Tropicalities

HUMOROUS news item from Pitcairn Island: — When Messrs Lindley and Bellem, American radio men, went to Pitcairn in March to establish a radio station there, they discovered three American citizens on Pitcairn: Ray Clark, of San Francisco; Samuel Warren, of Provid ence, Rhode Island; and a man named Cook, of Boston.

They went to Pitcairn—tne loneliest place they could think of to escape America! * * * THE farce continues.

In London, on July 15, Sir Edward Beatty, chairman of Pacific Steamships, Ltd., said he hoped to place a contract immediately for two 25,000 tons liners for the Canadian-Australian trade.

In Canberra, on July 16, the Australian Prime Minister said he knew nothing about the completion of the Pacific ship ping agreement.

In London, on July 17, Sir Earle Page (Australian Minister) said he had no knowledge of the decision indicated by Sir Edward Beatty.

In Wellington, on July 18, the Prime Minister of N.Z ; . said that “agreement may be nearer than is supposed”.

In London, on July 20, it was an nounced there would be no contract — building costs were far too high.

It is reported, meanwhile, that the Matson Line, running the ’Frisco-Sydney service, has applied to the U.S.A. Govern ment for an annual subsidy equal to £50,000 sterling. ♦ * ♦ IT is reported in an Islands newspaper that, last year, German shipbuilders supplied to Unilever, Ltd., a large vessel to be used as a whale-oil refinery, and seven whale-catching steamers It is pre sumed that this outfit, delivered late in 1937, operated in the Antarctic in 1938.

It is strange to see Unilever, Ltd., whose activities seem always to have been con nected with vegetable oils, becoming whalers in a big way. Still, the step is sound enough. The huge combine, whose “Yes” or “No” shakes every oil-seed mar ket in the world is a very large buyer of whale oil; and it is just as logical as that it should grow palm oil in West Africa or coconut trees in the Solomons. * * * NEW Guinea lost another of her band of famous airmen when Aubrey Koch, popular Guinea Airways pilot, arrived in Australia by the “Macdhui”, early in July, to take a position with Qantas Empire Airways, Ltd. Mr. Koch was highly esteemed in the Territory, both for his personal qualities and for his skill and courage as a pilot. Guinea Air ways, in their time, have been called upon to undertake some very tricky air trans port assignments, but none was too diffi cult or too dangerous for “Aub.” to handle. New Guinea aviation is the poorer for his departure.

A few weeks before Pilot Koch left New Guinea he had an odd experience, when taking a G.A. plane loaded with passen

gers across from Moresby to the Morobe Goldfields. Approaching Wau, he eased the throttle at 7,000 ft., to allow the plane to glide down to the drome when, suddenly, without warning, a massive eagle attacked the machine. The off-side wing was den ted along the whole width of the main edge, to a depth of nearly 10 inches.

Landing was not an easy matter under the circumstances, but the pilot made a perfect three-point grounding.

Other famous G.A. pilots—Denny, and Gurney, for instance —are now prominent in the leading Australian services. Orme Denny, smart and dapper in the uniform of a captain, was second in charge of the first regular Imperial Airways flying-boat to arrive in Rose Bay, Sydney—a different job to freighting dredge machinery from Lae to Bulolo, and a different costume to the open shirt and khaki shorts of those days. But the same Orme! ♦ ♦ * CORRECTION, please! It is pointed out that a paragraph in the June issue suggested that the installation of an aeroplane at the Lutheran Mis sion at Finschafen, New Guinea, was a quite recent occurrence. Actually, the ’plane “Papua” has been in regular use by the Lutheran Mission since March, 1935. ♦ ♦ ♦ KALMARAK, newly converted New Hebridean heathen, was at his first Communion. It was the custom of the missionary to take up a collection immediately after the Service of Com munion. Kalmarak had heard of this custom.

When the wine was set out Kalmarak swept up his glass and swallowed its contents at a gulp. Smacking his lips, he dived a hand into the pocket of his newly acquired “trousis” and produced a half-a-crown which, with a long-drawn sigh of delight, and a lordly sweep of arm, he slapped down on the Communion table.

It appears that the natives of that par ticular island always thought that they paid for that Sunday morning “spot” with the missionary. ♦ * * THE ignorance of members of the Aus tralian Parliament, in relation to the tropical territories which, unfor tunately, they control and administer, were illustrated on June 22, when Mr.

Hughes announced that a road would be built from Salamaua to Wau (New Guinea), and a capital built, at a cost of 1500,000. A Mr. James, a “Lang La bourite”, wanted to know whether white labour could be used, and whether “con sideration could be given to the selection of volunteers from distressed areas, such as the coalfields of N.S.W.”. Readers are invited to imagine Europeans sweat ing in labour gangs in the swamps around Salamaua, or doing pick-and-shovel work on the ranges eastward of Wau. Mr.

Hughes himself has displayed a lament able lack of knowledge of Territory con ditions: but at least he was able to give a fitting answer to the inquiring Mr.

James.