172 



mill 



cuts 



some 



nice Calophyllum inophyllam, 



which is found useful in shipbuilding, and for panel- 

 ling. This is purely a shore-growing species, and it 

 leans out over the sea at an extraordinary angle. Long 

 straight pieces take some getting, but good knees and 

 crooks are easy to find. 



The Chinese have always carried out a fair amount 



with oil, starch, and resin-secreting trees. In tannin 

 alone the Territories offer a new field, for the dabbling 

 in mangrove bark that has taken place cannot be re- 

 garded as a serious attempt. The establishment cf 

 iorest industries in the lowlands depends, therefore, 

 primarily on the reports of the indusi rial chemists who 

 must first investigate the field. It is to be hoped that 



of wood-working and contracting; to build plantation this work will be undertaken at an early date, for I 



bungalows is one of their specialities. They pit-saw am confident that the results will be such as to assure 



the timber in the forest, and generally rely on Afzelia the development of one or more minor forest product 



and Pometia for their main structural pieces and fill ccmpanies in the Territories. 



Passing over the foothill country again, I come to 

 the mid-mountain ccnifeious belt.* What opportunities 

 offer to the saw-milling company? To the saw-miller 

 used to the conditions obtaining in the south of Aus- 

 tralia, I say " None." To the New Zealand timber 

 man, or, indeed, any lumber jack who has had to 

 wrestle timber out of really mountainous country, the 

 forests of hoop pine and other conifers at the head 

 ot the Kemp Welch would be regarded as diilicult, but 

 not as inaccesible. At present Queensland prices 

 and considering the small areas available, and there- 

 fore the small cut that must pay all overhead charges, 

 I think these forests are to-day commercially inacces- 

 sible. The timber can be got at without any great 

 engineering difficulties, but it would not pay its cost of 

 cutting and transport. The dwindling visible sup- 

 plies of Unired States pine and Canadian fir (they are 

 both oregon pine, really), and the paltry efforts made 

 by all States of the Commonwealth to anticipate the 

 shortage that stares them in the face, by planting 

 pines, makes nothing more certain than that the cost 

 of common softwoods will increase in the near future. 



I am not in a position to say to what price oregon 

 must soar before the hoop of Papua and New Guinea 

 becomes a possible saw-milling venture. In the Man-' 

 dated Territory on the mountains on each side of the 

 Markham and the upper Ramu, this species is found at 

 a lower elevation than in Papua, and hand in hand 

 with a large planting scheme this supply of softwood 

 might be made available for public work and local use 

 generally. It is certainly to be hoped that before 

 the coniferous areas attract the saw-miller that forest 

 policies in both Territories will be established, so that 

 when the exploitation begins, regeneration of the 

 forest may be at the same time undertaken. 



I would refer those who wish to go further into the 

 ith the knowledge of the possibilities of the development of forest industries in 



in their linings with other woods of a softer nature. 



Summing up the position in the Mandated Territory : 

 There are four saw-mills running at present. Two on 

 the island of New Britain with a total output of 3,000 

 feet of sawn Eucalyptus timber a day, and two on the 

 main island which are not running lull time owing to 

 shortage of logs, and in any case can really only fill 

 Mission Station requirements. The Eucalypt forests 

 have a very restricted life, and, as far as I know, there 

 is only one untouched patch of this species left in 

 Britain when the two present mills have cut out their 

 supplies. The use of the pit-saw should be encouraged 

 at all district stations. Pit-sawing is good prison 

 labour, and imports of timber from overseas cculd by 

 this method be kept within limits. It will be seen that 

 the outlook, so far as saw-milling is concerned, is not 

 attractive. What possibility is there, then, for a 

 commercial development of the forests of the Terri- 

 tories ? To my mind, the only way is to found the 

 business, not on timber, but on the minor forest pro- 

 ducts. Regard timber as a by-produce of a well- 



crganized industry depending on the minor products of 

 the forest, and there seems a great promise of develop- 

 ment in the tropical possessions. In the section dealing 

 with u Miner Forest Products," I have pointed out 

 seme of the very obvious directions in which com- 

 mercial enterprise is required. If the captains of in- 

 dustry will realize that the Territory offers a fine field 

 for their efforts, and is not a mere mine of wealth to 

 be emptied by the first comer, then there will be a 

 great awakening to the solid riches of New Guinea. 

 There is much capital in Australia waiting for a sound 

 investment, but the type of company promotion that 

 has been the rule in the past is not such as to attract 

 these solid investors. New industries will not be 

 established easily, and I think that very serious re- 

 search work on the minor products of the forest must 



be undertaken by men wi 



subject, and who, besides having all the necessary 

 academic qualifications, have the experience of applied 



Papua to the Handbook of Papua, and the reports to 



the League of Nations 



New Guinea, which 



s 



cien.ee, which is almost as important, before any busi- 

 ness can be done. 



Paper pulp, alcohol, fibres, match splints, tannins, 

 oils, resins, gums — these are the products to concen- 

 trate on. "Without full scientific and practical informa- 

 tion as to the possibilities of the development of each, 

 and all, of the above, it is not possible to dogmatize 

 as to the commercial outlook of any one of them. The 

 scientific investigator will be able to show where proba- 

 bilities of industrial profit lie. I have put them in 

 the order which I regard as merit from the point of 

 view of market . Few are produced in Australia, and 

 all are much needed. As a side-line to the tapping of 

 Nipa for alcohol, or the manufacture of newsprint 

 from the weed re-growth forest, or the reeling of match 

 ply from logs of No. 13 — Pteroct/rnhiutn — might come 

 the cutting of beautiful furniture woods for special 

 markets and special buyers. With the wonderful sun and 

 splendid rains, the systematic cultivation of the most 

 profitable drug plants is indicated, and just as New 



on iNew uumea, wnicn give 

 much valuable information as to the labour conditions 

 and regulations governing the employment of natives. 

 Sufficient to say here that the employer of labour is 

 dealt with as sympathetically as the labourer. Wages 

 in Papua are 10s. a month, and in the Mandated Terri- 

 tory 5s. a month, but the legal food-rations bring the 

 cost per unit of labour to a much higher figure. The 

 native is very apt so far as mechanical work is con- 

 cerned, and I have seen a full-blcoded native do as 

 good breaking down through twin saws, and benching 



More supervision 

 is required, but with tact and patience excellent work 

 can be get from these native tradesmen. 



I am indebted to the official secretary, Mr. Leonard 

 Murray, foi the following notes on the Harbours and 

 Anchorages of Papua. 



has for 



ever a 6-feet saw, as a white man. 



man 



some 



Mr. IVIurray, who is a yachts-* 

 years navigated the Governor's 

 yacht through all the waters that surround the Terri- 

 tory and its islands. lie is the author of " Sailing 



Instructions " for the Papuan waters, and so is 



Guinea can grow wood for pulping in a quarter the »H authority on such a subject as Harbours 

 time it takes Canada, so she can grow alcohol and all and. 



Anchorages. 



Starting 



in the west there is 



other minor products that depend merely on rapid Daru, which is a port of entry, 

 growth, large storage capacity, and heavy fruiting. anchorage for ships drawing up to 18 feet. 



What we have seen in the banana and coconut occurs 



and offers good 



The next 



* For data as to surveys, see pp. 38-71. 



