Lightship

Japanese Sampan Finds Drifting Lightship

THE Torres Straits lightship, Carpen taria, which slipped her shackles and went off on a jaunt in April, was found near the Aru Islands, off the coast of Dutch New Guinea, in May. Her sister ship the Breaksea Spit lightship, which had broken away from her moorings a month previously and which was ulti mately given up for lost, has at last been found.

The vessel had drifted away before on several occasions, but was as often re covered and towed back to its anchorage off Sandy Cape. During a cyclone in, March, however, it again disappeared, and. despite a search by aeroplanes sent out by the Navigation Department, could not be found. Passing shipping was asked to keep a close look-out for the drifting vessel, but it was not traced.

Recently a Japanese sampan put into Townsville, Queensland. The captain ex plained that he had found a lightship in danger of drifting on to the Barrier Reef, and thinking it belonged to the Aus tralian authorities, had towed it to safety. Then he had decided to bring it back to the Australian cog,st, and had left it outside the town. The Townsville port authorities took possession of the vessel and towed it into port.

Bena Tuidraki, a Fijian medical prac titioner, who has been working in the New Hebrides for three years, arrived in Sydney on July 15 by the Morinda on his way to Suva for a holiday.