Norfolk Is. Notes

By Vernon Wheatley

Passing Through: Mr. And Mrs.

Griffiths, of the CSR, Fiji, en route to NZ. They are holiday-making and are looking forward to an extensive tour of the South Island.

Mrs. Stanley and son Bill, on the way to Australia. Mrs. Stanley will return to Fiji some time in June, while Bill will remain at King’s College, Sydney.

Gone—But Not Forgotten: The

character who jumped off the Sydney plane and said: “They tell me the women outnumber the men by two to one.” His manner implied—lead me to ’em! Shades of la priere d’une vierge—the ladies didn’t rush him! Also on the same plane was a charming type who endeavoured to “make” his expenses by means of a little judicious gambling. He did not meet with any spectacular success.

EXPECTED: The Nickolai family, from Vila. We learn that wages are high in the New Hebrides. Very nice . . . but it costs 8/- for a bar of ordinary grade laundry soap, and other items are corres

pondingly high.

WHY IS IT? Butter in NZ costs lid. to 1/10 per lb. for “farm,” while factory butter costs 1/6 per lb. Butter in Sydney costs 2/2 per lb. Norfolk Island imports a considerable quantity of butter from Sydney. However, during the brief voy age across from Sydney, something mys terious happens to the butter for it costs us, on arrival, 3/9 per lb. It seems strange that such a short trip should so enhance a pound of butter. Local butter (the equivalent to NZ “farm” butter) sells at 2/9 per lb. When the freight costs from Australia were increased recently, the price of the local product shot up 3d. per lb. Which is remarkable, seeing that the locally-produced butter is not influenced in any way by freight charges from Australia. The local butter is either good or bad —there seems to be no half measures. A bad pound of butter, when cut, exposes in its cross-section many white streaks. Some folks claim it is pig-fat, while others say that margarine has been mixed with it.

DO YOU KNOW? That cigarettes weigh very heavy. It is a fact —4,000 cigarettes weigh exactly one ton. That is, if my arithmetic is correct. In answer to the recent freight increase of £l/-/per ton, the local price of cigarettes ad vanced by 3d. per 50. Work it out for yourself. Similarly, 480 ounces of tobac co weigh one ton —for tobacco increased in price by Id. per 2 ozs. It’s a great life!

Straight From The Horse’S

MOUTH: Sydney housewives would gee an awful shock should they ever be per mitted to view the shelves of the local stores. Since the “Morinda’s” schedule was cut by 50 per cent., the supply posi tion has become a problem. The more well-to-do residents are able to rush in and buy right and left when the “Morinda” discharges, but this is a poor consolation for the average householder.

You can’t blame the storekeepers. Re cently, we ran out of petrol. However, this apppears to be well under control now. At the moment we are experiencing a severe famine in matches, cigarettes, tobacco, soap, washing powder and many other household lines. Luckily, the Gov ernment-operated Bond Store is still able to do a brisk traffic, as they recently took delivery of a quantity of whisky which was rushed over by plane. Some house wives were awkward enough to ask: “Why not foodstuffs?”

But the only answer was silence.