Tropicalities

ON May 10, Mr. Winston Churchill, Britain’s new Prime Minister, moved in to No. 10 Downing Street. One of the first radiograms placed in his hands read as follows: “Samarai, May 9.—Congratulations.

Hold fast. We are coming.—Dusty Miller."

“What’s this? Is it a joke? Where’s Samarai?” snapped the anxious Prime Minister.

A solemn secretary, batting no eye-lid, said: “Samarai is in Papua, sir—an Aus tralian-New Guinea territory. I presume it means that some men have enlisted.”

“Oh", said Mr. Churchill. “Well, we want all the humour we can get, these days—so long as there is a rifle at the end of it!"' In due course, Mr. G. E. Miller (Burns, Philp stall) and eight other men from isolated Misima Island, Eastern Papua, embarked at Samarai, to join the Aus tralian forces. Their average height is 5 ft. 11 in., and their average weight 11 stone 8 lb.

And that is typical—something that the dear old Hun, torpedoing merchant ships and smashing into neutral countries, has not figured on. For some weeks, now, from every little, lone out-post of Empire, a slow, grim, increasing trickle of free British men are hurrying to central places for drill and armament, and to give, if need be, the service of their lives.

Gradually, those trickles will become streams, and the streams a mighty tor rent, sufficient to destroy the goose stepping legions of Hitlerism. This old Empire is terribly slow to move—but, when it does move, God help its enemies. * * » EVERYONE has heard of the “Heinz hounds" of New Guinea—the lowest types of mongrel curs, living in the native villages. They are dubbed “Heinz” because they each represent at least 57 different varieties. They are useless, snarling, cowardly brutes.

One day, Pat Barry (now on active ser vice with the A.1.F.) when driving into Kokopo, near Rabaul, saw a blue Queens land cattle-dog surrounded by a mob of curs. Bluey was putting up a gallant fight, but was b°ing over-borne by num bers. Pat hopped off his lorry and waded into the mass of dogs, kicking them left and right, grabbed Bluey, and carried him to the lorrv.

“A man’s got to look after these fellers—they’re dinkum Aussies”, he ex plained, as he drove on. * * * AN interesting feature of the Anzac Day assembly on the island of Misima, Eastern Papua, was that each of the 1914/18 veterans invited one of the new recruits for the new A.I.F. (men waiting for a ship to take them to Australia) to fall in beside him in the parade. The men gathered around the flag-staff, at the foot of which had been placed a number of beautiful wreaths, and the grizzled middle-aged men of the old war stood in silent comradeship with the young men about to go to the new war, while Rev. H. K. Bartlett, of the Methodist Mission, conducted a brief service. * • ♦ WHENCE came the ukulele? Many people believe that it is a musical instrument peculiar to Polynesia, and that it was in use by the Hawaiians before Europeans were known there. That is not so. Mr. Alfred Hill, the famous Australian composer, told the Pacific

Islands Society, Sydney, in a address In May, that when the original ukulele ap peared in Hawaii, it was held in consider able contempt by the old Hawaiians. The name “ukulele" actually means, literally, “the jumping louse", and it was so named by the Hawaiians because the man who invented it, a German, pirouetted and pranced while he was playing the in strument. * * • IN the same mail there have arrived two letters, each from a planter in Papua, though in districts far apart; and each encloses an exact copy of a letter received from a mission educated native. The first was received by a storekeeper, as follows: Dear Mr. . Sir.

I have the pleasure of a writing a letter to you my affectionate Sir, just to obtain from you a special information in a private way, I expec the reply to be sent immedientely as soon

as possible I wish to tell you another letter Sir.

Will you may that Sir. I want please this Is a note of 1/- 9d. tobacco and 3d. matches, another thing Sir, that is the question of letter I have not yet received a single letter from you Sir yet I have no chance at all. i suppose you are thinking jealeosy of me Sir, that is all my write. Sir, I have the honour to be Sir, your obedient servant

Isei.

The second letter is as follows: Dear Sir, Your boy Anina would like owe you 10/- til he get some money ness week. He want give his brother crew-boy on Lakatoi to get his something. I you boy Anina.

“I think I will reward such initiative

by advancing the 10/-," remarks the

planter. “It reminds me of a friend of mine who had been the victim of a con fidence trickster in Sydney and, when asked why he did not take some steps to recover his money said, ‘Well, you see, he was so confoundedly gentlemanly about it that I do not like to worry him, as he might feel insulted!’’’