Open Writing

During our stay in Moresby I was very fortunate to be invited on board a private fishing boat one night to fish for the delicious Red Emperor in spectacular Bootler's Bay.

We set out at dusk and fished late into the night. We caught a dozen or so of these beautiful large bottom-feeding fish. We dozed off for a few hours before I awoke at the pre-dawn period when the sea and sky are indistinguishable from each other. I saw the mirror-like surface being sliced everywhere with dozens of triangular fins breaking the glassy surface. I lay on the prow fascinated with what I thought was a school of small sharks. In fact I was watching the wingtips of a large school of young Manta Rays.

The skipper slowly moved towards them. The water was as clear as glass. I could see right down to the soft coral waving far below. Suddenly I noticed that I too was being watched by a couple of dolphins swimming under the prow smiling and looking up at me. I was startled when some Long Toms, fish about fifteen to eighteen inches long, not being able to escape our boat, lifted themselves right out of the water ahead and ran along the surface on their tails before diving in again. I felt and behaved like a two-year-old. It was magical.

Jan and I often took out our very elementary barbecue, a piece of metal plate, to cook our sausages and meat patties for breakfast on a Sunday morning at the beach of Idler's bay on the other side of the Moresby Harbour. It was a delightful spot for our family and friends as we were able to snorkel over a shallow reef and watch at close hand a wide variety of tropical sea creatures.

In 1968 I delayed taking my annual holiday, as I wanted to be on hand to set out the shelving and lay out the new supermarket. But, as the modernizing was not done to schedule, I had to begin my leave.

We stayed at a holiday unit at Labrador just north of the Gold Coast in Queensland where Jan's parents and sister joined us for a very pleasant fortnight.

We had an interesting experience shortly after we arrived. We were playing cards sitting near the front window of our upstairs flat when we heard a car pull up. Instinctively Jan and I quickly dispensed with the cards and pretended that we were playing some other game. Jan's parents and sister were nonplussed at our behaviour. We had to explain that playing cards was against the law in Papua New Guinea. It was the very first act passed by the new indigenous government trying to curb the gambling epidemic. Like many others we continuously broke this rather futile law in Moresby. The only legal exception was that if you could prove that you were a bone fide member of a bridge club.

I was very disappointed to find the new store fully laid out and operating when I returned. Undaunted, I relayed the whole supermarket again and organized a chain of command for my staff. The floor supervisors and head check out girl were issued with white uniforms while the others wore blue dustcoats. It was a simple measure but it worked remarkably well. My range of goods was second to none as they included merchandise I had indented from all over the world. The supermarket became a Mecca for those who loved entertaining. Not only could they choose from the large range of international products, they could also get advice on how to prepare exotic dishes as I also ordered recipe books demonstrating how the products could be used. After three years, my section, for the first time, was proving very profitable in its own right. That was when a senior executive became interested and took over the running the section overriding my instructions to the staff.

My routine on Tuesday mornings was that all the stock ordered on Monday would come down the chute from the storeroom upstairs and be laid out on to the floor alongside its location in the store ready to be put on the shelves the rest of the day. The staff would spend the rest of the week topping up and bringing the stock forward and serving customers. This system was too untidy for the aforementioned senior executive upstairs who issued orders that only one carton at a time be allowed on to the floor. This caused a permanent bottleneck, as when anything was needed in a hurry, the whole load often had to be fossicked through before locating that particular item. It was absolute chaos. I protested strongly to him, but without success. It was no longer my supermarket.

I immediately made an appointment to see the general manager, Mr. Underwood, to put in my complaint. I should have known better, as he elected to support his offsider instead. I went home, talked it over with Jan and came to the conclusion that as I could not work with this man I would have to tender my resignation.

I wrote to my parents saying that we were considering returning to Canada. I was devastated to hear from Dad that unemployment in Vancouver was again much too high.

I made another appointment with the general manager to see if there were any other alternatives. I was fortunate to be able to transfer to Madang as their Store Manager.

© Clement 2007