Honiara Versus Tulagi

Wordy Battle Proceeds In The Solomons

From Our Own Correspondent

Honiara. Nov. 20.

THAT officially dead horse —the Tulagi was-better-than-this movement —is still rearing its unhallowed head in Honiara and the Group generally. Its main backers are, of course, various “old hands” who are shaking their heads over Honiara’s network of roads and tired fleet of war-veterans (requiring a monthly con sumption of something like 2,300 gallons of petrol) and, above all, its harbour ex posed, so they say, to the nor’-west blow.

Existing harbour facilities cannot justly be criticised, as they are temporary only.

A hydrographic survey, made round Point Cruz a year ago, endorsed it as a suit able site for a harbour to serve Honiara safely; but it will be a highly expensive scheme and is at present theoretical only.

In reply, the “old hands” argue that the cost of Honiara's upkeep (and only a fraction of its permanent form has so far been achieved), plus the building of suitable wharves, will be out of all pro portion to the population and future in come of the Group.

A few post-war residents are beginning to join in the fray. They point out that until such time as Honiara can provide secure wharfing facilities, it is logical that commercial firms in the Group should pre fer headquarters, as before, in the en virons of Tulagi; also that until the pro jected wharves at Point Cruz are built and put to the test, any big ships will wish to be sure of safe anchorage in the proved Tulagi harbour—as, currently, does the monthly Trans-Oceanic flying-boat, which never yet has availed itself of anchorage here at Point Cruz (where a mooring buoy was installed nearly a year ago). The pilots prefer to make Tulagi the terminal point of their flight.

This necessitates a Government vessel travelling the 20-odd miles from Honiara to pick up incoming passengers and mail and to despatch outgoing passengers and mail.

TO date, any criticism of the temporary Point Cruz anchorage as unsafe dur ing the nor’-west season has not been proved. The same applies to Austin Dock, an American wharf built during the war at Kukum, two miles each along the coast from Honiara) which has supported vari ous RN and RAN vessels during the past three years, as well as a selection of American ships. This is where “Morinda” discharged her cargo on the first of her post-war visits here, last month.

When the Americans asked local advice on the practicability of laying down docks on this particualr site (there are three there, but only Austin Dock is still in use), old hands told them the scheme was mad—that the first big blow would whip away the wharves like match boxes. The Americans decided to risk it, and so far the weather has co-operated. ■.rvJrJ 1616 has not been a bad blow since 1937, and only on one occasion in the past three years has a vessel lying at Austin Dock had to stand out for safety over night. But the old hands continue to say, “You wait,” and predict the battering of foreshore installations at Honiara and probable collapse of all coastline wharves.

HONIARA was chosen after thorough deliberation as the site of the new capital of the Group for its possibil ities of expansion, its healthy climate (it is one of the driest and coolest-at-night sites available in the whole Group) and the fact that the timber, vehicles, machinery, installations, etc., bought from

the American Disposals Committee, were concentrated on Guadalcanal.

Comparing it with certain aspects of Tulagi is causing irritation on all sides.

It is officially hoped that Honiara in its permanent form (and the dual job of maintaining its temporary form and work ing towards the permanent lay-out will obviously be a protracted one) will end the argument.

Sir Harold Hartley, Chairman of British Overseas Airways Corporation, was expected to arrive at Suva by New Zealand National Airways Corporation flying-boat on December 11. He has been inspecting air routes and air stations in the Far East, and attending the South Pacific Air Transport Council meeting in Wellington.

Mr. K. M. Almao has accepted a trans fer to Hong Kong as a Grade 1 Assessor in the Revenue Department. The date of his departure from Fiji is at present uncertain.