Where To Go For Three

Million Bottles Of Beer

rnHIS is the sort of rubbish which some JL newspapers publish in the “silly season” —the Christmas, or near- Christmas holidays—when there is little news. The following appeared in an Australian evening newspaper:

Wellington, (Nz), Wed.—The

New Zealand Government steamer “Matai” is back from a Pacific salvage search with tons of treasure—not gold, but steel, which is almost as hard to come by in this country.

At Canton Island, the largest coral atoll in the world, there are enough timber stacks to build 10,000 homes.

Blistering on the equator the timber is 4,000 miles from any market. And there are also stacks of beer, 240,000 dozen bottles, but useless now after so much sun.

From one Pacific dump, almost swallowed by Solomons Islands jungle, 10,000 drums of high-octane aviation spirit were recovered earlier this year; but steel is far more valuable.

Reinforcing rod, steel huts, hanger sheeting, bridging steels and piping were the “Matai’s” best finds.

Anyone who needs steel runway mesh badly enough to think of wresting it from the jungle grip will find acres of it on these Pacific isles.

The “Matai” will be back for more steel in the New Year, carrying more men for bigger and quicker results.

Canton is far from being the largest itoll. Enough timber to build 10,000 acmes would just about sink Canton island; and, even if it were as large as

represented, it is doubtful if there would be room upon it for 2,880,000 bottles of beer, besides an international airport.

There is a lot of war-time salvage in the Islands, awaiting recovery; but the figures quoted should be taken with more than a grain of salt.