Black Cat Trail

New book on Wau/Bulolo goldfields

2010-08-16T19:05:00.000+10:00

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

British volunteers build facilities along Black Cat Trail

2009-06-10T18:30:00.004+10:00

Volunteers with local childrenTrekforce leader Adam Hickman and a local child

Toilet construction

Toilet

Rafting Francisco River

Jungle training at Gabesis

Jungle training at Gabensis

Group in the toilet pit

Entertainment at Komiatum

Construction of shower facility

Cement wall for the toilet

It may not exactly be in the same league as the high rise property developments in the major cities of Papua New Guinea, nevertheless, it is property development in a remote part of Papua New Guinea.
Thanks to an enthusiastic group of young men and women from Great Britain, villagers along the Black Cat Trail between Salamaua and Wau, Morobe province, can now offer proper toilet and shower facilities to trekkers of the fast-developing tourism icon.
The group of 11 young men and women came to Papua New Guinea in February this year and has been living in villages along the Black Cat Trail over the last four months, setting up facilities for trekkers, as well as teaching at Salamaua High School and Komiatum Primary School.
Last year, the first Trekforce group built a guesthouse between Skin Diwai and Banis Donkey outside Wau, while there from July-September 2008.
They were supported in their endeavours by the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority, Huon Gulf MP Sasa Zibe and Bulolo MP Sam Basil.
The last group of five – Claire Orton, Paul Tidbury, Tom Turner, Callum Heitler and Angus Collins – left PNG last Friday after having the time of their lives in the mountains above Salamaua.
“Trekforce is volunteer organisation which works worldwide, sending groups of 10-15 people, aged 18-25, to areas like Borneo, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Belize in Central America,” Collins told me before leaving.
“We came here on Feb 5.
“We had five days jungle training in Gabensis (a village along the Wau-Bulolo Highway).
“From there, we went to Salamaua, had one night in Salamaua, and then walked to Komiatum.
“The first month was spent on building toilets.
“We dug a seven foot hole, so that no flies will go in – it’s supposed to be the most-hygienic way of building toilets.
“The second month was spent on building washrooms around the toilets.
“These will be used by trekkers.
“We’re trying to make it more comfortable for trekkers.”
The group planned to walked the Black Cat Trail, however, the recent violence in Wau put a halt to all that, and they instead spent time at Lababia Island further south of Salamaua.
After that, they came back to Salamaua, and taught students at Salamaua High School and Komiatum Primary School.
“We taught subjects such as social science, science, maths, English, arts, personal development, and making a living,” Mr Collins said.
“We were living with the teachers at the school, and after teaching, enjoyed playing basketball and football with the kids.”
All good things, however, must come to an end, and the young Britons were farewelled with a big feast at Komiatum before leaving last week.
I asked them of their best memories of PNG.
Paul Tidbury: “Spending time at Lababia Island and seeing the sights there was quite special.” Tom Turner: “The school (Komiatum Primary), at the end of our teaching, had some dances and singsings, and some food.”
Angus Collins: “The opening of the toilets was nice.
Callum Heitler: “The people, cultures.
Claire Orton: “I really liked Salamaua, especially swimming on the reef.”

Tribal clash puts Black Cat Trail operations on hold

2009-04-07T09:56:00.000+10:00

By PISAI GUMAR in The National

ETHNIC fighting between Biangais and Watuts two weeks ago are believed to have delayed the operations of a British volunteer team that has come to PNG to set up tour facilities in Morobe province.
Trekforce Worldwide has been in the province for the past two months to set up equipment along the World War II Black Cat Trail from Salamaua to Wau.
The volunteers – four women and seven men, who are based at Komiatam village, Salamaua, Huon Gulf – are involved in educating gateway villagers along the trail on ways to improve hospitality standards.
They have also been assisting the community in projects funded by the Morobe Tourism Bureau.
However, the conflict between Biangais and Watuts was said to have put Trek Force’s plans on hold.
Projects that have been postponed include the installations of a radio base at Kamiatam and contact points along the track in accordance with the development plan launched at Lae International Hotel in March last year.
Three of the volunteers left for Britain last Friday.
The others will remain in the province for about two months to teach in community schools in the district, including Salamaua High School.
During their time here, the volunteers completed a community project – a bio eco-friendly bathroom – for Komiatam village.
The semi-modern facility, containing a shower room, washing place and toilet, was launched last week.

K2 million to promote tourism still unused

2008-11-05T08:29:00.001+10:00

NEARLY K2 million to develop culture and tourism activities in the country has been sitting unused for the past six months in a trust account at Waigani, The National newspaper reports.
Minister for Culture and Tourism Charles Abel revealed this at the 11th Mamose governors’ conference last Friday in Salamaua, Huon Gulf district, while presenting a cheque for K50, 000 to develop Black Cat Trail between Salamaua and Wau.
Mr Abel has called on all culture and tourism promoters and developers to document and compile proposals and submit them to make use of the funds.
He said the master plan for the Black Cat Skin Diwai track was documented and compiled.
The launching was held recently at Lae International Hotel and an initial funding for the track worth K70, 000 was given.
Mr Abel said the Kokoda Track alone had attracted 6,000 tourists this year.
“If we want to further promote and market tourism in the country, we have to change our behaviours, characters and attitudes,” he said.
“The tourism and culture business is a total community participation venture and it benefits all.
“Why are we killing ourselves committing hold-ups and hijacking our visitors?” Mr Abel asked.
“If Salamaua local level government leaders and communities are serious about developing their two significant historical sites, they must wake up from their slumber,” Morobe Governor Luther Wenge said.
Community leaders and people should work collectively with the Government to introduce a product to attract tourists, he added.
Mr Wenge also accepted a petition from the Salamaua people to develop Black Cat Trail and build a sea wall to protect historical sites at Salamaua, the former colonial administrative centre of Morobe.

Feedback to Black Cat Trail story

2008-10-01T08:25:00.001+10:00

Gavin Campbell wrote in reply to the post below:

I was part of the expedition. PNG is a fantastic country, one of the most amazing places I have ever visited - I will come back one day, hopefully to see what we done on the Black Cat being put to good use.

UK trek group to return

2008-09-05T09:57:00.001+10:00

A UNITED Kingdom (UK) based volunteer group Trek Force, will return to Papua New Guinea in November to explore more of PNG’s exciting sites, The National newspaper reports.

The group left last month after completing a two-month tourism trekking project along the Black Cat Trail in the Morobe province.

Black Cat Trail extends from Wau to Salamaua.

While trekking, the group also provided basic health and education services to the locals along the way.

Trek Force leader Dr Tom Sheddon said Black Cat turned out to be a very challenging feat for the young volunteers, most of who were in their early 20s.

Dr Sheddon said his team also did jungle survival training, trekking and diving and were looking forward to returning to PNG in November.

Black Cat Trail war relics

2008-08-25T18:22:00.001+10:00

Australian WW11 soldier's boot found at a dump at Skin Diwai
Live ammunition at Skin Diwai
Live bombs at Skin Diwai
WW11 plane wreck at Skin Diwai

The thick jungle between Salamaua and Wau, Morobe Province, is littered with relics from World War 11.
Students of history as well as WW11 enthusiasts would not be disappointed at what is there to be seen.
Live bombs from 1942 and 1943 are prolific along the old Black Cat Trail between Salamaua and Wau.
Villagers told me of huge unexploded bombs in the jungles and rivers that they avoid like the plague.
Australian and PNG bomb experts have yet to defuse these bombs.
In 1997, during the El Nino, bushfires sparked off by dry bushes detonated WW11 bombs as terrified villagers fled.
Huge bomb craters from WW11 testify to the ferocity of the battles along the trail between Salamaua and Wau.
At Skin Diwai – a major Australian base during WW11 - locals showed me unexploded bombs, live ammunition, Australian army boots, as well as the bush covered wreck of a DC3 supply plane.
All along the Black Cat Trail, you can see the helmets of Australian, US, and Japanese forces that fought here in WW11.
Those dark days of WW11 are well and truly over but their legacy lives on in the jungles between Salamaua and Wau.
The jungle also conceals many secrets of the gold mining days of the 1920s and 1930s.
Local lore has it that somewhere between Wau and Salamaua lays the wreck of a gold-laden plane.
Whether true or not, the fact is that locals avoid the thick jungle, saying that it is masalai (spirit) place where dark forces await unwary human beings.

Memories of the Black Cat Trail

2008-08-25T18:16:00.000+10:00

Heni Denbis (front) of morobe Tourism Bureau and Lionel Aigilo
Komiatum Niukemp Komiatum villager with smoking sticks on Mount Tambu
Lionel Aigilo (left) and Solomon Jawing show off an American WW11 gun
Lionel Aigilo pushes up the mountain

A landslide in the mountains between Salamaua and Wau
Children bid farewell to visitors at Mubo
Climbing Mount Tambu with panoramic views of the valley and Huon Gulf
Climbing up to Guadagasul
Councillor's house at Komiatum

Exactly five years ago, in July 23, I walked the infamous Black Cat Trail between Salamaua and Wau in the Morobe province. These are my memories:
The old Black Cat Trail between Salamaua and Wau, Morobe Province, makes the Kokoda Trail seem like a Sunday arvo stroll in the park.
This is because it is not an established trail like Kokoda, on which hundreds of trekkers regularly tread, but a forgotten World War 11 course that passes through some of the toughest and most-hazardous terrain in the world.
Leech and snake -infested jungle, moss-covered rocks and fallen tree stumps, precarious cliff crossings, and potentially-dangerous river crossings make the Black Cat arguably one of the toughest tracks in PNG and the world.
Should there be an accident, unlike Kokoda, there are no radios to call for a helicopter to come and evacuate you.
It is recommended only for the very-fit and experienced trekker.
Some Australian soldiers have described the Black Cat as the hardest walk they’d ever done.
The Lonely Planet guidebook quotes a local expat as saying the Black cat is “suitable only for masochists and Israeli paratroopers”.
After walking from Salamaua from Wau over five days from July 22 tt 26 in 2003, I can only say know that I do not know how I survived.
The idea of walking the Black Cat Trail came to me after my painful struggle over the Kokoda Trail in June 2003.
The Black Cat has always fascinated me, since I take an avid interest in WW11 history, and that my mother is from the Salamaua area.
In September 2003, Salamaua marked the 60th anniversary of its recapture from the Japanese in 1942.
“So why not”, I proposed to Morobe Tourism Bureau project officer Heni Dembis, “we walk the Black Cat Trail on the week of Remembrance Day?”
On Monday, July 21, 2003, we found ourselves heading down the Huon Gulf on board a 40 horsepower dinghy from Lae to Salamaua.
Pouring rain eventually gave way to sunshine as we dropped off some students at Salamaua High School on top of Kela village, before crossing the bay to Laugui village at Salamaua Point.
We spent a relaxing afternoon visiting the old graves around Salamaua, which date back to the gold mining days, as well as Japanese tunnels and anti -aircraft guns on the hill overlooking the isthmus.
After that, we went to the new-look Salamaua Haus Kibung, which after many years of inattention is now getting back its glory.
We checked into one of the chalets, which at K20 per person a night is quite a good deal, seeing that it comes complete with electricity, gas cooking facilities, and bathroom and toilet facilities.
After dinner, we chatted well into the night with caretaker Mathew Gomuna, a cheerful fellow from Garaina and some of the locals.
Mathew also lined us up with Lionel Aigilo, a young guy who would take us from Salamaua to Wau.
Come Tuesday morning, heavy rain started pouring, and we had to wait until 10am before we left Laugui with Lionel and his hardy uncle Solomon Jawing.
We followed the coconut avenues past the colorful cemetery, walked further inland through thick mud, where we crossed the flooded Francisco River.
I found the going tough against the swift current; however, Lionel and Solomon were on standby in case I was swept away.
We walked through gardens, swamps, and creeks before engorging on a classic lunch of Lae Biscuit and Sita tinned meat, washed down with spring water, on the banks of the flooded Francisco.
We continued upstream to Komiatum village, and at 3pm arrived at the confluence of the Francisco and Tambu Rivers,
This was when the hard slog started as we climbed through thick kunai up towards Mount Tambu.
Every now and then, we would come across shady bamboo, rewarded by panoramic views of the valley and sea unfolding before us.
Massive bomb craters from WW11 indicated the ferocity of the battles here in 1942.
Solomon recounted a story, which was repeated several times, of a Japanese assault of the Australian defenses in 1942.
The Japanese were charged down by a huge masalai (spirit) pig, which ravaged them and forced them to flee.
We continued up Mt Tambu, every now and then turning back to feast our eyes upon the panorama that continued to unfold, as well as the magnificent flora and fauna.
Hornbills and prized black cockatoos flew across the afternoon sky – a welcome sight for our sore bodies.
Wild pigs, cassowaries, cuscus, tree kangaroos, and other wildlife are profuse in these mountains of Salamaua.
We reached the top of Mt Tambu at about 6pm and continued on to a mountain spring, in which we all washed and quenched our thirst, before descending to the hamlet of “Niukamp” (New Camp).
We had dinner of bananas, rice, tinned meat, and hot cups of coffee before resting our tired bodies.
Wednesday July 23, 2003 – Remembrance Day – is a day that I’ll always treasure as I firmly believe our small group honored the 60th Anniversary of Salamaua in its true spirit by trekking the Black Cat Trail.
Our thoughts were with the many soldiers and carriers of WW11 who lost their lives on this treacherous path in 1942 and 1943.
We were up early that morning, while the rest of PNG was probably still in bed, and descended down Guisep Creek, and made numerous creek and river crossings before arriving at Mubo.
From Mubo, we precariously edged our way past steep cliff faces as the flooded Bitoi River raged below, to an easier crossing further upstream.
We passed through a network of gardens, pebbly fords and steep jungle scrambles past landslides and difficult sections of the river before climbing up the steep ascent to the fortress- like village of Gaudagasul.
The villagers – who only have visitors once in a blue moon - welcomed us with open arms and literally stuffed us with food.
There were dishes of bananas, kaukau, taro, tapioca, and choko to go down with our rice and Diana tuna.
After that, we talked well into the night, encouraging the locals to start building village-style guesthouses for trekkers who would pass through their village.
The response was very encouraging.
We pressed on the next morning through thick rainforest as the track steepened and deteriorated markedly.
My bulk and weight of the backpack on my shoulders caused the track to give way in many places, and on more than one occasion, I had to grapple on to salat – stinging nettles – for dear life.
We continued like this, scrambling down to creeks, back up again, over and around slippery log falls, landslides, and salat.
On several occasions, we heard the calls of bird of paradise, which tantalisingly weaved their way through the forest canopy.
Wildlife was in abundance and the forest was alive with raucous calls of other unseen birds.
One time, as I was climbing up a creek, I almost put my hand on to a brown snake which Lionel and Solomon later told me was poisonous.
Talk about a close call!
Suddenly, Lionel gave out a yell, thinking that a snake had bitten him.
After close inspection, no, but it was a leech.
Thus marked our entry into leech country.
The insidious creatures crawled on the forest floor like tiny dragons, and once they sniffed out blood, clung on to our legs and sucked until fattened.
Shoes and socks were no hindrance as they worked their way in and continued in the same vein as miniature vampires.
Lionel and Solomon, who walked barefoot, had their feet absolutely devoured by the slimy leeches.
Every now and then, we had to stop, and scrape the leeches off with knives.
The leeches, however, were a blessing in disguise as they forced us to pick up the pace despite the heavy backpacks on our shoulders.
Many a time, I felt like opening my backpack and throwing all my wet clothes into the bush, as they were the ones really adding on extra kilos.
We persevered, and after eight hours of torture, came to a kunai clearing which marked our entrance to Skin Diwai.
We could push our weary bodies no more, and literally collapsed in a heap at Skin Diwai.
In June 2003, three British backpackers dared to try the Black Cat, and two of them ended up very sick at Skin Diwai from either malaria, pneumonia, exhaustion, or a combination of all three. The third Pommie continued on to Biaweng village and eventually, Wau, where he managed to get a helicopter to come and ferry out his two sick buddies.
Skin Diwai is a detour from the main Black Cat Trail – which continues on to Bitoi and eventually Wandumi village outside Wau - and is now the preferred choice of locals.
Skin Diwai was the site of a major Australian base during WW11 and is littered with live bombs, ammunition, other war junk including boots, and even the wreckage.
Being one of the high points between Salamaua and Wau, Skin Diwai is freezing cold, and we slept as close to the fire as possible that night.
Keen to hit Wau the next day, come rain or sun, we were up at the crack of dawn and started walking at 6am on Friday, July 25.
Like the previous day, this was a walk through leech-infested country, slippery logs and rocks, as well as numerous other obstacles straight out of a commando-training manual.
We pushed our bodies to the max and at 1pm, after seven hours of hellish jungle, we descended into kunai country and were rewarded with our first glimpse of Wau.
“Wau! Wow!” went through my mind as I glimpsed down on this famous gold mining township.
We went down the roller coaster path to Biaweng village over the next two hours, sliding all the way down a graded track from the mining and WW11 days.
Despite our sheer exhaustion, we all felt a sense of achievement, and celebrated with cans of Coca -Cola and from the village trade store.
An early night, and at 5am on Saturday, July 26, we started walking to Wau which we finally arrived in at 8am.
From Wau, a PMV ride to Bulolo, and another to Lae where Lionel, Solomon, Heni, and myself celebrated with a barbeque and a couple of cold beers before I departed at the crack of dawn the next day for my flight back to Port Moresby.