Samoa—Tonga
pp. 80-84 · Read in the full issue
Shipping And Plane Services
THE following sea and air services are running to schedules in the Pacific.
Not all of the regular services which were suspended, owing to war condi tions, have been restored; but preparations are under way for their early reintroduction. As they become available they will be announced here.
Ship Services
Australia—North
America
THE regular passenger Trans-Pacific liners, withdrawn during the war, have not yet been restored.
Canadian-Pacific liner “Aorangl” (Sydney- Auckland-Suva-Honolulu-Vancouver) may re sume about May, 1948.
Matson liners “Monterey” and “Mariposa” are being reconditioned, but are not expected back in service in 1948. Matson ship “Marine Phoenix,” carrying passengers, runs on a regular schedule —San Francisco-Honolulu-Suva-Auckland- Sydney.
New Zeoland—Cook
Is.—Niue—Samoa
rE motor vessel “Maui Pomare,” owned and operated by the NZ Gov ernment, maintains a direct service between Auckland and Rarotonga (Cook Islands), with alternative calls at Niue and Apia (Samoa).
On arrival in Auckland in early January, “Maui Pomare” was withdrawn for survey. She resumed in Cook Is. service in March.
New Caledonia
THE New Caledonian Government has sub sidised and maintained the coastal ship ping services. The East Coast, the West
Coast, and the Loyalty Islands, under present conditions, receive 10 round trips per annum.
The ships call at the following ports; EAST COAST.—Yate, Ounia, Thio, Nakety, Canala, Kouaoua Kua, Moneo, Ponerlhouen, Tibarama, Poindimie, Wagap, Touho, Tipindje, Hienghene, Tao, Oubatch, Pouebo, Balade, Pam, Arama, and return.
WEST COAST. —Poaembout, Kone, Temala, Voh, Ouaco Gomen, Koumac, Tangaiou, Tiebaghl, Nehoue Poume, Baaba, Belep and return.
LOYALTY ISLANDS.—Mare (Tadine), Lifou (Chepenehe) Ouvea (Fajaoue, St. Joseph) and return.
The steamer “Neo Hebrldais” runs regularly between Noumea and Sydney, with occasional trips to the New Hebrides (mostly Aneityum).
The owners are Societe Maritime et Manlere Hagen, Noumea. Sydney agents; H. C. Sleigh, 254 George Street, Sydney.
Sydney-Norfolk Island-
New Hebrides
THE SS “Morinda,” Burns Philp & Co., Ltd., runs at approximately six seven weeks’ intervals from Sydney to Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, and main ports of the New Hebrides, and return. A regular fixed timetable is not
yet practicable.
The “Morinda” at present is undergoing over haul and the small “Muliama” is carrying on the service.
New Zealand—Fiji—
Samoa—Tonga
Monthly Service by MV “Matua”
Service Conducted By Union Ss Co.,
Ltd.—Subject To Alteration Without
Notice
(See Table on Next Page)
Air Services
Summary of Pacific Air
Services
PAPUA AND NEW GUlNEA.—Regular Qantas service from Sydney.
SOLOMON ISLANDS. —Frequent irregular flying boat service from Sydney by Trans Oceanic Airways.
NEW HEBRIDES. —Frequent irregular flying-boat service from Sydney by Trans Oceanic Air ways. Weekly service from Noumea by French plane is suspended.
NORFOLK ISLAND. —Regular service from NZ by NZ National Airways; from Sydney by Qantas.
LORD HOWE ISLAND. —Regular weekly service from Sydney by Qantas and irregular service by Trans Oceanic Airways.
FIJI. —Regular services from Australia by Pan American and ANA (to Nadi); from Noumea by TRAPAS (to Nadi); from Auckland by NZ National Airways (to Nadi); from Australia by Qantas (to Laucala Bay, Suva); from Auckland by NZ National Airways (to Laucala Bay, Suva). Irregular calls from Australia to Laucala Bay, Suva, by Trans Oceanic Air ways.
Western Samoa, Cook Islands And
TONGA. —Regular service from Fiji by NZ National Airways.
TAHITI. —Regular service from Noumea by TRAPAS plane suspended in March.
AUSTRALIA-NEW ZEALAND.—ReguIar service by Tasman Empire Airways.
AUSTRALIA-NORTH AMERICA—Regular Trans pacific services by Pan American Airways and
Ana.
Sydney—Queensland—
New Guinea
QANTAS Empire Airways, Ltd., employing DC3 planes, operate a regular service between Sydney, Port Moresby, Lae, Finschhafen and Rabaul, and return, via Brisbane, Rock hampton, Townsville and Cairns.
This service is now known as the “Bird of Paradise” Service. DC3 aircraft, carrying 19 passengers, are used.
Planes leave Sydney on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 9 a.m., and arrive at Lae at noon on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The plane which leaves Sydney on Wednesday and arrives at Lae on Thursday then goes on to Rabaul. It returns on Friday.
Planes leave Lae at 5.45 a.m. on Wednesdays, Saturday and Sunday, and arrive In Sydney at 10 p.m., accomplishing the Lae-Sydney run In a day. return plane from Rabaul leaves at 1.30 p.m. on Fridays.
Bookings may be made at Qantas offices at any of the towns named. At present, berths are available only to passengers holding official per mits to visit Papua or New Guinea.
Syd ney-N ou mea-Su vo
ONCE fortnightly a Qantas flying-boat (a Catalina), leaves Sydney in the early morning, and goes directly over the Pacific to Noumea. From Sydney to Noumea is a journey of about 11 hours. An overnight stop is made in Noumea, and Suva is reached the following afternoon.
Intending passangers should book through Qantas offices in Australia. Burns, Philp (South Seas) Company, in Suva; and Messrs. L. H. and W. A. Johnston In Noumea.
Fares: To Noumea, £35 single; £63 return.
To Suva, £52/10/- single; £94/10/- return.
Auckland April 22 May 20 June 17 July 15 Suva April 26-27 May 24-25 June 21-22 July 19-20 Nukualofa April 29-30 — June 24-25 — Vavau May 1 — June 26 — Niue* May 1 — June 26 — Apia* May 2-5 May 26-29' June 27-30 July 21-22 Vavau — May 31 — July 24 Nukualofa — June 1-2 — July 25-26 Suva May 8-9 June 4-5 July 3-4 July 28-29 Auckland May 13 June 9 July 8 Aug. If ♦Western Time. tOn return to Auckland on August 1, “Matua” withdraws for survey.
Sydney-Lord Howe ls.-
Norfolk Is.
QANTAS, Sydney, run a Catalina once weekly from Sydney to Lord Howe Island. Fare, single, £l2. Return, £24.
Trans Oceanic Airways Pty., Ltd., 14 Martin Place, Sydney, run a large flying-boat fairly frequently between Sydney and Lord Howe Island.
Qantas run a land plane about once a fort night from Sydney to Norfolk Island. Fare, £22 single: £39712/- return. (For Norfolk Island, see also under NZ National Airways.)
Noumea—Fiji—Tahiti
TRAPAS (a French company with headquarters in Noumea) runs an air service once a month from Noumea (New Caledonia), via Nadi (Fiji) and Aitutaki (Cook Islands) to Papeete (Tahiti), and return.
It was announced in January that this was to become a fortnightly service; but service was suspended in March owing to hurricane damage.
Noumea—Norfolk Is. —
Auckland (NZ)
were taken in January, 1948, by TRAPAS, New Caledonia, to start this ser vice at an early date.
New Caledonia—
New Hebrides
A PLANE based on Noumea runs between Noumea and Port Vila (New Hebrides), with calls at Santo and other places as required, and returns, once each week. (It was suspended in March owing to hurricane damage.)
NZ National Airways
South Pacific Services
THE Pacific services run by the New Zealand National Airways Corporation are as follows: —
Laucala Bay (Suva) - Labasa (V/\Nua
LEVU): A flying-boat service on an irregular basis of approximately one return flight fort nightly.
Laucala Bay (Suva) - Auckland: Flying
boat leaves Auckland for Fiji each Saturday and returns on Monday.
FIJI - TONGA - SAMOA - COOK ISLANDS: A Douglas DC3 airliner leaves Nadi (6 a.m.) on alternate Tuesdays for Tonga, Western Samoa and Cook Is. There is an additional service between Aitutaki and Rarotonga (Cook Is.) when sufficient traffic offers.
AUCKLAND (NZ) - NORFOLK ISLAND - NADI (FIJI); A Douglas airliner runs fortnightly on this service, leaving Auckland at 8.30 a.m. on Sunday, arriving Norfolk at 12.40 p.m.; leaving Norfolk at 11.45 p.m.; arriving Nadi at 6.55 a.m. Monday. This service then leaves Nadi at 6 a.m. Tuesday for Nausori, Tonga, W. Samoa
and Cook Is. Each Sunday a Douglas airliner flies from Auckland to NI and returns.
FARES, single (in NZ currency): Auckland to Norfolk, £l2/10/-; to Fiji, £2B/10/-; to Tonga, £3l; to Samoa, £34; to Aitutaki, £39’; to Raro tonga, £39/10/-. Norfolk to Fiji, £l9. Fiji to Tonga, £B/15/-; to Samoa, £l3; to Aitutaki, £29/15/-; to Rarotonga, £3l. Samoa to Raro tonga, £l7/15'/-. Suva to Labasa, £4/10/-.
Return fares, less 10 per cent.
BOOKING OFFICES: Wellington, Aotea Quay, and Govt. Life Bldg., Customhouse Quay; Auckland, Mercantile Chambers, Customs St.; Dunedin, 8-10 Manse St.; Christchurch, Union SS Co., 168 Hereford St.; Norfolk Is., Burns Philp Ltd.; Fiji, NZ National Airways Corp, at Nadi and in Suva; Tonga, Mrs. F. F. Melhose, Fou-amotu Airfield; W. Samoa, NZ National Airways Corp., Apia; Cook Is., Mrs. P. McVeagh, Aitutaki and Mr. J. D. Campbell, Rarotonga.
Trans-Tasman Service
Sydney—Auckland
TASMAN Empire Airways, Ltd., operate a flying-boat service between Rose Bay, Sydney, and Mechanics Bay, Auckland. Large flying-boats, capable of carrying 30 passengers, are employed. The trip is comfortable, and takes approximately 8 hours.
The flying-boats leave both Sydney (6.30 a.m.) and Auckland (8 a.m.) every morning, except Sundays. On two days each week, two planes leave the terminal points, making eight flights each way per week. Fares: £2B single; £5O/8/return.
Bookings may be made at Tasman Empire Airways in Auckland and at Qantas Empire Air ways, Carrington Street, Sydney.
Pan-American—
Trans-Pacific Service
PAN-AMERICAN World Airways clippers now provide the following services in the South Pacific, using DC4 planes;— Planes leave Sydney every Wednesday and Saturday, and fly via Tontouta (New Caledonia), Nadi (Fiji), Canton Island, Honolulu, to San Francisco, and return along the same route, leaving ’Frisco every alternate Saturday and Tuesday.
Planes leave Auckland every Friday and alter nate Tuesday, and fly via Nadi, Canton Island, and Honolulu, to San Francisco; and leave ’Frisco for Auckland every Monday and Friday. Fares are given below, in Australian currency:—
To convert to Fiji currency, reduce above figures by about 10 per cent.
Free baggage allowance is 66 lb. per person.
Excess at 1 per cent, of single fare for each kilogram of excess (1 ki10—2.2 lb.).
Sydney-Vancouver
BCPA Service
FROM April 21, British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines Limited will operate a three trips per fortnight trans-Pacific service from Sydney via Fiji, Canton Island, Honolulu and San Francisco; and a fortnightly service between Auckland and Vancouver, via the same air ports. This service has, until this date, been operated under contract by Australian National Airways Pty., Limited.
Planes leave Sydney every Sunday evening and alternate Wednesdays, and Vancouver, on the southbound trip, every Sunday and alternate Thursdays. Planes leave Auckland every alter nate Wednesday and arrive in Vancouver the following Saturday. This southbound trip com mences from Vancouver on alternate Fridays.
Pares are (in Australian currency), Sydney- San Francisco, £2OO single and £365 return, Auckland-Vancouver, £AI9B single; Auckland- Nadi (Fiji), £A39.
Skymaster aircraft carrying 38 passengers and a crew of 9 are used on the service.
Single Return £ s. d. £ s. d.
Sydney-’Frisco 200 0 0 360 0 0 Sydney-Piji 55 0 0 99 1 3 Auckland-’Frisco .. .. 184 1 3 331 5 0 Auckland-Fiji 39 1 3 70 6 3 Fiji-’Frisco 145 0 0 260 18 9 (Time-tables and fares subject to alteration without notice.)
An early development following the establishment of the British Colony of North Borneo (taking the place of Terri tories which formerly were merely under British protection) is the appearance of the North Borneo News, now published regularly at Sandakan by Mr. R. F, Vaughan. It has been enthusiastically received by the population and consider ing that it is all hand-set by Asiatic com positors, it is a creditable production. It looks as if it is going to be well sup ported by local and British advertisers.
Mission Ship And Amateur Crew
TOP: The MV “St. Francis,” as she lay in Sydney Harbour in February. ABOVE (left to right): Leonard Howie, Father Dupeyrat, Captain Muir, Maurice Fricker, Terence Borger, In front: John Kennedy, Janies Thompson. Absent: K. McGhee.