Solomon Islands News

From Our Own Correspondent.

Tulagi, Nov. 26.

SYMPATHETIC reference was made by the Resident Commissioner recently to the loss of two natives travelling by a native-owned cutter to a village with some money. Eringa, one of the two who lost their lives in the affair, was a well known native of the generation who were in the prime when developmental work in the Solomons, as a result of the return of the kanakas from Queensland and Fiji, was at its height. Probably few natives were better known, particularly in connection with recruiting, than Eringa.

It is only a few years ago that a similar accident, also with a borrowed cutter, but fortunately not attended with loss of life, was Eringa’s experience near Malaita.

There seems little anyone can do to avert these tragedies, which are astonish ingly rare. The natives, like the Vikings of old, have for generations navigated these seas in their own craft; formerly canoes only, now cutters and canoes.

Every few weeks loads of natives are brought in by their own boats to work steamers —usually 40 natives to a cutter.

When public-spirited men spoke to the Acting-Labour Inspector about overload ing, etc., that gentleman proved that with 40 live natives as ballast the cutters were safer than with four —which this event rather proves. Apparently this cutter was unseaworthy and completely opened out.

As a result of the recent changes in executive of Messrs. Levers’ Pacific Plan tations Pty., Ltd., Mr. C. V. Widdy has taken charge of Gavutu. Mr. K. Mitchel hill has been appointed plantation in spector in Mr. Widdy’s stead.

Mrs. F. N. Ashley, wife of the Resident Commissioner, with Miss Ashley, returned to Tulagi by the November Malaita. The unusual sight of a large number of Flor ida (native) women, who came in to wel come Mrs. Ashley, greeted sightseers from the steamer. The steamer, curiously enough, had only one tourist on boards An unusual dearth of medical prac titioners now exists in B.S.I. Dr. H. B.

Hetherington, Chief Medical Officer, is on leave. Both medical men attached to the Melanesian Mission in the Western Solomons have had to be retrenched, al though there are hopes that Bilua Hos pital may get a doctor in 1935. Dr. F. A.

MacPherson recently left the Melanesian Mission’s Fauabu Hospital for Edinburgh.

And by the last Malaita the Health Offi cer of a large plantation company went on furlough.

In most parts of the Group a spell of unusually dry weather has been experi enced. Tanks have been exhausted, and settlers are faced with the water-carry ing problem. Gardeners rather despair, but realise that in a very few weeks the nor’ west, whatever else it does, will remedy any water shortage.

In any case, drought in these parts (unless experiments of the Agricultural Committee fix on it the blame for “nut fall”) is unlikely to mean disaster.