Banana Pi: Console mouse (gpm) not working

I just installed 4.2.3-sunxi on my Banana Pi (original model.) Everything seems to work nicely except the console mouse (gpm.) I run keyboard and mouse on a "GreenAsia Inc. USB to PS/2 Adapter" and have never had a problem with that setup, including Raspberry Pi and Bananian on the BPi.  Both keyboard and mouse work under X but on the console only the keyboard works. This is logged when I plug in USB:

Nov 13 06:21:25 bpi kernel: [ 1963.223307] usb 3-1: new low-speed USB device number 4 using ohci-platform
Nov 13 06:21:25 bpi kernel: [ 1963.446399] usb 3-1: New USB device found, idVendor=0e8f, idProduct=0020
Nov 13 06:21:25 bpi kernel: [ 1963.446427] usb 3-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
Nov 13 06:21:25 bpi kernel: [ 1963.446437] usb 3-1: Product: PS2toUSB Adapter
Nov 13 06:21:25 bpi kernel: [ 1963.446447] usb 3-1: Manufacturer: GASIA
Nov 13 06:21:25 bpi kernel: [ 1963.472456] input: GASIA PS2toUSB Adapter as /devices/platform/soc@01c00000/1c14400.usb/usb3/3-1/3-1:1.0/0003:0E8F:0020.0005/input/input5
Nov 13 06:21:25 bpi kernel: [ 1963.524368] hid-generic 0003:0E8F:0020.0005: input: USB HID v1.10 Keyboard [GASIA PS2toUSB Adapter] on usb-1c14400.usb-1/input0
Nov 13 06:21:25 bpi kernel: [ 1963.534131] input: GASIA PS2toUSB Adapter as /devices/platform/soc@01c00000/1c14400.usb/usb3/3-1/3-1:1.1/0003:0E8F:0020.0006/input/input6
Nov 13 06:21:26 bpi kernel: [ 1963.598876] hid-generic 0003:0E8F:0020.0006: input: USB HID v1.10 Mouse [GASIA PS2toUSB Adapter] on usb-1c14400.usb-1/input1
 

When I start the gpm service I get

==> /var/log/daemon.log <==
Nov 13 06:25:32 bpi systemd[1]: Starting LSB: gpm sysv init script...
Nov 13 06:25:32 bpi gpm[6646]: Starting mouse interface server: gpm/etc/init.d/gpm: 66: /etc/init.d/gpm: cannot open /dev/input/mice: No such file

Even if I create the node file manually (mknod /dev/input/mice c 13 63) it doesn't work; reading from the file gives an error - that's what the gpm start script stumbles over.

However I can start gpm by hand with

/usr/sbin/gpm -m /dev/input/by-id/usb-GASIA_PS2toUSB_Adapter-if01-event-mouse -t evdev

That works. Linking that device file to /dev/input/mice allows the gpm service to start but it doesn't work (mouse movement has no effect.)

That is fixed if I set

type=evdev
in /etc/gpm.conf and everything works. I never had to jump through so many hoops - something is missing but I don't know what.