Tropicalities

NOT undeserved were your eulogies on Captain S. Mortimer (P.1.M., July 23, 1937), writes a Papuan correspondent, “China Strait.” He was always the ideal, dapper skipper. One remembers, as yes terday, a trip with’ him through the Solomons, in the lop-sided Makambo. He was taking part in a deck game when appeared two greasers, who, like the rest of the crew, had to traverse the “pro menade” deck en route from the engine room to for’ard. Talking “freely” one to the other, every adjective was audible to the passengers. Leaving the game, our genial captain stood “athwart their course” and, with arms akimbo (as in his photograph), looked up at one of the huge fellows and said quietly: “Listen to me. I am able to do all the necessary swearing on this ship!” He proved this very soon. The mooring of a vessel at the Samarai jetty, past which a six to eight knot current sweeps, except at slack tide, is a ticklish business. On this occasion something “went wrong.” We below, leaning over the rail, felt it would be excusable if the Captain were dancing on the bridge. Evidently the strain be came too great for him and, to the con sternation of the ladies, who had come to vote the gallant captain as being “so nice,” there came from above the violent rasping order: “Hang on to that —•— spring!” ♦ ♦ ♦ 117 E seldom publish the very many kind ** letters of appreciation we receive; but an exception is made in the case of this one, from a former Islands resi dent now living in Brisbane: “I would like to let you know how much I appreciate the P.I.M. Now that we are no longer in the Territory, it is nice to get so much news from there, each month. Here’s a pat on the back for the editor, who is always ready to stand up for our General Griffiths, who was as much the man for the Territory as Sir Hubert Murray is for, Papua; and for your correspondents, who are not too inert to put their pens to useful purpose; and to ‘Mauri,’ of Rabaul, for so ably ventilating the Chinese question, which I heartily endorse; and likewise, the letters of ‘Redrabit,’ and ‘Ra baulite,’ who voice real grievances. I say, more power to the pens that are an asset to the P.1.M.!”

Thank you, madame. ♦ ♦ ♦ A WRITER in The Argus , Melbourne, a Mr. Gordon Williams, revives the silly story that “a British company” has a plan for linking, by trans-ocean air services, the Pacific groups of Tonga, Solomons, Gilbert, Ellice, -with Norfolk Island and New Guinea. He writes en thusiastically about the future economic importance of Norfolk Island.

The groups mentioned have not

enough European population to justify

air services. Fiji and Samoa are on the proposed Central Pacific air-line, and they are big enough to justify the crea tion of air-ports. New Guinea and Papua, in a few months, will have a direct air mail service with Sydney. But that will he the end of the trans-Pacific services, for a long time to come. There may be

a link, from Australia direct to Fiji, cutting out New Zealand, but that almost certainly would go from Brisbane via New Caledonia.

Defence, of course, is a different thing.

That eventually may involve the creation of outer Australian air-squadrons, based on New Guinea, Solomons, New Hebrides and Norfolk Island. ♦ ♦ ♦ WHEN Sid Marshall, of Lae, New Guinea, decided to return to Sydney not long ago, he pulled his little vest pocket aeroplane out of a Kunai shack, where it had been parked for a year, and furbished it up. The air-minded Morobe people clustered around the machine, in wonder at the man who proposed to fly in it to Sydney; but they were quite friendly. When Mr. Marshall returned to the Wau ’drome, after saying good-bye to some friends, he bellowed in wrath to find, on his newly-cleaned fuselage, the signatures of half the lads of the village, surrounding a bold legend of “Good luck.

Sid!” He said it would put a “hoodoo” on his flight: but the decoration was still there when he reached Mascot, after end less adventures along the Gulf of Papua, Torres Strait, and Cape York Peninsula.

Rev. H. and Mrs. Robinson, of Bwai

doga, Papua, received many congratula

tions during October on the birth* of a daughter, Marilyn Frances, at the War

Memorial Hospital, Waverley, N.S.W., on

October 16.

Mr. J. R. Coath, who has been on the Suva staff of the Bank of New Zealand for the last 3| years, left for New Zea land by the Mariposa on October 26 on

leave, prior to transfer.