Ship "Viti" May Be Laid Up
p. 67 · Read in the full issue
From Our Own Correspondent
Suva, Aug. 1.
FIJI’S most notable white elephant, the compact and, at times, useful little motor-ship “Viti,” is still awaiting an owner.
First advertised for sale last year, the “Viti” has recently made two trips— one to Nukualofa to take guests for the Royal weddings and the other with the Acting Governor, an official party and the Band of the Fiji Military Forces, to the eastern portion of the Fiji Group.
Since the ship was first put on the market and was advertised in Fiji, Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia, pos sible buyers have nibbled but no more.
It is expected the “Viti” will be laid up and the crew paid off and the ship placed in the hands of shipbrokers.
The liner “Rimutaka,” bound from Panama to Wellington, was diverted to Pitcairn Island on July 25 in response to an urgent radio appeal from the island. A child, Helena Young, aged 10. had been ill on the island with tetanus for 10 days without a doctor’s care. She was taken onto the ship but, in spite of medical attention, she died next day at sea.