Troipicauties

TT was in the days when American youth A affected long hair and baggy peg-top trousers. One of the breed, so loved by traders and so abhorred by everyone else for its loud-mouthed blatancy, came ashore from the mail-steamer with the erroneous idea under his long and oily thatch that all pretty Polynesians are common prostitutes.

Seeing the slender Airini busily en gaged in holding up a store doorpost with her shoulder, the while she watched the passing traffic, he sidled up to her with an ingratiating smile, and suggested that they should take a walk.

Airini looked at him for, perhaps, twenty seconds, with her steady brown eyes. Then she called to the trader be hind the counter.

“Wiri, this feller he say me, we go walk about. What I say him?”

Wiri merely grinned. He knew Airini to be perfectly, not to say devastatingly, capable of looking after herself, thanks to her strain of white blood.

Said she, still looking at the intruder: “Wiri, you tell this long-hair thing, get him hair chop off. I dunno him to a par o’ tope ... an’ I didn’t went .”

But Wiri’s good services were not needed for, followed by a peal of laughter from other interested native girls in the store, Long-Hair swiftly found urgent affairs calling him elsewhere.

One more idea about “Islands girls,” acquired from best-sellers, had been shattered. —Te Ruau. * « * FIFTY years ago, a young man wandered ashore from a schooner at Pleasant Island —now called Nauru. His attention was attracted by some curiously shaped rocks, which did not seem to be rocks. He went back and examined the curious sub stance two or three times. Finally, as he was an enthusiastic and skilful photo grapher, he got his camera and photo graphed the things. The other day. in his store in Apia, I examined this clear photograph, marked “Pleasant Island, 1886.” The young man is now an old man—Mr. T. Andrew, respected and loved by everyone in Samoa. He has a reper toire of funny stories; but, as he himself says, he knows no funnier story than that of how he hung around those “rocks” and photographed them, and never dreamed that he was gazing upon phosphate that afterwards was valued at millions of pounds. “I found the phosphate on Nauru, and I never knew it,” he says, with a chuckle.—R. W. R. * * * A NY new evidence relating to that little known figure, Pomare 111., the boy king of Tahiti, is of importance to his torians. Hitherto, almost all information concerning him has been obtained from missionary sources. In the Sydney Gazette of November 22, 1822 (preserved in the Mitchell Library) is an account brought by Captain Hunter who had visit ed Tahiti that year in the Governor Mac quarie: ". . . The young King Pomarree is between two and three years of age, and the island of Otaheite is under the Regency of an old chief named Man-na noe, whom the subordinate chiefs eye with great insignificancy, supposing him be neath their notice. Each chief upon the island seems to be growing independent in consequence of the Royal authority being so enfeebled, and the present Kingly power is in danger of total annihilation unless some active and powerful chief

should shortly embrace the reins of Government on behalf of the infantine monarch, or personally usurp the helm of authority.” If that were not done, it was stated, it would “certainly be a miracle if ever young Pomarree is per mitted to sway his father’s sceptre.” A regency was later established by the Queen Mother; but the boy king never lived to rule, being succeeded by Aimata, his half-sister (known in history as Queen Pomare IV.).—“Eriki.” • • « THUS Sir William MacGregor to an en thusiastic young woman, who was on her way to Papua to visit, and, of course, “write a book”: “Aweel! So you’re going to Papua to write a book? Weel, weel! But let me tell you, young lady, that when you’ve been there six months ye wull know all about Papua, and its peoples, and their customs. When you’ve been there twelve months, ye wull ha’e yer doots. And when ye’ll have been there as long as I have, ye’ll realise that you don’t know the fir-r-rst thing about the people or their languages, or their customs—and ye’ll wish to goodness that you had tor-r-rn up the manuscript of that book and burrnt it!”—Te Ruau. * * * THE other afternoon (writes a woman reader in the New Hebrides) I over heard the following dialogue between my husband and our native cook-girl. Be it said that Himself has a rather uncompromising manner towards the natives; but, in view of the difficulty in obtaining—and holding—• labour, even he seems to find it possible sometimes to unbend a little—oh, a very little!—towards them. This was evid ently not an unbending day.

Scene: Himself busy in the workshop.

The girl seated on the adjacent kitchen steps, nursing the cat, and turning it over and about in a contemplative way.

Remarked the dusky one: “Puss-cat 'e come big feller now.”

Silence for a little; then came a short and sharp “Yes!” from the workshop.

She resumes: “Puss-cat ’e carry picca nin?”

A perfectly explosive “Yes!” from the workshop.

Then: “Master, Puss-cat ’e woman?”

Awful noises from the workshop, as of someone in pain, and of hammers and thing’s being violently thrown about.

Then a thoroughly exasperated voice yelled: “Yes, you dash, dash, and puce bone headed imbecile, ’e woman. Suppose sometime you find one man-cat he carry piccanin. You come quick and tell me.

Me want to look something allsame too much!”

Hurried flight of the dusky one, puss cat and all. Sounds from the workshop as though an earthquake had struck It.

Then gradually the afternoon resumed its wonted calm. —“Mrs. Marooned.” * * * RADIO is transforming life in the Pacific Islands. In Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, the story is the same—every European resid ent has a receiving set, and the tendency is to buy better and bigger sets, as they become available. Until recent times, Islands residents were without a daily or even a weekly news bulletin. Now, they do not worry—they tune in on any station bordering the Pacific, and listen to the news broadcasts, every night. Over in Samoa, well to the east, they connect mostly with Hawaii and the western States of America—Australia and New Zealand come through a bit too late. In Fiji, they use the Australian stations more fre quently. Our Australian friends should note that American manufacturers are going after this valuable Pacific market, and are trying, with a view to reducing cost, to introduce a good chassis, without a cabinet, leaving the purchaser to make his own arrangement in regard to enclos ing the instrument. —R.W.R.

Mr. C. R. Gurney, who for six years has been chief pilot for Guinea Airways Lim ited, in the Mandated Territory, arrived in Sydney in July. He has resigned from G A.’s staff and will shortly take up duties with Qantas Empire Airways Ltd. on the Singapore run.