About Islands People

Rev. R. W. Challis, of the London Mis sionary Society, Rarotonga, arrived in Sydney recently en route to the Cook Islands, after several months’ leave in England.

Mr- E - J- Sutch, Assistant Secretary to the Western Samoan Administration, and Mrs. Sutch, returned to Apia in October after a honeymoon trip to New Zealand.

Mr. A. A. Ragg, who has retired after 34 years in the service of the Fiji Gov ernment and who, with Mrs. Ragg, has left on a world tour before settling down in Fiji, was paid many tributes by 80 civil servants, at a gathering in Suva in October. Speeches in praise of Mr Ragg’s many good qualities were made by Messrs. H. C. Fryer, C. R. Turbet, A.

B. Ackland. and T. W. Wignall, and Mr.

Ragg was presented with an illuminated address.

Rev. J. T. Field, of the Methodist Mis sion. died recently at his home in Mel bourne, Victoria. He was one of the pioneer Papuan missionaries in 1891.

Hon. T. Nevitt, M.L.C., of Papua, has arrived in Brisbane, where he is seek ing medical attention.

Mr. and Mrs. R. Lotze, well-known re sidents in the Solomon Islands, arrived in Sydney recently by the “Malaita” on a holiday visit.

Miss E. Semple, of the South Sea Evan gelical Mission’s head station at One Pusu, Malaita. 8.5.1., passed through Sydney in October en route to New Zea land, where she will spend three months’ furlough.

Mr. Douglas C. Chalmers, formerly well-known in Fiji, died recently at Auckland, N.Z. Born in Levuka in 1886, he was educated at Levuka Public School and in New Zealand. After five years in the Fiji Civil Service, he stud ied law at Auckland University College, qualifying LL.B., in 1908, and LL.M., four years later. He practised in Fiji from 1909 to 1910, then went to N.Z. as Law Lecturer at Auckland University College. In 1930, Mr. Chalmers returned to Fiji to establish the legal practice of Chalmers and Rice, of Lautoka, Nadi and Ba.

Mr. Roy Robson has been elected to the Thursday Island Town Council, re placing Alderman G. F. Runcie.

Mr. F. Jaeger, with Mrs. Jaeger, ar rived in Sydney from New Zealand in November. Mr. Jaegar has had 28 years’ experience of tropical agriculture. He owned and very successfully managed his own cocoa-plantations in Samoa, and has had practical experience, also, of coffee cultivation, rubber growing, and copra production. In recent years, he has made a world tour, in the course of which he has studied the latest meth ods of tropical agriculture. Mr. Jaeger is open for engagement in connection with Pacific planting enterprises: his address is C/o. General Post Office, Sydney.

Brother George Richards, who arrived in Syd ney recently by

the “Malaita”,

left for New Zealand on No vember 11. He has been en gaged in work for the Marist Mission at Vis ale, B.S.I., and will spend fur lough in N.Z.

Jan Farlow, small son of Mr. and Mrs.

R. M. Farlow, of Buka Pas sage, N. Guinea, was greeted by his grandmother, Mrs. Stafford Lowe, of Wah roonga, when he reached Sydney with his mother by the October “Malaita”.

Mr. W. Clark, and Miss D.

Read, of the South Sea Evan gelical Mission, arrived in Syd ney in October from B.S.I. Miss Read, who is stationed at Afio Girls’ School, South Malaita, later went to Melbourne. Mr.

Clark, who lives on the east coast of Malaita, will proceed to N.Z.