Forty Years On The Pacific/Dutch New Guinea

LITTLE as the average man knows of British New Guinea, he knows less still of Dutch New Guinea. This can be attributed partly to the fact that the Dutch have done practically nothing wifh their share of the island. Their idea is to discover what is in a country and the nature of its resources before attempting in any way to develop it. It boasts the highest mountains in New Guinea— some of them nearly 16,000 feet high—well above the line of perpetual snow. The chief town, if such it could be called, is Merauke, on the western coast.

The area under the Dutch flag is approximately 120,000 square miles, but apart from three or four posts—none of which is inland—the government has made little or no attempt to control it or extend its influence into the interior.

Cannibalism is still rife in many parts and occasionally tribes have been known to cross into Papua and wipe out some of the unfortunate people inhabiting the border. Chief among these marauding tribes were the Tugelas. Until protests were made by the Papuan Government to the Dutch, these warlike people carried out their raids practically unrestrained, and the Bensbach River district in the south witnessed many a bloody massacre, some of which occurred during the last five years.

In 1914 the Dutch Government sent a trusted official in the person of Monsieur Coenen to Papua to study the ways and methods of the administration, with a view of commencing serious work in their own portion. The result of that gentleman's visit has not yet been seen, for no real movement has apparently been made by his government to encourage the development of the resources of the country—whatever they might be—or bring about the civilization of the numerous tribes killing and eating one another in the interior.

It is high time the Dutch awoke to their responsibilities in New Guinea. They would do well if, instead of importing Javanese police, etc., they set about teaching the natives to understand and take an active part in the work of their country.

A New Guinea resident, who supplies this data, claims that it was the dream of Germany to obtain possession, by conquest or purchase, of all Dutch New Guinea.