Fiji and Central Pacific
p. 13 · Read in the full issue
Territories Secure and Busy
OWING to irregularity of mails, the news from Fiji, Samoa, and French Oceania, available for publication in this issue, is small and fragmentary.
The general position in the Central and Eastern Pacific, however, is far bet ter than might have been expected when the Japanese struck so savagely southwards in December. Although the enemy is established fairly strongly in New Guinea, with what appear to be lightly-held bases out in the Northern Solomons and the Santa Cruz Islands (between the Solomons and the New Hebrides) he has not made any appear ance in force in the important Islands territories to • the eastward and south eastwards.
The important French Colony of New Caledonia, the Condominium of the New Hebrides, the large and rich British Colony of Fiji, the Protectorate of Tonga, the NZ Mandated Territory of Western Samoa, the American Territory of East ern Samoa, the NZ Territory of Cook Islands, and the whole of French Ocea nia, are carrying on normally, without enemy interference.
There are no details available for publication, but it may be taken as certain that the four months since
Japan made her attack upon Hawaii have been usefully employed in creating and firmly establishing an important defence organisation throughout those South Pacific territories, and they now are reasonably secure.
Industry and trade are booming in all of them. The demand for copra is sen sational; and there is a keen market for the other products, of all the territories —coffee, cocoa, sugar, gold, vanilla, etc.
Mr. S. H. and Mrs. Ellis, of Suva, who have given thousands of pounds already to war funds, now have donated £5,500 to the Fiji Fighter Fund to buy a fighter aircraft Jor Britain. It will be named “Comrades in Arms—Fiji and New Zea land”.