Norfolk Island.

Plea for Second Medical Man— Lack of Tourist Publicity.

From Our Own Correspondent.

Norfolk Is., March 26.

LAST month, when Mr. J. Love (Chairman of the Hospitals’ Com mission of N.S.W., or something like that) rather high-handedly con ducted a meeting on this island, laying down the law none too politely to an audience whom he under-estimated as regards their education and natural in telligence, he pooh-poohed the idea of there being any necessity whatever for a second medical man on Norfolk. He pointed out that one doctor on the mainland was responsible for the health of far more than the thousand persons who make up the censor’s tally on this little speck of land.

What he did not mention in connec tion with this item of information was that on the mainland, while a doctor may easily carry on a practice of far wider range, his patients or potential patients have the option of calling in any other medical man within reach and the doctor himself can consult another man if he thinks it advisable.

Had Mr. Love been here last week, instead of last month, when the island might practically have been given a clean bill of health and there was not a person seriously indisposed, he might, perhaps, have reconsidered his hasty opinion and promised not only to boom Norfolk as a health resort but to re commend to some competent man look ing for an opening the opportunity awaiting him here.

Our Government Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Sydney Lawrence, was so busy with a number of extremely urgent cases that he was unable to go aboard the s.s. “Morinda”—early on Monday morning, March 7, en route from Vila to Auckland —and give her the necessary inspection to enable her passengers to come ashore for a pleas ant day among our pine-trees and ban ana groves. This clearing of visiting steamers is one of the principal rea sons for the appointment of medical officers to these outlying islands, and one of the duties for which the official salary is paid.

Among other causes for professional anxiety was the sad case of little Billy Schmidt who, during the previous week, had developed a mysterious ill ness accompanied by paralysis. This ailment Dr. Lawrence tentatively diag nosed as infantile paralysis, thereby terrifying the mothers of the children who had attended the same school and come into daily contact with Billy, and on Thursday he ordered the child into our small general hospi tal. On Sunday noon he died, the cause of death being still a mystery, although, in view of the fact that no other cases have so far developed, we think probably it was not infantile paralysis but some more obscure dis ease contracted perhaps in the New Hebrides, where the child lived during his infant years.

However, be that as it may, and however competent our reigning M.O. may be to deal with whatever necessity arises, the majority of us feel that the presence of a second medical man on

this island is highly desirable. In many cases a consultation would be of in estimable service in diagnosis and treatment and would also be a great sat isfaction to the relatives of the patient.

Our G.M.O., appointed from Australia for a term of three years, receives a handsome salary and a very good house in Kingston, together with the right of private practice, which must bring in at least as much more as the guaranteed income. But the right of private practice does not mean, as has been erroneously asserted, the sole right to practice on the island. This fact was particularly established in an in terview with one of the three mem bers of the visiting party or commis sion—or however they were exactly classified—during their holiday here.

A dozen doctors might settle here if they chose to and thought it worth while —which it certainly wouldn’t be; but there is room and a warm welcome awaiting one more doctor—just so long as he is completely competent, kind hearted and reasonable in his charges.

It is certainly a fact that of our thousand head of population, a certain small proportion are entitled to free treatment —or rather free diagnosis, for it appears that they pay for drugs or medicines —but that proportion dimin ishes automatically every year. Dr.

Duke, who was here for four years and left us last year to pursue his studies overseas, openly boasted that, with a wife and child to support, he never touched his official salary at all but lived more than comfortably on the fees from his private practice. And it must be remembered that our popula tion increases year by year; not only natural increase by birth but by the advent of new settlers.

There is an opportunity, then, for just the right man. Not a man of am bition, perhaps, nor with his whole professional life before him; nor a man who wants to make a great deal of money. But a middle-aged man, or even an elderly man with a small in come and a desire still to be of some service to his fellows while finding time to enjoy life himself. There is plenty of congenial society here —people from every class and all parts of the world —there are two golf clubs, a bowling club, and tennis and bridge from end to end of the island. A man of char acter and a good record as a general practitioner with some small skill of surgery. We have room for two doc tors.

Tourist Traffic Wanted.

After consideration of the shipping situation, B.P.’s have decided to make no alteration in their present running of the “Morinda” between Norfolk Is land and Auckland. For six months longer, at least, intending passengers may count upon the service and make plans accordingly.

But while we hear endlessly of hun dreds of New Zealanders yearning to make the trip, our passenger accommo dation is never anything like fully booked up. With the publicity cam paign embarked upon by B.P.’s them selves, both in Australia and New Zea land, the endeavours to reach intend ing visitors and potential settlers made by our own local Chamber of Com merce, and the unceasing advertise ment of Norfolk Island in the columns of the P.I.M. by this correspondent, it seems incredible that people should still obstinately assert that they are unable to obtain particulars of attrac

tions and opportunities here—indeed, that they cannot even locate us on the map of the Pacific. But they do.

New arrivals coming ashore with their eyes already searching the land scape for coconut groves and lovely, dusky, scantily-clothed maidens, assure us that they can scarcely believe—even after a trip on a B.P. island steamer — that they have actually pinned us down and stepped on us. Surely the Gov ernment Tourist Bureaux of whatever country they have fled are able to offer them a highly-coloured leaflet and to recommend to them some one or other of our excellent accommodation houses.

And now Mr. Love is also going to broadcast our unparalleled climate and recommend us as a health resort for convalescents and invalids. The heights of the island in particular, where the air is light and bracing even in the heaviest of summer months, and a glorious, wide-flung view over pine clad hillsides and fertile valleys away to the blue, limitless ocean is sufficient entertainment for hours at a stretch.