Tropicalities

mHE ridiculous, upswept hair-do which, X called “Edwinian,” has been popular with overseas women for some years has at last reached Mangaia—this lonely outpost of the Lower Cooks. The effect of the local version recalls the hair dressing of Jeames the Footman in a Thackeray novel.

They come and go, these tonsorial crazes: and in too many cases the going is the best part of the business. We have suffered, over the years, the bob. the shingle, the bingle (apparently a blend of the first two) the Shirley Temple, the long bob. Most of these have had their day and are now out of favour.

The final fate of the upswept style is yet to be seen. On one thing the weary males of this island are unanimously agreed, however—it may be beautifying upon a white damsel but it makes the Polynesian girl look a freak.

Introduced by Rarotongans, the mode has not been with us long, but it has been with us long enough!—E.G. * * ♦ THE Cook Island schoolboy, like his NZ counterpart, is at times given to in teresting experiments with the Eng lish language, and occasionally turns-out something really fancy in the way of howlers.

Here are a few! ■ Lunatic are an imbecile that is halfly witted at moon. ■ George Washington cut down a tree and he said Father if you tell a lie you cannot be my son. ■ Queen Victoria married Prince Albert and then the Crimean War began. ■ King Edward the Eighth left the throne because England did not wish his widow to be Queen. ■ The late King George Vth came under the influence of influenza and it died him. ■ Esau and Jacob were twins but Esau was more like Jacob than Jacob was like Esau. ■ Julius Caesar was a bad man and he started the 1914 war because they called him William. (The essayist would appear to have confused “Caesar” with “Kaiser!”) b King Solomon was the wisest man in the world because he had 700 wives. b Captain Cook was a good man be cause he gave the heathen Bibles and rum. * * $ SIR PHILIP MITCHELL who was Fiji’s wartime governor and is now Gov ernor of Kenya was in London on leave in June and July. He was not depressed by the state of affairs in Britain and expressed admiration for the courage and cheerfulness of the working man and woman. He sees this as a new Elizabethan age where a sense of adven ture and an urge to enterprise will pre vail.

But Kenya is Sir Philip’s chosen land.

So much so that he plans to settle there as a farmer himself (presumably when he retires from the Colonial Service) so that he can take a hand in building it up.

He says that there is abundant scope in Kenya for young people, not only in the Colonial Service, but as settlers or in business.

THE school-children of North Geelong, Victoria, are occasionally entertained by a local storekeener who plays the bagpipes for them. The piper is one MacGregor Dowsett, formerly of Rabaul Whereupon another Territorian, “Bill”

Gill, was reminded of this story;— As a preamble to this yarn against himself. Mr. MacGregor Dowsett would confess to a “secret” vice—he was a piper!

This admission alway intrigued his lis teners —for where could there

be found any vice less secret than the bagpipes! The secret of how this vice could be kept secret should be valuable and, if divulged, would be of benefit to suffer ing humanity.

Shortly before the war, Mac was travelling from Kokopo to Rabaul. It was night-time, and raining cats and dogs. One of his tyres was leaking and before very long it was hopelessly flat.

Out he got in the rain, and rummaged around the back seat looking for his pump— which, of course, was not there.

“OK,” said Mac to the (in those days) inevitable boy.

“You go along my place and ketchim’ this something you blowin’ wind along, pouf-f-f ”

Off went the boy on his twelve mile (each way) trip, and Mac settled down to a long wait in the dismal rain. Aeons of misery passed—and then Mac heard the squelch of approaching feet. Out ot the inky dark came his faithful boy, carrying—his bagpipes! * * * IT seems that Papuans may soon blossom out in native designed and printed lap-laps. Three natives from the Kwato Mission, near Samarai, are now studying under the Commonwealth Re construction Training Scheme at Strath field Technical College, Sydney. One of the Papuans is a girl—which makes one wonder why she benefits under CRTS — and all three are learning fabric designing, typewriting and short-hand writing, and the girl is also taking dietetics.

They expect to return to Papua at the end of this year. They will then be come teachers in Government schools. ♦ * * IT is now 75 years since the Queensland Kidnapping Act was passed. This brought to an end the infamous prac tice of kidnapping native labour for the sugar plantations, and such episodes as the following;— The story is told of how Captain John Moresby, HMS “Basilisk.” when on one of his voyages of discoveries and surveys of New Guinea, found three emaciated Solomon Islanders on board the “Peri.” which was stranded on a North Queens land reef. They were in the last stage of starvation. Dead bodies were on deck.

Neither food nor water was on board.

These three human skeletons were three of the 180 natives who had been black birded in the Solomons by the notorious kidnapping vessel “Nukulau.” Thev had been unloaded at the Rewa River, Fiji, for hire to planters, but eighty of them, for

some reason, were transferred to the “Peri” for other islands in the Fiji Group.

They had been in the charge of three white men and a Fijian crew.

When the “Peri” was out at sea, the natives complained of insufficient food.

Thereupon, one of the white men threw the rice overboard. The natives then mutinied and threw the crew overboard.

The “Peri,” now in charge of the help less natives, drifted 1,800 miles, and for five weeks, through reef-infested seas, and eventually came un on part of the Queensland Barrier Reef.

Only 13 of the 80 natives were found alive by Captain Moresby. They were taken to Cardwell (North Queensland), 30 miles distant from where they were found, and handed over to the Police Magistrate, Mr. Brinsley Sheridan.

When they had regained their strength they were returned to their own islands in the Solomon Group.—JMH. * * * IF I mistake not, there are going to be a few more Blue Lagoon Blues before the shooting of that South Seas epic is finished sometime next year.

As most south Pacific dwellers know, the Fiji climate is fine and dandy in the months that correspond to the Austra lasian winter. But in December-May period it can be, literally, hell on earth for those accustomed to the temperate zones.

Yet—of all times of the year—the Blue Lagoon movie is to be “shot” in the Yasawas in just this hot, wet season.

Miss Jean Simmons, a young British star, has been given the female lead and is due to arrive in Fiji in early January.

We feel sorrv for Miss Simmons, even though the company has chartered a luxury yacht, “Barcarolle,” which will be the companv’s home during their four months in the Yasawas.

Mr. Leslie Gilliat, of Mr. J. Arthur Rank’s organisation, visited Fiji and chose the location during the cold months. A pity someone did not think to warn him how hot and sticky and prickly-heat-producing Fiji can be in January. Anyone ever heard of a movie star with prickly-heat?

Blue Lagoon, you may recall, calls for three main characters, one of which is an infant in arms. We know that Miss will be the female lead but we have Ireard nothing about the hero or the plot or what they intend to do for an infant. Supplying the infant may be left to the movie-conscious mothers of Fiji.—‘MAC.”

Mr. Dave Woods, a well-known resident of the Morobe district of New Guinea is spending a few months’ holiday in NSW.

He arrived by MV “Malaita.”