I acquire a valuable native carving

The MV Koro takes us from Bogia to Madang

The skipper of the MV Koroi, the larger boat that takes us back to Madang is European. There are four more passengers on board for this fourteen-hour trip. A European doctor and his wife and two teenage kids, who are leaving the medical station at Bogia after having served there for some years.  It’s on dusk when we sail away from the Bogia jetty. Soon we are all sitting around a large table in the galley the six passengers and the white skipper and are served a meal by the native cook. Phil and I tuck in, we’re starving, we haven’t eaten since we left Madang early in the morning. The food is good and the skipper offers us a beer from his own supply.

We have a chat for a while then disappear with the other passengers into our respective cabins. The sea is fairly calm and I soon drift off and am woken up early in the morning with the boats activities.

I get dressed and start exploring the boat. On the upper deck I find lots of native artefacts of all kinds. Similar to the stuff I had seen at the Catholic Mission in Wewak, but better and more interesting.

I make my way back down to the galley where Phil and the others are already sitting waiting for breakfast. During breakfast I ask the skipper about the artefacts. The doctor answers, 'They’re ours'. He explains that during his stay in Bogia he had been given these items from time to time by patients for medical services. I ask him if he wants to sell any.

'No', he says.

'Not even one', I ask.

'Certainly not', he insists.

'Shame', I say.

After breakfast, I go back up on the upper deck and have another look at the artefacts. There is one particular large mask that fascinates me. I pick it up and have a close look at it, when the doctor stands beside me. 'I told you, they’re not for sale', he says. 'I just love this one', I answer, 'it’s fascinating. I’ll give you twenty bucks for it'. 'Put it down', he says.

He goes back below deck and I enter the wheel house where the captain and a Native steer the boat towards Madang. The captain points out a landmass in the distance and tells me that’s where Madang is, another four hours and we’ll we there, he says.

New Guinea Mask I bought on the boat

When we disembark in Madang, the doctor and his family are trying to get all their luggage and artefacts into a taxi. Phil and I grab our toolboxes and get off the boat. The doctor has no success getting everything into this taxi and his wife tells him, 'I told you not to bring so much stuff with you'.

I am watching with amusement. There is no way he can get all this stuff into one car. The doctor looks at me and I say, 'I told you, I’ll give you twenty bucks for it'.

He picks it up and hands it to me. I give him twenty dollars and Phil stands there with his mouth open. He wasn’t with me when I had the conversation with the doctor on the boat.

I know I have a great mask with much greater value than twenty dollars.