Representative

New Commonwealth

For Noumea

From Out Own Correspondent NOUMEA, April 14.

LEAVING this week for an appoint ment in Canberra, is Mr. Bertram Ballard, who has been Australian representative in Noumea since August 1940, and before that, was in the New Hebrides. He was born in Melbourne, and is a law graduate from the univer sity of that city.

He is succeeded in Noumea by Mr. Noel St. Clair Deschamps, who arrived in the Colony at the end of March. Mr. Des champs has been attached to the Aus tralian Commonwealth’s Department of External Affairs since 1937 and has spent the last four years in Ottowa as secre tary to the Australian High Commis sioner in Canada. He was there when Admiral d’Argenlieu arrived to explain de Gaulle’s Free French Movement to the French-Canadians, on whom d’Argenlieu made an excellent impression, partly because of his religious background.

Mr. Deschamps is a Queenslander, but he has spent a total of 13 years in Europe. After leaving school in Mel bourne, he went to Rome and Brussels for a few years before going on to Cam bridge University. Later travels included a year in Germany and, immediately before joining the External Affairs De partment, he was teaching at a well known public school in Northern Wales.

Netherlands Consul

NOUMEA, April 6.

DR. J. van Beusekom. accompanied by the Netherlands Consul-General for Australia (Mr. J. B. D. Pennink), arrived in New Caledonia this week to take over the office of Netherlands Con sul.

Mr. Pennink. interviewed together with Dr. van Beusekom and his vice-consular predecessor, M. Carlo Leoni, said that it was the first time a regular Consul had been appointed to the French Colony.

The appointment was justified because of the presence in New Caledonia of 7,240 Javanese, of whom 988 were free resi dents and 6,364 indentured labourers.