-emerges throughout the book and prevails to this day.

The author decided to write this book after being asked to write an article about his grandfather, Leslie Waterhouse, for the Australian Dictionary of Biography.

He soon realised that he was uncovering, layer by layer, the dramatic story of a little-known period in Australia’s and PNG’s history, one largely obscured by the passage of time and the destruction of records by the Japanese during WW11.

“Many Australian publishers have a view that ‘books on Papua New Guinea don’t sell’,” Waterhouse elaborates.

“This raised the important question as to how a country such as PNG can develop a sense of its own national identity if no-one will publish its history.

“A second question was how Australians can be expected to engage practically with its nearest neighbour if they know so little of the historical relationship between the two countries.

“A primary objective, therefore, has been to provide Papua New Guineans with a fresh perspective on their own history and Australians with a better appreciation of our historical relationship at a time when political and economic relationships are becoming more complex.

“The book has been written for a general audience, although it breaks new ground in a number of areas and is multi-disciplinary in its approach.”

Waterhouse hopes his book will encourage academics in both countries to embark on further research into, and help develop a broader understanding of the history of the Australia-PNG relationship.

Waterhouse has recreated a period that has been largely obscured by time and the destruction of records during WW11.

In doing so, he has drawn on diverse and often unexpected source, with insights gained from studies in anthropology at Sydney University and in economics and economic history at the Australian National University.

His experience in senior positions with government (the Commonwealth Treasury) and in business (with Westpac and as a consultant) has also enabled him to explore the commercial, financial and government dimensions in depth.

Not A Poor Man’s Field is available through bookshops in Australia and from the UPNG Bookshop in PNG.

In Australia, the recommended retail price is $59.95.

You can also purchase copies through this website http://www.notapoormansfield.com/  for only $50 plus postage and handling.

Please note that the book is unlikely to be available until mid-August in Australia and October in PNG.

One hundred copies of a Special Limited Edition of Not A Poor Man’s Field are also available for purchase.

Each copy contains four Bulolo stamps, showing a Junkers G31 flying over the goldfields flanked by a Spanish galleon and a white miner panning for gold, with a New Guinea villager looking over his shoulder.

The stamps are mounted in a panel on the front of the book, which is bound in maroon reconstituted leather, with headbands and marker ribbon, decorated and lettered on the spine and decorated on the front, all in gilt.

These stamps were used by Bulolo Gold Dredging to post gold bars back to Australia in the 1930s and early 1940s and are therefore genuine artefacts from the pre-war New Guinea goldfields.

The Special Edition also includes a brief statement by the acting chief post master at Rabaul in 1935 on the cost of posting gold bars, together with a first-hand account by one of the pilots of the unusual way the gold was transported.

As the gold was carried in all sorts of conditions by plane from Bulolo to Port Moresby and then by ship to Australia, some of the stamps have minor perforation damage or slight staining.

 In selecting the stamps, preference has been given to those whose image is largely unobscured by the post office cancellation.

The cost of each Special Edition copy is $A300, including postage and handling within Australia.

New book on food and agriculture in Papua New Guinea

By MALUM NALU

Agriculture dominates the rural economy of Papua New Guinea.

More than five million rural dwellers, representing 80% of the population, earn a living from subsistence agriculture and selling crops in domestic and international markets.

Hence, it is only fitting that Food and Agriculture in Papua New Guinea (cover pictured), the most up-to-date and arguably the most-informative publication ever done on the subject in the country, was launched in Port Moresby on  Friday August 6, 2010,  by former deputy prime minister Sir Puka Temu.

The book is edited by Dr Michael Bourke of The Australian National University, a household name in agriculture in Papua New Guinea, and Tracy Harwood, and is a welcome addition to PNG literature when reliable and up-to-date statistics about the country are as rare as hen’s teeth.

Contributing editors apart from Dr Bourke are Dr Bryant Allen, Dr Matthew Allen, Dr Andrew McGregor, Prof John Gibson, Prof Alan Quartermain, Dr Kate Barclay and Dr Jean Kennedy.

Many aspects of agriculture in PNG are described in this data-rich book of 650 pages, which took eight years to research and write from 2001-2008.

Topics include agriculture environments in which crops are grown; production of food crops, cash crops and animals; land use; soils; demography; migration; the macro-economic environment; gender issues; governance of agricultural institutions; and transport.

The history of agriculture over the 50,000 years that PNG has been occupied by humans is summarised.

Much of the information presented is not readily available within PNG.

The book contains results of many new analyses, including a food budget for the entire nation.

The text is supported by 165 tables and 215 maps and figures.

“Basically, we received a grant from AusAID to do a project which was called ‘Information for Rural Development in Papua New Guinea’,” Dr Bourke tells The National.

“And this book is one of the components of the project.

“What we’ve done is we’ve assembled a huge amount of information relevant to agriculture in PNG.

“This covers issues like the physical environment, land and people, and secondly, we’ve got a lot of information on food production, consumption and imports on village food production systems and cash income from agricultural development, policies and governance.

“Some of the things that are in the book include a major section on the history of agriculture in PNG.

“There is a lot of data on the production of staple food crops.

“This date covers all of the cash crops, both in the formal sector such as coffee and cocoa, and in the informal sector such as fresh food, betelnut or firewood.

“We look at the factors that will determine whether a cash crop will be successful or not, and we’ve also examined a number of issues relevant to agricultural development such as rural development projects, gender issues and transport infrastructure.”

One of the outstanding things this book does is to dispel 20 common “myths” about agriculture in PNG, which are:

1.      Food production is not keeping pace with population growth;

2.      PNG is a food-deficit country;

3.      Papua New Guineans live mainly on imported rice;

4.      Imports of rice are increasing rapidly;

5.      The Australian Administration did not promote rice production in PNG and Australians are attempting to stop local rice production to protect the Australian rice industry;

6.      During the 1997-1998 food shortages, Australians saved many Papua New Guineans from starving to death with an emergency famine relief programme;

7.      Imported meat, particularly lamb flaps from Australia and New Zealand, is increasing rapidly in volume;

8.      Lamb flaps are an unhealthy food;

9.      PNG agriculture has not changed for thousands of years. The practices and crops that are used today are traditional and unchanging;

10.  PNG has an abundance of high-quality land for agriculture and any tropical crop will grow well anywhere in PNG;

11.  With the exception of palm oil, production of export cash crops is static (sometimes expressed as: production is the same now as it was in 1975 at independence);

12.  Women do most of the work producing food in PNG;

13.  Villagers have a lot of spare time and it does not matter to them how much labour is used to produce a certain crop;

14.  Agricultural production is seriously constrained by customary land tenure arrangements;

15.  There are few roads in PNG and this reduces agricultural production;

16.  There is little information about PNG agriculture with which to develop sound policy, or for planning;

17.  There is significant potential to export fresh food to New Zealand, Australia and South-East Asia;

18.  Global climate change is now causing significant problem for many people on very small islands;

19.  There is no poverty in rural PNG because there is plenty of food to eat; and

20.  Poor governance of agricultural institutions does not matter because rural people grow their own food and look after themselves.

The good news for PNG is that the book is being distributed freely throughout the country by the University of PNG Bookshop.

“We’ve received a grant from AusAID to publish and distribute 4,000 copies,” Dr Bourke tells The National.

“So the book is being very widely distributed in PNG to universities, government departments, commercial sector, high schools and individuals.

“Extra copies can be obtained by sending an email to Sue Rider at sue.rider@anu.edu.au.

“As well, all the tables in the book will be available as Excel files on the new website PNGweb.com.

“The website is not yet public but will be in about one month.”

The concept for this book was developed by Dr Bourke, Dr Bryant Allen and Prof John Gibson.

The idea was presented to the PNG National Agriculture Research institute, Department of Agriculture and Livestock, and Department of National Planning and Monitoring.

Staff at these institutions including Raghunath Ghodake, Valentine Kambori, Mathew Kanua, Roy Masumdu and Geoff Wiles, supported the idea, commented on the proposal and suggested additional material.

Many people from the commercial sector, industry bodies and government departments in PNG provided data, as did some based in Australia and elsewhere.

Some sections were sent to specialists for comments.

Most of the information on village-sector agriculture was collected from hundreds of people from every district in PNG who willingly gave their time and immense knowledge about their food production and cash crop systems.

The book was produced by members of the Land Management Group, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University.

A colourful nation denied of its reward

From MAVARA HANUA

 

One of the joys of growing up in Papua New Guinea is to the big singsings that happen yearly or even the colourful church activities. 

I vividly remember Independence Day and the host of color from all part of the country.

 From the majestic plums drifting on the head pieces of the mighty men and women of the highlands, electrifying rhythmic chants and drums from the New Guinea islands, carvings and dances that depict mystical stories of the Momase people and the spectacular nautical innovations of the tribes from the southern region.

So things are not the same, we have lost some of our old ways and we are sometimes accused of not honoring our culture.

 But we have been progressive and as a result, we have forged an identity that resonates a nation of many tongues. 

From Patti Doi and Betty Toea’s music booming in PMVs that are owned by Highlanders, colorful fabrics that depict tapa patterns from the Orokaiva worn by our sisters and mothers, bilums from the highlands carrying our precious love ones, delicacies rich in nutrients that was only available in the rivers, islands and highlands are now available to everyone.

Our culture indeed transcends our way of life but with the absence of political and policy direction, this resource has been underutilised and in some tragic instances, stolen, abused and lost. 

So the question has to be asked, is it worth investing our resources to protect, promote and preserve our culture and heritage?

 Apart from nostalgic and patriotic excitement, is it worth it? 

Absolutely.

It separates us from the rest of the world, it provides us the unique opportunity to help humanity from fighting diseases to resolving conflicts, and more importantly, to empower our people to move away from poverty.

 Indeed for many years, economic, industry and investment planners have not looked at the possibility of the culture, or to be more generic, the creative industry, as a tool for growth.

A few entities have been burning the torch for this sector. 

From the tireless efforts of the National Cultural Commission in preserving and promoting our culture here and abroad, super artists Jeffery and his brother Mairi Feeger blowing the international scene by storm, legendary musos Auirikeke, Ben Hakalitz, Telek and the darling of the garment industry, Florence ‘Bilum Lady’ Jaukae,  are all making major inroads internationally. 

But guys, this is only a speck of what’s in our country. 

  Take some time and wonder in and out of the craft markets, church activities, clubs, galleries and even the bus stops, you’ll see the talent of our people.

But tragically like anything when it comes to money, those that want to make it ride on the talented and end up sucking them dry. 

From paying them merely nothing for the creativity they’ve done, pirating designs and music and outright theft. 

Many of our people in the creative industry are dying without knowing their rights.

 They live in a cage that their employees, agents and promoters don’t tell them what that they are entitled to.

 From song writers, performers, sound engineers, artisans, dance troupes, cultural groups, weavers, carvers, traditional medicinal owners and many others are being denied of their wealth.

They need to usurp these rights so that they may be rewarded of their creativity and heritage. 

These rights will ensure users are able to pay them fees so that they may feed and clothe their children and more importantly, continue creating their products or preserving culture. 

Whether intellectual property and traditional knowledge protection, our people need to move into this area so that their rights are protected and they are able to utilise it for wealth creation in the market place.

So next time when you purchase a pirated CD, Made In China crap flogging it off as a PNG design, bullshit food that’s not from our land or designs on fabrics stolen, think of the people you have denied that revenue.     

For it is their love of life we bathe ourselves of our identity.  

Black Friday at Weigh Inn Hotel

By GRAHAM POPLE

Manager

 

Friday the 13^th August, 2010, certainly seemed to be aptly named on this most recent occasion.

 Self living at the Weigh Inn Hotel, Konedobu, where I was then Manager.  

Invariably awake at 0400 or thereabouts and have time to have a cup of tea and take my tablet before beginning work at 0500.  

On this occasion had to forego both the tablet and the cup of tea as I slept in till just after 5am.

 A quick shower and shave and dressed and down to the front desk by about 5.15 where once again the Post-Courier had failed to fulfil the order of two copies of the paper.  

Tried to fax complaint through but unable to connect. 

 Eventually sent by email which I had also done the day before and received an assurance that everything had been fixed.  

Friday proved that it hadn’t.

 Opened up the office and storeroom and began counting the floats and mild trouble again and had to re-count both of them but eventually got it right.   

 Sub-conscious helping me to create mistakes??

 Muddled through most of the day with only the usual mild hiccups.

 Friday is our busiest evening as we have a raffle, a patron draw, and a key draw prize for those members who belong to the Jig Saw Club.  

 Patron draw is that everyone attending in the bar is invited to put their name into a hat and then one name is drawn out at 7.30pm and that patron is then given K100 – hopefully to spend here and not take home.

The TV had been turned on in anticipation of everyone wanting to watch the match between the Broncos and the Eels.  

 Just before 7pm. John Young drew my attention to the ceiling over the entrance to the Marsden room where it was getting very damp.

 Raced upstairs to Room 22 where greeted by Paul Kipau whose wife was busy mopping up the floor which had been flooded.  

Paul apologised and explained that their young son had, without their noticing, turned on the tap over the hand basin, which was partially blocked and the water had spilled over onto the floor.

 Back downstairs to find out that, in my absence, the water had flooded into the control room behind the TV and spilled onto the four-socket extension lead, causing everything to short out.

About the same time, Toddy and Doug Booker had turned up and I appealed to them and they came to the rescue.

Eventually managed after a couple of mistakes to find a substitute four-socket extension lead which Toddy and Doug took control of and bingo,  TV and the rugby league match were back in operation.

 However there was further strife as Doug and Toddy told me that water was still leaking down so back to Room 22.   

Here it was noticed that the toilet cistern had jammed and water was spilling out of the cistern.  

Inlet tap closed and Paul advised that when he wanted to use the toilet to turn on the tap again and let the cistern fill and then turn tap off again.

Half an hour or so of very high stress and then the usual raffle, patron and key draw had to be done.  

This was successfully carried out with Geoff Balfour’s name being drawn as the winner of K1, 300 but he had left a couple of days before and you have to be present to win the prize.

 All was not lost, however, as yours truly won a leg of ham in the raffle draw which Kata is supposed to pick up today and use for his family.

 The remainder of the evening was uneventful, everyone enjoying a sing along after the other bad happening which was that Broncos lost to the Eels.

 Fearful of more trouble I decamped to my room at 9pm and managed the rest of the night without further ills.

 Thought you might get some enjoyment out of reading about my troubles.   

After all – ALL IS WELL THAT ENDS WELL.

 I have just noticed that in 2011 there will be another August Friday 13^th.  

Will be wary!!!

 

Happy 6th Birthday Moasing Nalu

Happy Birthday to our Princess, Moasing Nalu, who turns six today.

How so much has happened since August 13, 2004, when you were born.

I still remember that day so clearly as if it was yesterday.

Mum, sadly, won't be with us today but we know she'll be celebrating with us.

Love from 'Baby' Keith, Gedi, Jr Malum and Dad.

We'll have lots of cake and ice cream today.

The going price of loyalty

From PAUL OATES

The going price of loyalty to the Somare regime  - two million kina
It is reported in the PNG media that Prime Minister Somare and his son,Arthur Somare, arranged for members of the their government coalition to be paid K2m each, immediately after Speaker Nape adjourned Parliament in July this year.
Apparently these payments were claimed to be District Support Improvement Programme (DSIP).
Yet it is reported that the Finance Department were instructed not to pay members of the Opposition their DSIP funds.
When challenged by MP Sam Basil, sources at the PNG Department of Finance reportedly confirmed that an unequal disbursement had been made in direct contravention of the PNG Constitution.
The funds were, "to keep the government in power', Department of Finance staff are quoted as saying.
It seems public funds now clearly and openly are being used as bribes to keep Somare and his family in power.

Nau igat wanpla lida,
I tok, 'Nau mi lukim ples klia,
Bai mi baim ol lain,
Na stop longpla taim,
Tasol husat igiamon yumi a?

______________________________________________________

Today's The National
Govt MPs get K2mil each
Source:
By JEFFREY ELAPA
ABOUT 50 members of the ruling coalition government were each paid K2 million to lure support from other members so they could remain in power, sources within the Finance Department revealed yesterday.
The sources said former acting finance minister and treasurer Arthur Somare and Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare allegedly instructed the department to immediately release K2 million each to the 50 members of the government coalition as per their listing soon after parliament ad-journed last month.
The sources also revealed that the department was advised not to release any district support improvement programme (DSIP) funds to the members of the opposition.
According to the sources, the normal transfer process was that the finance secretary would advise  the Bank of PNG to release the funds to the district treasuries after acquittals of previous funds were furnished.
However, the finance and treasury sources admitted that the normal financial management processes of transfer of funds to the district treasuries were not followed.
The funds were dished out to MPs.
Documents revealed that MPs in government were allegedly paid K2 million each straight after Speaker Jeffery Nape adjourned parliament to Nov 16.
Another source confirmed that the funds, from part of the DSIP, were paid out from the Department of National Planning office and collected by individual MPs in person straight after the adjournment.
A bank document obtained by The National showed that national planning deposited K2 million into one member's DSIP account on July 26, five days after parliament adjourned on July 21.
The sources could not confirm if each of the recipients of the funds had submitted their acquittals.
The sources admitted they had to act on political instructions to release the funds, whether or not the processes were followed, as they feared losing their jobs.
However, they said each member of parliament was entitled to K60 million of DSIP funds.
They would receive these funds as and when the secretary gave the approval for the transfer of the funds after receiving their acquittals.
The sources could not confirm when and how much each member of parliament was going to be paid, but it was the secretary's discretion to do so.
Staff at the Department of Finance spoke out after Bulolo MP Sam Basil approached them about his electorate's DSIP funds.
Staff did not divulge much due to the presence of journalists accompanying Basil.
However, the workers did admit that the funds were allegedly not disbursed equally as stipulated in the constitution.
They said many members had not completed their acquittals but were paid the funds to "help the government stay in power".
Basil said as far as he was concerned, opposition MPs had not received any of the K2 million DSIP funds distributed recently.
"We are eager to know when these funds will be released to us in order to implement programmes in our electorates," Basil added.

Kapris pleads guilty

Prisoner says he robbed bank but did not keep loot or kidnap staff

 

TOP robbery suspect William Kapris Nanua yesterday pleaded guilty to robbing the Madang branch of Bank South Pacific in 2008, The National reports.

In a day of drama in court, Kapris broke from 13 other suspects arraigned on similar charges, and pleaded guilty to one count of robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit a robbery.

But he pleaded not guilty to 13 counts of kidnapping, 14 counts of deprivation of liberty, and one count of receiving stolen property.

The others pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The courtroom in the afternoon was thrown into confusion yesterday when Kapris’ lawyer David Dotaona sought an application to have his client’s matter heard separately after the guilty plea for the two charges was taken.

With Kapris taking his seat first in the witness box, he entertained the courtroom by giving conflicting pleas to Justice David Cannings.

Kapris initially said “yes” when asked by Cannings if he had committed the offences in the 28 counts.

He then had a quick glance across to his lawyer, and changed the answer to “no”.

Dotaona immediately stood to ask leave to speak to his client. After a brief whisper, Kapris said he was sticking with the not guilty plea for the 28 counts.

Earlier in the morning, Dotaona had asked Cannings to allow a two-week extension for him and his client to properly prepare for the defence, but this was refused.

Cannings emphasised that any extension was an unnecessary waste of time and very costly for the state.

“I have considered the cost to the state, the people of PNG having to prepare and get the matter to trial and the security measures in place,” he said.

“I consider it to be in the public interest for the trial to proceed.

“I want a fair trial in an independent court.

“I refuse the application for the two-week extension. The trial will begin now,” he ruled.

It was likely that Kapris could become a state witness despite pleading not guilty to the 27 other charges.

Cannings, when deliberating on the likelihood of having a separate trial, said: “There was no indication given to me during pre-trial. This is a new development.

“I will consider the depositions put ... since he has pleaded guilty, and not being convicted yet ... you want the others to go to trial before another judge?

“I will have to adjourn,” he said as he pondered over the matter.

The Madang BSP robbery occurred on July 5, 2008, when a total of K2,407,315.35 was stolen.

During the robbery, a number of bank workers were allegedly kidnapped and detained in a hotel.

Meanwhile, the court was also advised by Correctional Services officers that Don Aka, Elijah Paul Kapis or Elijah Tinga and Ben Nom, who is also known as “Toi Apet”, were still at large after breaking out of the Bomana prison on Jan 12.

The hearing continues today.