Official Tour of Buka

Buka and Bougainville

From a Correspondent

Buka Passage, July 7.

THE Administrator, Colonel J. K.

Murray, has just completed a 26days’ tour of Buka and Bougainville.

He also visited Faisi, BSI, to meet the Resident Commissioner of the British Solomons, Colonel O. Noel.

Colonel Murray arrived at Sohano Island in Buka Passage, the headquarters of Bougainville District, by HMAS “Con damine,” on June 8. On this occasion he stayed two hours and then accom panied by the District Officer of Bougain ville (Mr. R. M. Farlow). he continued the trip via Numa Numa. Kieta and Buin to Torokina, where he disembarked. Later the “Lourabada” arrived from Rabaul and picked him up, to continue the tour.

Various centres in the district were then re-visited and the Administrator also had a walk through the southern end of Bougainville. There was a stay of a day and a half at Kieta, where Mr. J.

Preston-White is ADO. Two days were spent at Sohano on the return visit, and, from there, a jeep trip was made up the East Coast of Buka, and to Gagan, in the centre of the island.. Schools, missions

and plantations were visited. A number of well-known planters met the Admin istrator and explained the difficulties with which they were at present beset.

The west coast of Bougainville was also visited and the tour ended on July 3, when the official party left for Rabaul.

Accompanying the Administrator on his tour were Dr. J. Gunther (Principal Medical Officer), Mr. W. Cottrell-Dormer (Director of Agriculture), Lt.-Col. J. S.

Grimshaw (Superintendant of Police), and Mr. J. H. McDonald (Assistant Director of District Services).

Among Lutheran missionaries who left America for foreign fields at the end of March were the Rev. and Mrs. Andrew- Mild and their three young children, and the Rev. and Mrs. Ralph Goldhardt. They were on their way to New Guinea via Aus tralia.

Mr. Dan Leahy returned to Mt. Hagen, New Guinea, in June. He had just spent many months in the United States seek ing treatment for failing eyesight. The trouble appears to have been caused dur ing Army service by vitamin deficiency, but the Army doctors could not cure the condition and stated that he would pro bably go blind. With this comforting prediction, they boarded him out of the Service. Mr. Leahy went to America seek ing aid at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, John Hopkins, in Baltimore, and later, to a New York hospital. Although no cure was effected, he has been assured that the trouble has been checked and will get no worse.

Mrs. Gross has returned to Australia by plane from Kavieng. New Ireland. Her son, Jim, recently arrived from Australia, and is engaged in plantation rehabilita tion on New Ireland.