South Pacific
pp. 42-43 · Read in the full issue
THIS interesting compilation, which ha A well-known Auckland journal, shov eastwards of Melanesia, have been linl Through the newly-established RNZAF s touch with New Zealand; while Tasman Airlines, Pan American Airways, and Qai of establishing—direct connections betwe Normally, the Groups in the area indica of nearly 500,000. That figure includes so while Asiatics—of whom well over 100,( balance. Air services now link Territc years ago, depended for communication ( Under the stimulus of the new syst great trade developments within this re| for manufactured goods and cold-climi tween New Zealand and the Islands, i concerned. Australia, with a great varr in this trade because Australia has so m few Islands products which she can acci is now receiving careful attention, and communities.
SAMOA. Western Samoa is a New Zealand Mandate with a population of 65,000. Its future is to be decided by United Nations. Staple products are copra, cocoa and bananas, and rubber is also produced satisfactorily.
Apia, the administrative centre, is spread along a coral harbour of the same name. The airstrip is 15 miles away.
NORFOLK.—An island of volcanic formation only 600 miles from Auck land, Norfolk is populated by the English-Tahitian descendants of the Bounty mutineers. The air link with New Zealand is to-day practically the only regular connection it has with the outside world. During the war it was a New Zealand air base.
TONGA.—Queen Salote rules the 150 islands in the Tongan group under British Protection. Her kingdom of care-free Polynesians has been a united monarchy for 100 years, and is the only one in the whole Pacific.
The capital is Nukualofa, on the island of Tongatabu. The palace can be seen in the right foreground of the picture.
supplied to us by “Whites Aviation,” the the Islands Groups of the South Pacific, aether by the new air transport services. the South Pacific Islands now are in close re Airways, British Commonwealth Pacific irways have established —or are in process ose Groups and Territories, and Australia, cpart from New Zealand, have a population 0,000 natives and about 25,000 Europeans; Hians are resident in Fiji—make up the nat, for long centuries, and until some 200 a Polynesian canoes. communication, there are certain to be ♦on. The exchange of tropical products odstuffs, already an established trade be developing further, with benefit to all igoods to sell to the Islands, is handicapped ►opical products of her own, and there are ►exchange. But this angle of Islands trade utcome should be good for the Islands
Services run by the RNZAF for the New aland National Airways Corporation link I Dominion to its neighbouring Pacific ands. An additional link is provided by n-Amcrican World Airways which oper as a weekly service between New Zealand B San Francisco. But, every Monday a kota of the RNZAF leaves Whenuapai on round-the-islands trip. There are four aarate schedules, and each is operated on Donthly basis, which means, for example, it Rarotonga is visited once a fortnight d New Caledonia once a month. A fur 5r link is provided by a Sunderland of S RNZAF which leaves Auckland every brsday for Fiji and makes the return jht on the following day. Arrows indi te the British Commonwealth Pacific lerim service, the Pan American line to n Francisco and the daily Tasman Empire rways flyingboat link between New Zea id and Australia. Average flying times tween main points are; Auckland-Norfolk I hours, Norfolk-New Caledonia 3, New ledonia-Fiji 4|, Auckland-Fiji 8, Fiji tnga 3, Tonga-Samoa 3J, Samoa-Raro aga 5. The map was drawn for clarity ther than geographical accuracy.
NEW CALEDONIA.—A French possession since 1853, New Caledonia is the main island in the colony. The mineral resources of the island are enormous, and apart from nickel and chrome ores, which are extensively worked, there are large deposits of iron, manganese and cobalt. Noumea, the capital, has a population in the vicinity of 12,000.
AITUTAKI.—With an area of only seven square miles, Aitutaki is one of the islands in the Cook group and comes under the administration of New Zealand. The airstrip was, in fact, recently taken over from the United States forces. Much of it is fertile and, apart from coconuts and oranges, tapioca is a noteworthy product.
FlJl.-Suva, with a population over 15,000, is the heart of Fiji. The Fiji islands are a British Crown colony 1100 miles north of Auckland. Sugar is the most important item in the economy of the group and for that reason the colony is of special interest to New Zealand, as imports of sugar from Fiji were worth over £1,000,000 in 1942.