163 Lae-Rabaul-Lae Mick Healy and his wife Molly; Mick was a young patrol officer i/c our police escort on the Fly River in 1936. He has been District Commissioner, Kavieng, for about four years. Has at his house a remarkable stone mortar and pestle from New Hannover; mortar unlike any I have seen from New Guinea and looks European. He has promised it to the new museum in Port Moresby. The long flight gave me a good idea of most of the country on the route. The season is on the change from SE to NW, much rain had fallen on Manus, New Ireland and Rabaul, and the lower Sepik and Ramu were pretty well clouded in both days. Both running muddy; probably they are never clear. With the dying of the SE trades, there was not the slightest break on the extensive reefs off the south coast of Manus. Considerable amount of air traffic and commercial activity at all places visited, except Manus. Momote was a military base in World War II; now decrepit. Japanese are doing salvage work there, having finished a big project at Rabaul. We carried five of them from Kavieng to Momote. Healy says relations are fairly good with the European population. The Chinese hat them and will have nothing to do with them. The whites were evacuated to Australia when the Japs struck south into the Pacific in 1942. The Chinese had to stay. Very numerous bomb craters at Wewak and Kavieng. Pillboxes all over the place at Kavieng. The Japs had 35,000 on New Ireland, a parachute division at Wewak. Details of trip in small notebook #2. Sunday, December 6. Almost every night since our arrival in Lae heavy rain, usually with thunder, has fallen. Last night's continued into the middle of the morning. Other days have been fine. My day spent on paper work in connection with the cargo, paying accounts and writing letters. Van and John were among about 30 guests of Hugh Osborne on a trip on the Yelangili II to Salamaua. Monday, December 7. Various delays in the crating job. Stencils; tops for packing cases wrongly cut, etc. The job should be finished tomorrow. Have permits to export the botanical and "antiquities" specimens. Have not heard from Dept. Agriculture on the permit for zoological specimens. Tuesday-Wednesday, December 8 and 9. Packing was finished Tuesday and that evening we gave a dinner at Hotel Cecil for the Dept. of Forests staff; 14 at table. On Wednesday the Lutheran Mission decided not to buy our Land Rover. It shows signs of wear and tear (naturally) after 8 months and 7600 miles but is still a good vehicle worth more than the £900 I would take for it. Mission has decided against buying any more 2nd hand vehicles, and they have the money for new ones. The Mission had 2nd preference on the Land Rover. John Collins had first, but could not afford to offer more than £750. and Ken Wynn (our transport man in 1953, now/for several years past manager Warisota Plantation for Bunting), arrived in town and is staying with us. Van left for Nondugl on Western Highlands to visit Shaw Mayer; will fly after that direct from Goroka to Port Moresby.