Pacific Islands Club

''PHE second gathering of the Pacific * Islands Club, which was held at the Hotel Carlton in Sydney on May 26, had a Fijian atmosphere. Dr. H. lan Hogbin presided over a large attendance.

The speaker for the evening, Mr.

Thomas Horne, of Suva, was introduced by Mr. R. W. Robson, who referred to the club’s guest of honour as “one of the most lovable men in the Pacific.”

Mr. Horne’s address is reported else where. Referring to Fiji of to-day, he declared that Suva must eventually be one of the most important ports in the Pacific. He emphasised that Fiji was never conquered or annexed, but ceded

to Queen Victoria on condition that the land should never be taken away from the natives. An interesting fact, follow ing upon the entry of Indian in the Colony, he said, was that they were now eating Fijian native foods, and conse quently the younger generation were men of much improved physique. The Indian population would always be in the posi tion of tenants, and the Fijians would always remain landlords. “Our native people can never lose their land, thank God!” he added.

Mr. Horne paid tribute to the work of the Central Medical School, which he had seen inaugurated in Suva in the time of Sir William MacGregor. “This is won derful w'ork,” he said, “and its influence

is seen in improved living conditions and increases in population in many parts of the Pacific.”

A vote of thanks was proposed by the New Zealand Trade and Tourist Com missioner (Mr. W. Taylor) and seconded by Mr. W. H. Fetch, (at one time school master at Pitcairn Island). Among those who assisted in the evening’s entertain ment was the club’s chieftainess, Mrs.

Alfred Page (Lefagaoalii), Miss Julie Werry (the New Zealand soprano), Mr.

Roo Williams (of Tahiti), and Mr. Vin Terry (who was then passing through Sydney on his way back to Suva).

Mr. C. Pemberton, of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association, who has been collecting sugar cane-seeds in New Guinea, arrived in Sydney from Rabaul by the Malaita on May 22. With his wife, he sailed for Honolulu by the Mariposa on May 28.

The marriage took place recently at Wellington, New Zealand, of Miss Miriam Warren, youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. S. Warren, of Pitcairn Island. The bridegroom was Mr. Matthew King, of Miramar, Wellington. The bride was the first Pitcairn girl to be married in New Zealand. Her sister, Daisy, will be mar ried in Wellington in June. The girls are descendants of Fletcher Christian, of “Bounty” fame.

Dr. H. lan Hogbin, first president of The Pacific Islands Club in Sydney, is lecturer in anthropology at the University of Sydney, and a Ph.D. of the University of London. Dr. Hogbin is author of “Law and Order in Polynesia,” one of the most important books written in recent years in relation to the Pacific. The material for that work was obtained during a lengthy stay on Ontong Java. Dr. Hogbin has also carried out anthro pological research in New Guinea and in the Solomons. He is now engaged on a book dealing with cultural impact on the island of Malaita.

Dr. Hogbin returned to Sydney last year from Europe and the United States, and when passing through Honolulu had an opportunity of confer ring with another distinguished anthropologist.

Professor Peter H. Buck, Director of the Bishop Museum.

Photo: Monte Luke, F.R.P.S., Sydney