Forestry in Wau by Des Harries

FORESTRY IN WAU by Des Harries18

Wau must be accorded some significance in the record of forestry in Papua New Guinea because it was the base for the first forester appointed to the Australian Mandated Territory, as it was titled at this time. He was James Bannister McAdam and his appointment as Forest Officer was made in January 1938. (Ref. 1)

Des Harries 1971. Photo Credit Des Harries. 1971.

Wau

At the time of McAdam’s appointment, it is significant to note that the Administration of the Mandated Territory of New Guinea was conducted as a separate organization to that of the Australian Territory of Papua. The Headquarters of the former was in Rabaul.

McAdam, born at Lancaster, U.K. in 1910, had migrated to Queensland with his parents and attended school in Toowoomba. He gained a Queensland Forest Service Cadetship in 1929 and completed his forestry training at the University of Queensland and the Australian Forestry School, Canberra, where 1933 was his final year. He then undertook field work with Queensland Forestry until his New Guinea appointment. It is not known if McAdam first lived in Rabaul, however, if so, he soon moved to Wau where the Territory’s major gold resource was being exploited (Note1) and large-scale utilization of the forests and reforestation were being considered.

As we know all progress came to a sudden end in 1942 with the Japanese invasion during World War II.

18 Eminent TPNG Forester Des Harries TPNG Forests 1955-1976. OIC Wau Plantations 1960’s.