Fijians Work For Rnzaf

A USEFUL adjunct to Royal New Zea land Air Force stations in Fiji is the cheerful and apparently heat-resist ant Fijian “boy”—always “boy” irrespec tive of age. These Fijians and a lesser number of Indians are hired by the Air Force to perform fatigues and much of the unskilled work on stations.

Once they understand what is expected of them the Fijians work quite efficiently and in some trades, notably boatbuilding, show great skill. They work in a variety of “uniforms,” varying from spotless white shirts and skirts to nothing worth men tioning at all, down on the seafront, where they splash around Catalina fly ing-boats at the slipways, fixing towing lines and leading gear and working in dinghies and launches under European supervision.

The reason for employing native labour is not so much to save airmen a great deal of hard manual work, but to effect economy, native labour being relatively cheap. —“New Zealand Herald.”

Wing-Commander Brett Hilder, pre war skipper of BP’s “Maiwara” in New Guinea waters, and now flying Catalinas somewhere up north, was in Sydney on leave in early December.

If was annouced in Australia on Decmber 12 that Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser, C-in-C of the newly-created Brtish Pacific Fleel had arrived in Melbourme. The Fleet arrive shortly and bebased on Australia. Wells, of Melbourme"Herald" reviewing th recent American defeat of the Jap Navy, suggesls that John Bull may be toolate.There will however,be work for the Royal Navy todo, and the fact that the Pacific is soon to become a two-Navy Ocean, may help to śhorten the war in this theatre of operationns.