Lyall Howard - The Copra Trade

The Copra Trade

In 1926, Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes declared that he would make "New Guinea for the returned serviceman". He offered Australian ex-servicemen land parcels in New Guinea at very generous prices. Like many other ex-servicemen, Lyall Howard took up the offer and acquired two copra plantations on Karkar Island in New Guinea valued at the time at more than £100,000 (over A$4 million in today's currency) where 200 native labourers worked.

Two Australian companies, Burns Philp and the trading house W. R. Carpenter and Co Ltd managed many of the plantations on behalf of the ex-servicemen. The companies found that it was cheaper to pay the ex-servicemen a yearly rent to lease the land rather than purchase it themselves. The controversial but legal scheme became known as "dummying", and was common at the time.

The Howard land holdings raised the attention of the Australian Administrator of New Guinea. In 1929, the Administrator sent a cable to the Investigation Branch (now known as ASIO) in Canberra:

"Walter and Lyall Falconer Howard apply consent purchase property valued at £25,000 and £100,000 respectively. Strongly suspect dummies for Carpenter and Coy. Could Investigation Branch enquire into status and financial circumstances these men and report the result urgently?"

In 1928, Commonwealth Auditor General, Sir John Latham, commissioned a report into the 'dummying' affair. Sir Latham concluded that, in the Howard's case, there is "no doubt whatever that dummying exists", but said "the offence is not so open and the pretence is better maintained" compared to other cases. With the assistance of Treasurer Ted Theodore, the Administrator pursued the Howard case for many more months, but eventually declared he was "satisfied with the bona fides of the Howards".

Sir John Middleton, a former PNG MP and son of returned Australian serviceman planter Max Middleton said:

"It's nothing against Howard's father because everyone was doing it", "There was no disgrace in it. Dozens of people did it".

Even a one-armed lift operator at Burns Philps' office in Sydney was a big plantation owner on paper.