Thursday Island

Shell

For Australian-Made Buttons

A NEW industry recently commenced in Australia is the manufacture of pearl buttons from Thursday Island mother-of-pearl shell.

A factory has been operating in Syd ney for some weeks and the enterprise has been now incorporated and a com pany formed with a capital of £25,000.

Mr. James Burns, of Messrs. Burns, Philp and Co. Ltd., is chairman.

Besides buttons, all kinds of mother of-pearl articles and pearl shell inlay work will be manufactured. These will include sleeve links, earrings, slabs for clocks, pearl buckles, etc. The shell to be used will be genuine mother-of pearl, fished by the Wyben Pearling Company, Thursday Island. Messrs.

Burns, Philp and Co. have been largely interested in this pearling concern for many years.

The Commonwealth Government early this month decided to give the necessary protection to the new indus try. There had been a tendency for buttons made in the East, under East ern conditions, to be dumped in large quantities in Australia. After the local company commenced to operate, prices of Eastern buttons were reduced, pos sibly with a view to checking the suc cessful launching of the enterprise.

The imported buttons, marketed here as pearl-shell buttons, are generally made out of inferior shell. The Aus tralian factory will manufacture but tons from mother-of-pearl and will produce a very superior article.

Mrs. C. H. Rogers, who was well known in Fiji, passed away in Sydney early in May. She lived for many years in Levuka, being at one time proprietress of the Royal Hotel. Two or three years ago she went to Labasa to join her husband, who is attached to the staff of Messrs. Burns. Philp (South Sea) Co. Early this year Mrs.

Rogers came south for medical advice.

Mr. W. Laurenson, a resident of Samoa, died at the Apia Hospital last month. He had been to Falefa and was returning to Apia, when he had a seizure, from which he did not recover.

He was 52 years of age.