# “ ROAD TO THE CLOUDS ” 1958 NEW GUINEA TRAVELOGUE CONSTRUCTION OF THE HIGHLANDS HIGHWAY 86274

This 1958 travelogue film is produced by The Australian Commonwealth Film Unit, directed by John Morris, narrated by James McMauley, and released through Universal International Pictures. Under supervision of Australian patrol officers, the people of the New Guinea highlands build, in 1953, the Highlands Highway from the port of Lae at the coast to the highland provinces. 00:42 The mountains of New Guinea, the world's second-largest island. local crews of the Lai River gorge are building a road, cutting down trees along the river banks to build bridges.Australian patrol officers help with construction. 02:00 the locals, dressed in head plumes and pigments of earth work by hand with natural tools. 02:07 At the coastline, in the Markham Valley, where the road begins, a Land Rover with canvas top travels through a village of huts and coconut trees. Villagers of all ages greet the vehicle. A man climbs a tall coconut tree. Children climb on the truck, laughing and enjoying themselves. 02:50 The Land Rover continues on its journey, along a mountain dirt road and through jungle. 03:08 The truck arrives at the U-Ume River where a dozen locals await. They unload the vehicle and attached a heavy rope to the front bumper, aiding the vehicle as it fords the fast-flowing river. 04:13 The Land Rover flips on its side. The men upright the vehicle and continue pushing and pulling it across the river. 04:49 The Land Rover continues over dust and rock and windswept fields of kunai grass set…

- Kind: Film
- By: PeriscopeFilm
- Genres: Travel, Industrial and advertising
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/86274-road-to-the-clouds)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/86274-road-to-the-clouds?play=1)