Prosperity
p. 10 · Read in the full issue
New Ship And Hotel For
Norfolk
Little Island May Yet Know Prosperity
TWO projects which the Australian De partment of External Territories has in hand promise to alter con siderably the present condition and future prospects of Norfolk Island. They are— • The erection at a cost of £120.000 of a modem hotel, calculated to attract tourists. • The introduction of a modern ship to the Sydney-Norfolk Island service, in about 18 months’ time.
It is believed that, if facilities existed.
Norfolk Island could become one of the popular holiday resorts of the South Pacific. It now has regular air services with Auckland and with Sydney; but that passenger traffic is limited by the fact that the boardinghouses there have not any special amenities, and they cannot accommodate, all together, more than 60 to 80 people.
The island sadly needs a modern hotel.
Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Taylor, from New Zealand, who now run the leading board inghouse, made plans for a hotel on the edge of the plateau overlooking Kingston, but later abandoned the project, owing to lack of facilities.
The Australian Government has now undertaken to build a hotel in the south west section, alongside the airfield, at a cost of £120,000; but the plan is making slow progress, because of (a) lack of building materials and (b) lack of trans port facilities in relation to same.
For very many years—except during the war—the Bums Philp steamer “Morinda” has maintained a six-weekly service be tween Sydney, Norfolk Island and the New Hebrides; but the extreme difficulty of handling shipping on the unsheltered coast of NI, plus the absence of much cargo from NI to Sydney, has made the NI call unprofitable: and now the “Morinda” calls there only once in every three months.
The Australian Government, however, has announced that it has under con struction, for the Sydney-Lord Howe- Norfolk Island-New Hebrides run a 2,500tons, Diesel-engined vessel, the “Don garra,” which will carry 40 passengers, and from 150 to 200 tons of refrigerated cargo, in addition to dry cargo. She will have deck accommodation for native passengers; will take a 20 tons lift on her derricks; and will travel at 12 knots. She is expected to come into the service about March, 1950.
The decision to run an Australian Gov ernment ship into the New Hebrides may be connected with the fact that the Aus tralian Government is the nominal owner of large areas of land in that group, a gift to the Commonwealth from the late Sir James Burns about 45 years ago.