An Appreciation Of Mrs. E.

Falkner Of Bougainville

By S.A.G.

MRS. Eva Falkner, who sold her Tear ouki Plantation, on Teop Harbour, Bougainville, to the Marist Mission has now built herself a home and garden on a small island in the Harbour. From this vantage point she sees all the ship ping that comes and goes; there is a fine view of the Emperor Range, and every night the cold land breeze is a pleasant thing. Mrs. Falkner does not wish to leave the locality, where she has lived so long, for the doubtful joys of Southern civili sation!

Her late husband, Mr. Chris. Falkner, was at one time ADO at Buka Passage.

He resigned from the Administration to take up Tearouki, which he developed into one of the best planted and best laid-out plantations in Bougainville.

Chris and Mrs. Falkner went through some hard times—the depression years and low prices for copra—before the planta tion reached its full bearing stage, but they kept determinedly to the task and won through. Then Chris became ill and died and Mrs. Falkner bravely carried the plantation alone, running her own labour line and trading with surrounding natives.

“The Missus belong Tearouki” was well known to all natives on the Bougainville east coast.

When Japan came into the war, and all women and children were evacuated in December, 1941, Mrs. Falkner elected to stay and look after her interests, and she remained in her home even when a Jap destroyer sailed into the harbour and an armed party came ashore. They searched the house and subjected her to a severe cross examination but did no harm to her or the house.

She continued living on the plantation until the end of 1942, attended by faithful native house-servants, and then in com pany with others—which included a party of Roman Catholic nuns—she was evacu ated, almost from her front door, by a US submarine, and taken to Guadalcanal, tnence to New Zealand by US transport, and on to Australia by flying-boat. It was a unique experience.

The late Christopher Falkner was a Norwegian of good family, who began life as a Naval cadet, and came out to Aus tralia in 1914, still very youthful. He came of fighting stock so that when war came in August, 1914, he promptly joined the AIF and sailed with the first contingent.

He served on Gallipoli and was decorated for bravery and given his commission.

Later he won a Serbian decoration. He died in Rabaul and was buried in the old Cemetery, not far from the graves of the Australians who were killed near Bitapaka in September, 1914.

Mrs. Falkner is one of the brave band of women whom Territorians honour, be cause with true pioneering spirit, they ac companied their husbands to out of the way places, and helped them carve a home and plantation from the wilderness. Only those who have been through it realise the various vicissitudes that beset people who develop a coconut plantation—the loneliness, disappointments, sicknesses and the long wait before the palms begin to bear. It takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to see the matter through.

Bougainville residents will wish Mrs.

Falkner the best of luck and good health through the years. The Falkners have left their mark —and a very good mark, too —on the island!

Cost of sending delegates from French Pacific colonies to the Regional Labour Conference at Kandy, Ceylon, under the auspices of the International Labour Office, will be shared by New Caledonia (65 per cent.), the New Hebrides (35 per cent.) and Wallis and Futuna (5 per cent.).