Beating The Slump On

Lord Howe Is.

FOR years, tiny Lord Howe Island (mid-way between Australia and Norfolk Is.) has been the home of the Kentia palm, and export of palm seeds has provided a profitable, regular income for the 150 settlers there. But the war sounded the death-knell of this trade, and LHI fell on evil days.

Then, like many another Pacific com munity, the Island people took steps to make Lord Howe self-supporting. They established a sawmill to cut timber for sheds, pigsties and fruit cases; intro duced bees to provide polination for agriculture; liberated selected birds to overcome insect pests; and grew 35,000 tomato plants for seed production—they expect to obtain more than £l,OOO from this seed contract.

Fishing, no longer the pastime of leisurely amateurs, is now a growing industry, and there are two refrigerating chambers on the Island to hold the catch until it is taken to the Sydney market.

Early next year, the Chief Secretary of NSW (Mr. Baddeley), to whom the Lord Howe Island Board of Control is responsible, will visit the Island to see for himself the results of these experi ments in self-sufficiency.

Mr. A. E. Spence recently took charge of NGG Ltd.’s farm at Wau, New Guinea, from Mr. G. M. Lane, who resigned to go to Lae, where he has purchased a farm ing property from Mr. Henry Eekhoff.

Mr. J. Morrissey, of the New Zealand Reparation Estates’ staff at Apia, West ern Samoa, returned to New Zealand recently to enlist for service overseas.