A NEW GUINEA COMEDY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24410, 23 September 1940, Page 12

A NEW GUINEA COMEDY.

VENUS MISTAKEN FOR . PARACHUTIST PLANE HIRED TO SHO.OT IT DOWN (From Our Own Correspondent) SYDNEY, Sept, 12. ' Passengers on a ship that reached Sydney at. the week-end said that all New Guinea was still chuckling over an incident that had happened a fortnight ago. An over-zealous Government official chartered a plane to shoot down what was thought to be -New Guinea's first enemy "parachutist" over. Salamaua, and the " parashots " discovered that the supposed enemy was the planet Venus. "At noon cne day the official suddenly discovered a brilliant white light in the sky," said one passenger. " Yelling, ' The parachutists have, come,' he collected a couple of rifles and ammunition, rushed out to the aerodrome, and with a friend chartered Ray Parer's Boeing plane." ;,:.., :'. "For an hour theplane roared over Salamaua," said another passenger. "At first we all wondered . what. was the matter, but when the story got round that the official was serious about his .' parachutists' the whole town turned out and yelled with laughter. "There was no doubt about the brillight white light. Wealhsaw it, but it had nothing to do with 'parachutists.' Because of some astronomical juggling, Venus at this time came in closer con« tact with another Rlanet, and could clearly be seen at mid-day. Sometimes she seemed to have, a tail like a comet. ; The'official will never live Venus down. The standing joke is to tell him to leave the poor girl alone."