Evening star., 1944-07-09


"No less important than
allying Nth nature to neu-
tralise JapS has been the Allied
success in holding the loyalty
OF ndtiUe tribesn1en."
u. s. Army Signal Corps Photo.
wing and tail feathers torn from the big
bird by strong Pacific gale
Yanks stationed on the New Guinea
tail are $500 miles from San Francisco.
Those raiding Jap bases on Vogelkop
are only 100 miles southeast of Min
dsnao of the Philippine Islands.
High mountains, thick forests matted
with underground, plateaus covered
with razor-sharp grass, deep ravines cut
by sudden torrential rains, steaming
tidal and fresh-water swamps are but a
few of the natural features of the island
Snow-capped peaks rise above 10000
feet in the west-higher than any peak
In the United States. The high ranges
extending centrally through the length
of the island are paralleled by lower
chains. Along vast stretches of coast
the wooded hills drop right down to the
sea.
The Fly River on the south and the
Sepik on the north are navigable far
inland by small boats. In general, the
many rivers flowing from mountains to
coast are bordered by swamps or by
ravine walls that impede east-west
travel just as the thick mountain forests
forbid crossings from north to SOUTH
Difficult Terrain.
New Guinea's weird and difficult ter
rain has defied penetration to all but its
native black tribes. The white man flies
easily over the big island, but in more
than four centuries of exploration and
more than two years of machine-age
war, he has pushed few paths through
the jungle to interior points. Probably
only at the earth's poles has he left un-
explored areas of comparable size.
Gold was the lure that brought white
visitors to the shores of this island
early in the 10Th century. Isle of
Gold" it was named by Saavedra in
1928, but gold remained elusive for four
centuries. New Guinea" was applied
because the natives seen by explorers
were so obviously blacker than Pacific
Islanders in general. resembling the Ne
groes of the Guinea coast of Africa
The name stuck.
Development Recent.
Even the coastal contours of New
Guinea we're vague until late in the
18th century. About sixty years ago
the Dutch in the western half, the
British and Germans in the east had
established control through their ener-
getic planters and traders. and a three
way political destiny for the island be-
came apparent.
BY 1906 the Dutch sovereignty in the
western half was established, making
Netherlands New Guinea big eastern
anchor of the Netherlands Indies; Aus
tralia had taken over the southeastern
portion, calling it the Territory CT Pa.
pua; Germany held Kaiser rWiihelms
Land, the northeastern quarter. Ex
ploration and exploitation were at
tempted, but resulted in nothing NOR
than the development of coconu. plan
tations at points along the coast.
Then came World War l. Barely l,
900 German nationals had settled i
Kaiser -Wilhelms-Land and the ad
Joining German islands OF the Bis
marcks and Northern Solomons in tn
course of 80 years occupation. The re
eion was quickly wrested from tn
Germans by the Australians in Sen
tember, 1914 In 1921 it was mandate
to Australia by the League of Nation
and the New Guinea mainland porto
became known rs Northeast Ne
Guinea.
In 1926, the first rich slluvial deposit