PNGAF MAGAZINE ISSUE # 9B-5B4G5 of 4th June 2022 Eminent TPNG Forester John Godlee

AUSTRALIAN FORESTERS in PAPUA NEW GUINEA 1922-1975

PNGAF MAGAZINE ISSUE # 9B-5B4G5 of 4th June 2022 FOREST MANAGEMENT. Eminent TPNG Forester John Godlee 1952-1980

Bulolo Forestry College Staff 1979.

Back Row L to R. Eric Asari, Auberta Karo, Armstrong Bellamy, Osia Gideon, Alistar Hay, Bob Johns, Phil Franklin.

Front Row L to R, Wayne Woofe, Klaus Romijn, John Godlee Principal, Siagi Kologo (incoming Principal), Ken Hart, Noel Peters.

Absent Barry Conn.

Picture Source Bob John’s collection courtesy George Walker Bob’s Brother-in-law.

Editor R B McCarthy1 2022.

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Dick McCarthy District Forester TPNG Forests 1963-1975.

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PAPUA NEW GUINEA SERVICE - JOHN GODLEE – TPNG 1952 to 1980 Following my Leaving Certificate year at Wesley College in Perth, Western Australia, I was offered cadetships with both the Western Australian Forestry and the P.N.G. Forestry Department in 1952.

I chose P.N.G. and completed the preliminary years of the Degree course at the University of Western Australia. Prior to final years of study at the Canberra Forestry College, P.N.G. students were required to complete a mid-course year in P.N.G. I was posted to Bulolo in 1955 – 1956, mainly to learn Pidgin English and the supervision of large groups of indigenous workers.

Upon completion I travelled to Canberra for the final 2 years of study in 1957-1958. During this time, I was introduced to my wife Roslyn who was a trainee nurse at the Canberra Community Hospital. We married on my first leave from P.N.G. in 1960.

On my return to P.N.G. at the beginning of 1959 I was posted to Bulolo supervising plantation establishment and associated surveying requirements for approximately 6 months.

My next posting was to Angoram approximately 80 miles inland on the Sepik River. Forestry activities included several small sawmills at Angoram, Taway and Marienberg. These mills bought logs from villagers on Timber Authorities. The logs were rafted considerable distances to the mills. The milled timber was taken by small ships to various destinations within New Guinea.

During my posting to Angoram I carried out timber assessments up and down the Sepik River and its tributaries as far inland as Ambunti and on one occasion in “uncontrolled” territory with a Patrol Officer and six police to keep me safe! The joke was that the villagers had all worked on plantations or for the Bulolo Gold Dredging Company. The work was interesting but abortive as the Kauri Pine forest was not worth carrying out a Timber Purchase.

Transport was by motorised canoe or flying with the Catholic Air Company to Maprik, Lumi, Aitape and Ambunti – quite exciting as the pilots were my age and had just received their licences and were getting their required number of hours to be fully fledged commercial pilots. No crashes - just near misses.

I was due for leave and was supposed to return to Angoram after my marriage to Roslyn in Sydney. As I was returning with a new bride, the ADO in Angoram arranged for the house to be painted.

With no further instructions, a tin of blue paint was handed to a labourer who went to work.

The kitchen walls, ceiling, floor, cupboards, refrigerator, fuel stove, sink etc. were all painted blue! We did not return to Angoram, and I am rather sorry Roslyn never saw the blue room.

After leave and our marriage, we stopped over in Port Moresby, on our way back to Angoram. Director Bill Suttie changed our plans as he needed an OIC for Keravat. At the time Bob Dixon followed by Frank Coppock were Regional Forest Officers in Rabaul. I spent my time organising Teak and E. deglupta plantings there with all the difficulties of clear falling and burning in high rainfall country. There were also small plantings of Balsa which 2

seemed to be successful.

Later I spent time visiting Cape Hoskins, Bougainville, Manus Island and New Ireland where potential timber purchases were being investigated. Another aspect of the work was to clear logs through customs being loaded onto ships bound for Japan.

The house offered to us on our arrival in Keravat made the Blue house look like a palace. It had been occupied by national staff, black mould throughout, with pumpkins growing on the roof. The shy quiet girl I married from Sydney’s North Shore matured very quickly and has never looked back. After discussion we were allocated a different house, no pumpkins on the roof.

John Smith and later Des Harries took over the Keravat operations.

In 1964 I was transferred to Bulolo to run the planting and maintenance there and Wau. I continued to carry out this work for some 10 years, initially as OIC and then as Regional Forest Officer.

At that time, I had 30 Expatriates and some 900 labourers on strength. I was extremely fortunate in the dedication of the people working with me. To name a few - Jack Bailey in the Workshop, Ted Collis in the Nursery, Jack Haddin as a plant operator, Neville Howcroft in Research, plus many others. Professionally, I was assisted by John Smith who transferred from Keravat, and later transferred to the Highlands. Chris Krans joined the Department from Australia plus others.

During my time in charge in the Bulolo-Wau region, the Wau fire occurred in 1972. The plantation that was burnt was immature Hoop pine which had not achieved canopy closure, consequently there was a heavy fuel load of Kunai and worse, bamboo. The weather was hot, dry, and windy. In all, perfect conditions for a fire to run fast and hot. Staff from Wau and Bulolo under my control attempted control for several days, the bamboo caused difficulties with spot fires. Control had been achieved when Mr. Gardiner from Port Moresby arrived on the scene giving instructions. A further complication to handling the fire was the unwanted arrival of newspaper reporters blocking quick escape routes when the fire jumped control lines due to the exploding bamboo.

Praise should be given to the wives of staff fighting the fires who provided food and drink for all Expatriate and Papuan New Guinea firefighters.

Not long after the fires, the forestry station became involved in the Australian Airforce disaster when a Caribou aircraft transporting approximately 48 National cadets and 5 Australian crew crashed in the upper Wau Valley. After five days of searching, the aircraft was found deep in the canopy as the only survivor managed to reach an exposed rock shelf.

Helicopters were used to bring out the deceased and landed on the oval at the Forestry College. The bodies were transported to the station to be stored in the seed storage refrigerators until they could be moved to Port Moresby.

Mr. Gardiner, as head of operations, then transferred me to Madang as RFO for operations there and in the Sepik district. It was an uneasy arrangement as Bob Bruce was doing a firstclass job on the Gogol project and Jim Belford was in Vanimo working on the Timber purchases.

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After approximately 18 months, Kevin White requested I be transferred to the PNG Forestry College, Bulolo, initially for the first few months as Silviculture lecturer and later as Principal.

I remained in that position until we left PNG in August 1980. Again, the staff were dedicated and exceptionally good in their various positions. Bob Johns, Barry Conn, and Alister Hay in the Botany Department. Phillip Franklin Silviculture, Noel Peters English, Frank Heath Mathematics, John Smith Forest Management, Lorraine Lemothe Entomology, as well as other staff members including office and kitchen as the College was full time boarding.

After leaving PNG I worked for the United Nations (FAO). My first contract was in Lesotho, Southern Africa, to set up a Forestry College like Bulolo. Later I was employed on a project in Burma to advise on existing operations.

Unfortunately, as all the above happened many years ago, I have omitted names of staff members who worked with me, and other information relating to my time in P.N.G. which is regrettable.

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Short Bibliography of John Godlee.

NAME YEAR OF BIRTH DATE JOINED DEPT OF FORESTRY WHAT WAS YOUR OCCUPATION WHAT LOCALITIES DID YOU WORK IN WHAT DATE DID YOU LEAVE PNG LIFE AFTER PNG IF YOU WISH TO COMMENT BRIEFLY A PNG FORESTRY CADETSHIP IF SO WHEN DATE OF GRADUATION

John Godlee 1934 1952 Forest Officer Bulolo; Angoram; Kerevat; Madang.

Bulolo Forestry College August 1980 FAO Lesotho Southern Africa; Burma Yes 1952 1958

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ACRONYMS ACT ACIAR ACLMP AEC AFS AFPNG AIF AMF ANBG ANGAU ANU APMF APPM ASIO ASOPA AusAID BA BCOF “Beer Time” BFC BGD BUC C cm CALM CFA CNGT CRE CRE

CSIRO CHAH DASF DBH/ dbh DEPT DPI DOF e.g.

Etc FAO F &TB FIM FPRC

Australian Capital Territory Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research AusAid funded World Bank Land Mobilisation program.

Administrators Executive Committee Australian Forestry School Association of Foresters of PNG Australian Infantry Forces Australian Military Forces Australian National Botanical Gardens Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit Australian National University Australian Paper Manufacturers Forestry Pty Ltd Australia Paper and Pulp Manufacturers Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Australian School of Pacific Administration Australian Aid Agency basal area British Commonwealth Occupational Force 1945-52 Any time.

Bulolo Forestry College Bulolo Gold Dredging Company Bulolo University College Commonwealth Centimetre Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management Commonwealth Forestry Association Commonwealth New Guinea Timbers Bulolo Commander Royal Engineers CRE is a term inherited by RAE from RE and is the term for the Commanding Officer of a RAE unit which is headed by a Lt Col. Although the officer is called the CRE the name is also used for the name of his unit.

E.g., CRE Aust Forestry Group or 1(NG Forests).

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria Dept of Agriculture, Stock and Fisheries Diameter at breast height Department Department of Primary Industry Department of Forests For example et cetera (more of the same) Food and Agriculture Organisation Forest and Timber Bureau Canberra Forest Information System Forest Products Research Centre Hohola 6

FRG FRI Forkol GAB Gbhob Gubab GIS ha IBRD IFA IFY ITTO JICA L of N LRRS m3 MM NAA NARI NB NFCAP no.

NG NGF NGIB NGO NGVR NZ NSW NTSC OISCA P or p PIB PIR PNG PNGAA PNGAF PNGFA PNGFIA PNGRIS PNGUT POM Q QF RAE RPC RRA SFM

Forest Red Gum Forest Research Institute Lae Bulolo Forestry College Girth above buttress Girth breast height over bark Girth under bark above buttress Geographic Information Systems Hectare International Bank for Reconstruction and Development Institute of Foresters of Australia International Year of the Forest International Tropical Timber Organization Japanese International Cooperation Agency League of Nations Land Resource Soils Survey (branch of CSIRO) cubic metre Military Medal National Archives Australia National Agriculture Research Institute New Britain PNG National Forestry and Conservation Action Plan Number New Guinea New Guinea Forces (relates to plant collection of Lae Herbarium) New Guinea Infantry Battalion Non-Government Organisation New Guinea Volunteer Rifles New Zealand New South Wales National Tree Seed Centre PNG Bulolo Organisation for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement International Japan. page Papuan Infantry Battalion Pacific Islands Regiment Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Australia Association Papua New Guinea Australian Foresters Magazine Series Papua New Guinea Forest Authority PNG Forest Industries Association Papua New Guinea Resource Information System PNG University of Technology Port Moresby Queensland Queensland Forestry Royal Australian Engineers/Australian Army Royal Papuan Constabulary Rapid Resource Appraisal Sustainable Forest Management

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SP UK UN Unasylva UNE UNEP UNI UNITECH UNRE UPNG UQ US USA TPNG TUBL TA TA TRP Vol VSF WA WB

South Pacific United Kingdom United Nations Journal of FAO of UN University of New England Armidale NSW United Nations Environment Program University University of Technology Lae PNG University of Natural Resources and Environment University of Papua New Guinea University of Queensland United States United States of America Territory of Papua and New Guinea Territory United Brewery Ltd Timber Area Timber Authority Timber Rights Purchase volume Victorian School of Forestry Western Australia World Bank

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