A Record Catch

A NATIVE, fishing from a canoe in deep water off the main settlement of Oneroa, Mangaia (Cook Group), found his line fast to some heavy, but movable object.

Peering curiously into the water, he hauled in his catch, which, when it first came in view, appeared to be a match box, but, as it slowly ascended through the clear water, it grew in size, until the astonished man finally hoisted aboard a whole case of bully beef. The hook was caught around a single nail head.

The case had been lost overboard from a shipment three weeks previously.

It is quite a common occurrence for weighty articles to be lost during tran shipment at the reef islands of the Outer Cooks. A short while ago, a hand some new cooking range, for the use of the Resident Agent, was being unloaded, and the canoe had hardly left the schooner’s side when it rolled on the crest of a swell, and the heavy stove gently slid off the narrow gunwales and gracefully sank from human ken into the blue depths.

The RA’s comments are quite unsuit able for publication.

When heavy objects are dropped, in diving depth, near the reef, they are usually recovered by native divers; but, farther out, they are naturally beyond recall—the case of meat referred to above being the lone exception to the rule, A wet welcome was accorded NMP John Numa when he landed on Man

gaia recently, to relieve NMP Tere Wil liams. who has been transferred to Aitutaki.

The canoe in which Mr. Numa was travelling, with two of his three young children, was capsized in the heavy surf outside the reef and, to assist the child ren, he was forced to release his grip on the bag containing his surgical instru ments and drugs, and a banjo, which was in the other hand. A native boy dived and retrieved both articles, and a day in the sun, and a few hours’ atten tion, put the instruments and banjo into good working .order, but some of the drugs were ruined.

The incident was followed by an anxious spell while another canoe, carry ing Mrs. Numa’s piano, negotiated the reef. The piano caused a sensation at its initial public appearance, this being the first time that this instrument has

been seen and heard in Mangaia.-

W.S.B.

Mr. A. Flemming has replaced Mr.

Alan Sweetnam, of the Bank of New South Wales staff at Samarai, Papua.

Mr. S. Tovey, of the Suva branch of the Bank of New Zealand, left Fiji re cently for NZ to join the Navy.

Mr. Lindsay Hutchison, of Suva, Fiji, is now in Canada being trained for the RAAF under the Empire Air Scheme.