About Islands People

Mrs. Finney, wife of the Administrator of Norfolk Island and daughter of Sir Hubert Murray (Lieut.-Governor of Papua) is making the Hotel Metropole her headquarters during her three months’ holiday in Sydney. At present she is at Mossvale, to be near her daughter Maura who is a boarder at the Dominician Con vent. Son Peter is at Riverview.

The two sons of Dr. and Mrs. Giblin, of Papua, have returned to Mowbray House, Chatswood, to resume their schooling.

Eldest son Victor was Dux of the school last year, besides carrying off the Science, Latin and Greek prizes.

Mr. Peter Miravitch, of Billyard Avenue, Wahroonga, who paid a hurried visit South from Edie Creek, N.G., on account of his wife’s illness, returned by the last ship. His son, Erik, who is at the Con servatorium, is said to be following in the footsteps of his famous cousin, Benno Mosievitch.

John, Henk and Lew Pronk, from Java, arrived by the “Nieuw Holland” to re sume their studies at “Shore”; also Ian Coote and Bill Wright, from Port Moresby.

Mr. Hunter Kirke, M.C., who has been down on three months’ furlough from Ki andi, Edie Creek, returned last month. It seemed as if every former “cobber” of the 19th Battalion was at the ship to wave a cheery farewell to this popular Digger.

Mr. Morton Westbrook, whose dad is one of the big men in the Customs in N.S.W., sends a “cheerio” from Pondo.

Morton has quite recovered from his re cent illness, which necessitated a “holi day” in the hospital at Rabaul. By the way, Morton’s brother is the famous “escapologist,” who has been creating such a furore with star turns at the Hoyt Theatres.

Mr. and Mrs. Allen Innes, of Salamaua, T.N.G., left Sydney early in February to spend a holiday in Melbourne and Tas mania. They intend to return to Sala maua late in March. Mrs. Innes, before she left Sydney, was making a collection of interesting Islands material for two Englishwomen whose guest she was while abroad, namely, Lady Millais, of “Whare horne,” Kent, and Mrs. Talbot Cadow, of “Edenfleld Manor,” Carlisle. Both ladies —probably as a result of Mrs. Innes’ pic turesque stories of life in the South Seas —have displayed a very keen interest in the Pacific Islands.

Mr. N. Hagen, the well-known mer chant of Noumea, New Caledonia, passed through Sydney in January on his way home after eight months spent abroad, mostly in Paris.

Mr. W. C. Groves, who has for some time been located on Tabar Island, New Ireland district, has left his island home and is now in Rabaul. Mr. Groves has been studying sociological conditions amongst the natives of New Ireland for the National Council of Research under a Rockefeller endowment, and has col lected very interesting data, and prepared exhaustive proposals regarding the future education system which he claims would best be applied in certain districts in the Territory. Prior to this work he was attached to the Administration Educa tional Department in 1922.

Mrs. Morris McCullagh, of Fiji, is ex pected in Sydney at the end of the month, and will spend some of her holidays with her sister, Sheila McDonald, the well known artist.

Mr. and Mrs. I. H. Grabowsky have spent many anxious moments since leav ing their home at Lae, New Guinea, where Mr. Grabowsky is one of the chief execu tives of New Guinea Airways. On ar rival in Sydney a Macquarie Street specialist told “Grabs” it would be neces sary to amputate one of his legs. But he sought further advice, and, it is pleas ing to learn that the trouble is now being successfully cured by a Melbourne specialist.

Mr. and Mrs. R. A. Laws have received many congratulatory messages; for just recently the stork paid them a visit in Rabaul, and left them an attractive baby girl, Mr. Laws is a partner in the well known Rabaul trading firm of Greenwood & Laws —which, by the way, has arranged to open a branch at Wau.

Mr. E. C. Green, of the Department of Agriculture, New Guinea Administration, is at present undergoing a special course at the Imperial College of Tropical Agri culture in Trinidad, British West Indies.

He expects to return to Australia about July of this year.

Mr. Roland Green, M.P., who was in jured rather severely in an accident dur ing the Christmas holidays, is now mak ing good progress, after a long spell in hospital. Mr. Green has very many friends in Papua and New Guinea, who were dis tressed to learn of the painful accident which befell him.

Mr. T. G. Murray, M.L.C., who has become well-known in Sydney as an in vestor, returned recently from the United States, and reported that he had made contact with influential people who were interested in gold mining in New Guinea.

They proposed to send four geologists to make investigations in Northern Aus tralia, and it is presumed that these gen tlemen will also take a look at New Gui nea and Papua before returning home.

Miss Dove Nicholls, of Fiji, who was a passenger by the Monterey, is on a four weeks’ holiday to Melbourne. For some time she was the teacher at a native school at Ba, Fiji, and for five months she has had charge of another school that has been opened by the Colonial Sugar

Refining Company. The eight children at the school are all half-castes. Miss Nich olls finds them intelligent and eager. Miss Nicholls, who is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. Warne Nicholls, of Solovi Nadi, has just announced her engagement to Mr. John C. Potts, who is stationed in Fiji as a chemist with the Colonial Sugar Refining Company.

Mr. A. J. Vogan, a well-known traveller in the Pacific, has left Sydney for Fiji, where he intends to make further investi gations concerning some ancient rock carvings which he discovered in one of the northern islands of the group.

Dr. and Mme. De La Rue, a distinguish ed French scientist and his wife, arrived in Sydney last week en route to New Cale donia. The interesting native axes with heads of jade in the Paris Museum, from New Caledonia, have inspired them to seek further specimens. They also will visit the New Hebrides, the doctor to study the habits of South Seas volcanoes and Madame, who is a naturalist of distinction, to collect plants and insects. They have pursued their researches in many parts of the world.

Rev. W. H. Cox, of New Guinea, has been very ill. Immediately after his ar rival in Sydney from New Britain in December last he was taken to hospital and was under observation for some time, in the hope of avoiding a serious operation.

Ultimately, however, the operation had to be performed, which was of an extensive character, and for some days his condition was critical. However, owing to the un remitting attention of surgeon and nurses, Mr. Cox has considerably improved, and his many friends hope that he will soon be in normal health again. It has been announced that it will be impossible for him to return to New Britain, where he has performed yeoman service for the Methodist Church, Mr. A. H. Weil, Seventh Day Adventist missionary of Port Resolution, on the volcanic island of Tanna, New Hebrides, returned to his station by the Morinda on February 8. He has been on furlough in New South Wales.

Mr. and Mrs. R. A. Derrick, Methodist missionaries at Davuilevu, Fiji, returned to Suva by the Mariposa on January 7. Mr.

Derrick is in charge of the Boys’ High School at Davuilevu.

Mrs. E. G. Sayers, wife of Dr. Sayers, Gizo, British Solomon Islands, arrived in Sydney with her two children during January en route to New Zealand. Dr.

Sayers is a missionary in the service of the Methodist Church of New Zealand and has also left the Solomons for New Zea land. The family will return to Gizo in April next.

Miss M. A. Hurse, of the Melanesian Mission, who has just retired after com pleting 32 years of work at the school for native girls at Torgil, Banks Island, left Sydney for New Zealand on January 19.

She intends to reside in Christchurch.

Mr. Reginald Robert Higgins, of Fiji, died in Suva after a short illness on Janu ary 7. Pie was 49 years of age and had been a popular officer in the Fiji Public Service for over 20 years. Born in Mil dura, Victoria, he went to Fiji in 1909 in the service of the Vacuum Oil Co., but joined the Fiji Customs Department the following year. After holding various posi tions in the Customs and Telegraph De partments, he was appointed Accountant and Cashier in the Government Savings Bank in 1928 and held this position until he died. He is survived by his wife and eight children.

Rev. G. J. Flatten, Methodist missionary in New Britain, and his wife arrived in

Sydney recently by the Tanda. He has re tired after six years of service at Nama tanai and has returned to New South Wales to enable his children to study at a Sydney school.

Rev. A. A. Butchart, of the Melanesian Mission, left Sydney for the Solomon Islands by the Malaita on January 20, after six months’ furlough. He is doing mis sion work at Gaua, Banks Island.

Mr. D. C. Hartam-Bayes, of the Solomon Islands, has been on a visit to Melbourne and Tasmania. He will return to the Islands in April, Mr. A. B. Thomas, manager of Messrs.

Sturt Ogilvie, Ltd., died from heart failure at Suva. Mr. Thomas was born at Nairn, South Australia, and went to Fiji in 1908.

He leaves a widow and a young daughter.

Miss Beatrice Grimshaw returned to Port Moresby by ’plane on January 18, after a six weeks’ visit to the New Guinea Goldfields, where she called in at Salamaua, Lae, Wau, and other centres of the district. It is rumored Miss Grim shaw is writing a new novel in which the New Guinea Goldfield is to be taken as a setting.