The township or Granville, as it is officially termed (Ela is the native name for the locality), consists of a few Government offices and the houses of residents, most of whom are either Government officials or else connected with Burns Philp’s Store. The jetty was built by Burns Philp at considerable expense, and at the foot of it lies their big store. This great trading company has ramifications all over Queensland and British New Guinea, and Port Moresby is naturally an important centre for their trade.
Apart from its remoteness from the world, the very bad postal arrangements, and the absence of a telegraph, Port Moresby is to my mind a much nicer place to live in than Thursday Island. The residents proved themselves very friendly and obliging. Were it not for home-ties and duties I should very well like to make it my headquarters for a year or two. A certain amount of work could be done on the spot, and a very great deal by taking longer and shorter excursions from it. It appears to be a healthy locality, especially at the time of the year when we were there, and, what is of great importance in the tropics, we did not find the nights too hot.
Knowing that I was anxious to see a little of some inland people, Messrs. Musgrave and Ballantine arranged a three-days trip to the Astrolabe Range. Five horses were kindly loaned by the Government and the Vaigana Company. We packed our swags on Friday afternoon and fastened them on to the saddles before sunset. Each took with him a blanket, a spare flannel shirt, a pyjama suit, a tin of meat, some tobacco and handkerchiefs for trade wrapped up in a yard of American cloth. We also tied to our saddles a pannikin and hobbles for the horses, and carried bread and biscuits for the journey. Cameras, spare boxes of plates, and two water bottles were distributed among the party.
At three o’clock in the morning of Saturday, June 18th, Ballantine came to the hotel to wake us, and we dressed with despatch and went to Musgrave’s to saddle the horses. This took some time, as it was quite dark, and there were several little details of girths and straps that required arranging. Musgrave was about and very kindly had cocoa made for us. We started about 4 a.m. in single file; the intense darkness was relieved by the shining of the stars. The positions of the constellations known to me presented a novel appearance, as one was not accustomed to be up so early.
We wended our way past the gaol and along the coast to the east, through occasional plantations and wooded country. After about an hour’s walk we passed through a village, silent with the death of sleep, the only sign of life being two fires on the ground, the embers of which, fanned by the continuous breeze, were still glowing.
MAP OF CENTRAL DISTRICT
The calls of various birds were answered by the stridulation of insects as the eastern heavens gradually grew lighter, and we began to see something of the district in which we were travelling. The noises of nature became more marked as the dawn advanced, but there was little that can be described as singing made by the birds, though many of the cries were decidedly musical. Soon after sunrise we passed through Boumana, a plantation station owned by Peter Lifu, and situated nine miles from Port Moresby. It was only after passing this that we were able to trot or canter. Here the country consisted of grassy plains with scattered gum trees and occasional screw pines. In places the grass was as high as the horses, individual stems being as high as the rider as well. As we went inland cycads became more numerous; as a general rule these appear to die off when they reach a height of eight or ten feet, though I saw a few that exceeded that height.