Jack Hides

Jack Gordon Hides (24 June 1906 – 19 June 1938) was an explorer of the then-Australian-controlled territories of Papua and New Guinea, now modern Papua New Guinea. He served as a Patrol Officer from 1931 to 1936, and led several expeditions in the early 1930s.

He was born in Port Moresby, the son of the head gaoler of the Port Moresby Gaol. He received a limited education at schools in Port Moresby and Queensland. He was a good swimmer, sprinter, and amateur boxer. In 1932 he married in Australia and later became the father of two children.

His first work in the Papuan public service was in July 1925, and in May 1926 he transferred to a cadet patrol officer. In February 1928 he became a Patrol Officer, and in 1934 became Assistant Resident Magistrate, 2nd grade, serving at various bases until 1936. His work in 1931–1932 leading patrols from Kerema into the partially unexplored Kukukuku country demonstrated considerable leadership skills. In temperament he was bold and courageous, although he has received criticism that some of the loss of life during his missions could have been avoided by more careful planning or caution. He also began to write books about his explorations, mainly based on his diaries, which were successful.

In 1935 he was chosen by Lieutenant-Governor Hubert Murray to lead an expedition into the unexplored Great Papuan Plateau between the Strickland and Purari Rivers, with Louis James O'Malley as his second-in-command, along with 10 police and 28 carriers. It was the last major exploratory mission in the territory without radio or aerial support. They left Daru, on the south coast, by water on 1 January, followed the Strickland River and then its tributary the Rentoul River by canoe, leaving their boats about five miles below the confluence of the eastern and western branches of the river. From there they continued by foot along the south side of the river, travelling several days without seeing any people or signs of habitation. Then they camped at the confluence of the Sioa and Rentoul river, in view of three longhouses on the opposite side of the valley, and their inhabitants, who seemed to take no notice of the explorers. The next morning, Hides was threatened by a party of natives who had crossed the river in the night.

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