News From Norfolk Island

Crown Lands Thrown Open—Successful Horticultural Show— "Tons of Money”—The Flying Dutchman

From Our Own Correspondent

Norfolk Island, Nov. 29.

AN area of Crown Land has been just thrown open for settlement at Anson Bay, on the road to the cable station, at the western end of the island.

What are stated to be harsh and ar bitrary conditions have been made in regard to the taking up of the various twelve acre blocks, which are offered on 28 years’ lease. Every block must be surrounded with a cattle-proof fence within a year, the successful ten derer must reside continuously upon his section, and, with every tender put forward, the first year’s rent —at an upset price of ten shillings per acre— together with survey fee and a guinea deed fee, must be enclosed.

With money as tight as it is, this locking up of even a few pounds in an investment that may not be realised, would prohibit many possible tenderers, while, I believe, also, that the land is so heavily timbered that the cost, per acre, cleared and planted, would run into anything between £60 and £80.

This would be a fantastic price to pay anywhere in the world for the pri vilege of growing bananas by the sweat of one’s personal brow; especially as the last few' shipments, both to Aus tralia and New Zealand, have brought returns barely sufficient to cover the cost of sending them to market.

As cne planter ruefully put it the other day: “This rotten tax of 21 per cent., imposed by our paternal Gov ernment, just about means the differ ence between a credit note and a debit slip.” His hearers laughed, but the statement was almost literally true.

Great satisfaction is felt at the an nouncement that the Pacific Islands Monthly is going to fight the issue for us and the deepest interest will follow the campaign.

Of course, things will improve— good times will come again; invest ment in land on Norfolk Island is still essentially the attractive proposition that it was a year ago—when every thing was booming and properties were changing hands every week. There are good places in the market now, either for sale or long lease, whose owners have reason to leave the island permanently or for a period; and this writer, running a library in a central position, with a typewriter and time to spare, would be willing to deal with enquiries and to put buyers and sellers into touch with each other. (For a fee, of course—time is money here as else where —but a small one.)

Fine Exhibits At Show

Last week our public hall was thronged by exhibitors and their ex hibits in the largest and most success ful Horticultural Show this island has ever known; a real old-time country

show, and all the sweeter for its sim plicity. Mammoth vegetables—mag nificent fruits —exquisite flowers in single blooms, in vases, in massed bunches, and on decorated tables.

There was one table, a thing of airy fairy scarlets, sprayed about with deli cate, lacy green, that caught the eye at once and most justly carried off the prize in its class. And there were cakes —such cakes —and rich black plum puddings, and pickles, and jams, and jellies and sweets. No wonder everything was fenced-in with wire netting against plundering hands.

The two public schools put in won derful entries of maps and drawings and raffia work, and there were em broidered cushions and table centres and a marvellous supper cloth that was practically all hand-made lace, worked around a centre of fine linen.

And there were prize fowls and tur keys, and a captive pig—poor fellow — and an interested ring of spectators around a banana packing competition that was won by a thirteen year old girl. The prizes went in the right direction; old friends and new friends met and gossiped and took each other to tea in one or other of the two at tractively arranged tea tents, and, alto gether, under a blue and cloudless sky a pleasant time was had by all, as they say in reporting similar doings in small town American papers.

Theatrical Entertainment

Another social event that drew the whole island and crowded the same hall was our third theatrical entertain ment. This time it was “Tons of Money,” with an entirely new cast, apart from Mr. Jarvis himself, who not only played the biggest part, but produced, stage managed, painted new and striking scenery and extended the small stage beyond the proscenium with his own hands. It was a tre mendous success and the talent dis covered on this island almost inclines one to believe that half the popula tion consists of runaway actors and actresses who have turned their backs upon metropolitan audiences to play the parts of Adam and Eve upon our primeval stage. The front of the house, too, becomes more imposing with every production. Evening dress, elegant chatter with no reference to the humble tasks that engaged us eight up to the moment of dressing and set ting out, presentation bouquets and tall-handled, gilt baskets brimming with beauty, boxes of chocolates and speeches from both sides of the foot lights at the conclusion of the per formance !

The other day we actually saw a strange ship—a sailing ship—a dream ship; blown like a cloud across the distant horizon with not a glance, not a pause for our little green island lifting in the seas; bound vaguely and in haste into the spicy north of Java and the Celebes. Master, perchance, the Flying Dutchman on his everlast ing voyages about the endless ocean.

Marketing Of Passion Fruit

Crop

To come back to earth and the fruits thereof. Let us talk of passion fruit, of which there are tons and tons and countless tons, swelling and filling and ripening upon the island from the commencement of this month until the end of February. Both soil and cli mate are ideal for its production, it grows profusely and without care, it will challenge comparison with that produced anywhere in the world; yet. year by year, something goes wrong with the marketing and half of it goes to waste.

The first fruits are shipped away in half bushel cases and fetch luxury prices. With tbe next consignment re turns are cut down 50 to 75 per cent.

Thereafter, we either gamble on re ceiving something or nothing from our mainland agents, or we cram sugar sacks with choice fruit and haul it to a local pulp factory, thankfully dis posing of it for an average price of lid a pound. Yet. year by vear, we hear that overseas, in England and America, it is becoming increasingly popular in salads, as flavouring or con verted into non-alcoholic wine; that a demand is growing: that it will be come difficult to fill.

But it never makes anv difference to us; we never realise better prices, we never find a new market, and we lose half our fruit each season. Surely in the huge cities of Sydney and Mel bourne, with their populations that live upon ices and cool drinks all through the summer months, there must be manufacturers of these de lights who would gladly come to some arrangement with us whereby our pas sion fruit was pooled upon the island and consigned direct—cutting out the agent and the greedy middleman.

We don’t ask fancy prices; one fair price to be agreed upon and guaran teed from the beginning of the sea son to the end, would amply content us.

springs, forcing their way through the sulphur deposits, formed a remarkable sight. These springs were at an ele vation of between 1000 and 2000 feet.

The party investigated the occurrence of sulphur in the centre of a volcanic crater, and many samples have been brought back to Australia for further examination.

Travelling on this island was at all times most difficult. A gang of native boys had to be employed to cut tracks through the scrub and carry the gear and stores. Even with this assistance the rate of travel only averaged half a mile per hour.

Mr. Dunstan found the several weeks spent on the Banks and New Hebrides Islands intensely interesting. The Brit ish people there were very hospitable and rendered great assistance to the expedition.

Mr. Dunstan considers that the apathy of Australia to develop mineral resources in the New Hebrides and New Caledonia is greatly to be re gretted. These islands contain chrome, cobalt, manganese, mercury, asbestos, coal, molybdenite, oil, lead, silver, gold and sulphur. Very little has been published about the deposits in Eng lish, but considerable notice has been given to them in French publications.