News From Norfolk Island

Treating of Passion Fruit Pulp—New Itinerary for Morinda?

From Our Own Correspondent

Norfolk Island, March 3.

AS THE outcome, we are convinced, of the kind interest taken in our problems by Mr. Frank Edwards, sec retary to the Chamber of Manufac tures of New South Wales, we received, twenty-four hours before the arrival of the Marsina, downward bound from the Solomons to Sydney last week, a firm demand for passion fruit in the shell, not as pulp.

We sent quite an amount, but, if the enquiry had come in a few days earlier, we could have despatched far more, although it is practically the end of our season and the fruit cannot be expected to be as fine as it was, say, a month ago.

All our growers were engaged in cut ting, de-handling, grading and pack ing the biggest shipment of bananas we have ever sent away. There were in all 2,200 cases. The growers’ wives were helping them and few could stop to pick and pack passion-fruit, which

are nasty, aggravating little things that loll and roll and tumble in a shower from one end of their half-bushel cases to the other as they are being built in tiers.

We hope they arrived in good con dition and disproved once and for all the undeserved accusation that they are of poor quality and flavour —even though, as said before, they were asked for at the end of the season and at a few hours’ notice.

Reason For Inferior Pulp.

In connection with passion fruit, it came through Mr. Edwards that some particular firm, dealing in pulps and by-products of fruit, had secured the only available gallon of Norfolk Island passion fruit pulp and were having it analysed by their own chemist to find out exactly “what is wrong with Nor folk Island pulp.”

Well, if the sample bore one certain name as manufacturer and consignor, we know, without waiting for anybody to tell us, just what was wrong with that special consignment. This man— who has now left the island—was de lighting our hearts, a season or so ago, by giving very good prices indeed for all the fruit we could supply; but we did not know until long after, that he did damage to our fair name and fame, for, it is said, he added a handsome proportion of aqua, more or less pura, to every 4 gallon boiler of pulp.

This horrible stuff was sealed up and sent away, and we are neither sur

prised nor affronted that buyers would have none of it. But that kind of thing is over and done with once and for all. and, if there are manufacturers still desirous of buying really good pulp— properly treated and absolutely pure— we still have on hand a considerable quantity, treated about a year ago, under the close supervision of a small syndicate of self-respecting and busi nesslike growers, who guarantee that now—at this moment of writing—the stuff is in perfect condition and of really good flavour.

Of course, it should keep indefinitely and, when properly treated, it does.

Also, it appears that the processing is simple to a degree.

Opportunity For Enterpris

Ing Company

There certainly is a big opportunity here for some enterprising company, who would send over a suitable man to take charge. There is already a

factory good enough to begin opera tions in, which was put up for the purpose a year or so ago by an Auck land firm; this now stands idle.

In addition to the immense amount of passion fruit already being grown— and three separate growers have told me that this season they have lost, at a conservative computation, three solid tons of fruit—there are, beyond esti mate, red and yellow guavas in groves and thickets all over the island, grow ing wild and going to waste: trees and trees of a wonderful, huge, hard sweet pear—a real canning pear. I under stand, that never softens till it rots— the best oranges I have ever eaten— sweet, thin-skinned and luscious —and thousands and thousands of lemon trees that bear, all the year round, without care or cultivation, big, juicy fruit of excellent flavour.

Practically two-thirds of all this fruit is lost every year. We eat all we can we make jam and jelly and bottled stuff and a certain amount of delicious wine; but there comes flood tide in each season, when we cannot even give it away.

But, if some firm does decide that our island and its resources are worth exploiting and sends a representative to settle down and make his life and business career here, let him be a man of character and decision whose public life and private life are sharply divi ded; his business interests here, but his personal friends and interests over sea. No meddling with island politics; no favourites and no foes.

N.I. Shipping Service.

Now, about our shipping, which is another very vital question. Until, roughly, the last year, we had two ser vices, one, naturally, in the hands of Messrs. Burns, Philp—the famous “B.P.’s” of the Pacific and, indeed, of the whole round world —the other maintained between Norfolk and Auck land for the benefit of the 200 settlers of New Zealand origin, by the Domi nion Government. That service, pre carious and irregular as it was, has now “died on us” and we are left out in the blue.

So far as commercial interests are concerned, that is of small matter be cause, with the exchange so heavily against Australia in every part of the world, we cannot afford to have deal ings with any other country; but. as regards our tourist traffic, it is a very serious loss.

Norfolk Island, only two and a half days distant from Auckland, with a climate and semi-tropical charm that New Zealanders may only read and dream of offers them a holiday and a change of environment unattainable

in any ether direction and at half the cost of many organised tours in their own land.

And pleasure, as well as beauty, awaits them here. We play golf in the winter instead of the summer, we can bathe and picnic all the year round. There is a little Bridge Club, which all reputable visitors are wel come to join, on payment of a very small subscription, and there is a small, but modern, library open to them on equally low terms.

There are endless public dances and entertainments and a picture show once a week; cars and riding horses may be hired. But at present unless tourists and visitors can spare the time and money to come here via Sydney Norfolk Island remains a lost isle of Arcady.

Sydney—N.I.—Auckland?

It has, however, been suggested that Burns. Philp, if properly approached, would consider an extension of their existing service on to Auckland. In July or thereabouts, the aged Makambo is to be replaced by the Morinda, a bigger, quicker and more seaworthy vessel, capable of carrying about 80 passengers, and the idea is that, in stead of stopping short here as she does on every alternate trip—on the other she runs on to Vila in the New Hebrides —and turning back to Sydney, she should continue on to Auckland returning again to Sydney, via Norfolk and Lord Howe Island—which lies somewhere about 400 miles this side of Australia.

This would open up quite an attrac tive new tourist trip and it would be possible for travellers to break their voyage wherever they wished and pick up the vessel again on her return passage.

Of course, it means delivering our selves tied and bound into the hands of a monopoly and a shipping mono poly, of all things, is, as a rule, some thing to beware of. Fares and accom modation, freights and stowage, are all at the mercy of the company oper ating.

But in this case, we have more to gain than to lose and the general feeling on the island is in favour of such an extension, and we hope it may come to pass.