Little Islanders’ Corner

Life in the Solomon Islands

MARGARET BIGNALL wins a prize of 5/ for the following: The Solomon Islands are situated about 1700 miles in a north easterly direction from Sydney, between five to ten degrees below the equator.

They are made up of eight big islands: Bougainville, Guadalcanar, Malaita, Ysa bel, Choiseul, Florida or Ngela, Cape Marsh, the Shetland group and numerous atolls.

The capital, Tulagi, is on Ngela, which is situated in the centre of the group, and is the first and last port of call for the Island boat, “Malaita,” which arrives there with the mails only eight times a year.

There we find, beyond the usual govern ment offices, the island headquarters and stores of Lever Brothers, Burns Philp & Co., and W, R. Carpenter’s. So there is quite a little township, and as everyone is fond of sport, quite a lot of golf, tennis and swimming is indulged in. On steamer nights, there is always a lively dance held either at the hotel or at the club.

On the plantations, which are scattered all over the group, the life is a little more variable, although more lonely, and at my home on Ysabel, which is 60 miles by sea from Tulagi, we have one neighbour, 5 miles away, and another 14 miles away.

Nevertheless, time seems to fly, for be yond all our home duties, which include bread and butter-making, we ride, play tennis and bumble puppy, swim both in salt and river water. We canoe, and go for long picnics in a small launch, and

trawl for fish at the same time; for there are quite a number of varieties, including the king fish, pike and bonito, as well as all the numerous reef fish. Also, in the river we find whitebait, a type of river trout, and prawns, and quite often during our jaunts, we may disturb a stray cro codile sunning himself on top of the water or lying on the beach.

There are really no roads beyond those on the plantation, only native tracks which connect up the different villages.

But they afford quite pleasant walks, either in the early morning or late after noon, which are the best parts of the day.

Between ten o’clock and three it is wiser either to stay at home, or lie in a shady spot, for the sun is very hot and penetrating.

There is no alteration in the climate at all during the year, so there is no winter.

The only difference is that six months of the year the wind is blowing from the south east and the other six months it is blowing from the nor’-west, and although the temperature averages only about 80 degrees, the humidity is very high. There is also a heavy rainfall and quite often we have from about half-an-inch to an inch in a shower; but very seldom it lasts more than an hour. After which, we have bright sunshine again.

Fame And Captain De Groot

In a recent school examination a class was asked to write a few lines about King Canute, and one boy wrote the following: “King Canute was the man who cut the ribbon on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.”

“Dad, do school teachers get paid?”

“Of course they do, sonny,” replied father.

“Then it isn’t fair,” burst out the small boy, indignantly. “Why should the teachers get paid when we kids do all the work?”

Children resident in the Islands are in vited to send in short articles and stories, and jokes, similar to the above. For the best of them, prizes will be awarded each month.

Master Clive Julian Yeomans arrived in Sydney on April 23, in excellent health, via the War Memorial Hospital, Waver ley. He is the infant son of Mr. Tom Yeo mans, field engineer, of Bulolo, New Guinea, and his wife, Mrs. G. E. Yeomans, of Vaucluse. Congratulations to both!

Mrs. C. R. Finney, wife of Captain Charles Robert Finney, M.C., Adminis trator of Norfolk Island, is at present on a five weeks’ holiday in Australia. She makes an annual journey to Sydney to visit her daughter, Maura, who is a pupil at Moss Vale Convent, and her son, who is studying at Riverview College.