Sydney—Tahiti—’Frisco Service

Announcement of Discontinuance Causes Dismay in Tahiti

From Our Own Correspondent

Papeete, Jan. 22.

THE announcement of the Union Steam Ship Company that probably it will relinquish the Wellington-San Fran cisco mail service, while not altogether unexpected, has nevertheless produced a feeling of pessimism in Tahiti business circles, particularly among those whose livelihood is gained by catering for the passing tourist and short term visitors.

To these the stoppage of this service will mean a very real loss, and the same may be said in regard to the hundreds of na tive labourers to whom these ships mean occasional wages on a comparatively high scale.

Naturally, the generality of the native population, whose useful occupations con sist chiefly in the preparation of copra and the planting of food for their own consumption, do not realise the import ance of a regular steamer service as a factor in their daily lives, and will re gard this matter with their usual com placency. But the Administration and the active members of the community, whose affairs have become regulated to a 28-days mail and passenger service with all parts of the world, are very much alive to the seriousness of the situation, and some of them, we may surmise, are ener getically exploring every possibility of an alternative scheme.

For long it has been quite apparent, even to a casual observe!', that the Union Company could not be making a profit on this line of steamers. The depreciation

in the value of the U.S. dollar by 40 per cent. —which meant an increase in Tahiti living costs when expressed in American currency—not only forced a good many residents of limited means to quit the islands, but at the same time diminished the number of visitors from America and prevented the development of a tourist traffic for which Tahiti possesses unique attractions. The same remarks apply to New Zealand and Australia, where the value of the £ dropped from 125 francs to 60 francs.

Then copra cargoes, which formerly went almost entirely to America, and the carrying of which was the most important part of the Union Company’s business with French Oceania, were diverted to France by the bonus which was placed on copra by the French Government. During 1934 and 1935 not a single kilo of this commodity went to America from these islands. The entire output was sent to France in the subsidised vessels of the Messageries Maritimes Company.

Inward freight from the U.S.A. does not amount to an important item if gasoline, oil, kerosene and lumber are left out of account —and these are never carried by the mail steamers. Thus the stoppage of this service seemed inevitable to any business man.

On the other hand, the trade statistics of Tahiti reveal the fact that the ex change factor has worked favourably for New Zealand and Australian exports, and that the importations into Tahiti from

those countries have increased greatly since the £ deserted the gold standard.

New Zealand and Australia together supplied Tahiti with 4,201,000 francs’ worth of goods during the first nine months of 1935, in addition to which 1,160,000 francs’ worth came from China and Japan; all of this was, of course, carried in the Union Company’s steamers.

On account of this factor in the situa tion, local business men are of the opinion that the Union Company will very likely put on a small steamer to carry this freight and, at the same time, serve the islands of the Cook group, from which it would take a return cargo of fruit to New Zealand. Tahitian fruit cannot now be shipped to New Zealand owing to the heavy duty imposed upon it there.

Apart from the Union Company’s steamers, the only regular facilities avail able for the despatch of mail are the ves sels of the Messageries Maritimes Com pany, which leave Tahiti for Europe about every two months by way of the Panama Canal. These, however, are nearly all slow vessels which take from 20 to 23 days to reach Panama.

Another possibility lies in the Swedish steamers, which used to call occasionally at Tahiti, but were scared off by a threat ened retaliation in Australia. These ves sels are still passing across the Pacific at no great distance from Papeete, and may be induced to come again, now that the situation is changed.

Tahiti, however, would be best served by a line running from American ports and taking in Honolulu en route. In this way, a mail service would be assured and a large passenger traffic might be ex pected to develop.

Miss I. Knight, of the Methodist Mis sion at Kadavu, Fiji, reached Sydney recently to spend furlough in N.S.W.