The Influence of Lane Poole19 The work in the 1920’s by C.E. Lane Poole (Ref. 2) initially carried out for the Administration of the Territory of Papua, then for Administration of the Mandated Territory of New Guinea, was a significant landmark for forestry in this country. Its primary objective was to locate and evaluate forest resources which could form the basis of profitable export-oriented businesses. In this he was unsuccessful, although he recognized potential for paper making and minor forest products. In 1923 and 1924, Charles Lane Poole completed a survey of Papua and New Guinea and recommended the establishment of a forest service. By the time a forerunner to a forest service was established in 1938, with the appointment of J B McAdam and J Cavanaugh, several Europeans had commenced sawmilling operations. These operations serviced the domestic market in addition to copra plantation owners in the Islands Region exporting logs and processed timber to the American veneer market. Charles Lane Poole at Madang, 1924, showing the remains of a radio damaged in the raid at Kohu. Note his gaunt appearance after the rigours of his expedition to Mt Otto. Source: C. E. Lane Poole, Forest Resources (1925), facing p. 198, courtesy of the National Archives of Australia. At the time of his project, the discoveries of the Wau/Bulolo goldfields were just being made. Although he must have heard of the presence of the stands of Araucaria associated with the goldfields, he did not on this occasion get to see them. Their presence there tied into his discovery of the conifer belt at this altitude, and he had seen examples of these forests in other areas. (Note 2). River of mud. The Bulolo River below Koranga Creek gold sluicing, 1960. Photo Credit Des Harries. In fact, the mining operations at Wau which commenced in about 1922 had created a demand for sawn timber. With its isolation, the goldmines at Wau needed local timber supplies. These were readily available on site, and free, as their harvesting would have been effectively a non-issue for the Administration of the Mandated Territory. The Administration was certainly mindful of the value of royalty payments on extracted mineral resources. Yet the matter of land tenure seems to have remained a non-issue. If
Cover page C E Lane Poole 1925 Report on Forest Resources of the Territories of Papua and New Guinea Government Printer Melbourne 209 pp. 19
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