The Other Side of the Picture

Picture

AFTER "the above article was in type, we had the pleasure of a call, at the PIM offices, from Mr. Anthony Bam bridge, a leading business and public man of Tahiti, who was spending a brief holi

day in Sydney with Mrs. and Miss Bam bridge.

It soon was apparent that Mr. Barn bridge is not only an admirer of the Governor, M. Anziani, and acquainted with the latter’s policy of encouraging the tourist traffic: he also is au fait with the exchange problem in French Oceania.

The Government, says Mr. Bambridge, applies the exchange regulations strictly in order to protect both the tourists and the Tahitians themselves. There are two classes of people whom the Government does not want in Tahiti —the black marketeer in currency, and the beach comber class. The former is a new pest, which has developed since the war. The latter was an old pest, before the war, and the French authorities want to keep him out, now.

The Chinese traders of Tahiti will very willingly give, for United States dollars, far more than the official rate (about 70 Pacific francs to the dollar); and, natur ally, the travellers are happy to part with their dollars on those terms. But, if that kind of trading is not checked, it is inevitable that the cost of goods and service in Tahiti will rise against the holders of dollars.

People from America also arrive from time to time with cars or boats, which eventually they desire to sell. Here, again, there is a chance of black market eering—certain classes in Tahiti are eager to pay, in francs, far more than the French authorities say is the fair value of those things. To guard against infla tion, all such transactions must be very carefully policed.

That is why such firm controls over ex change are clamped on, as described by our contributor.

The insistence that visitors shall spend a certain minimum sum per month is

based on the French authorities’ deter mination to keep out the beachcombing class. In past times, large numbers of Europeans, with slender resources—or with no resources at all—attracted by the charm and ease of life in Tahiti, settled themselves in the country. But a large proportion of them accepted no obliga tion to work —they took fullest advantage of native hospitality, and literally lived on the natives. That created a state of affairs that, socially and economically, was undesirable.

The official view is that if a person does not spend 200 dollars per month on living expenses (normally, about £4O) he is of no use to the Territory, which does not seek permanent new settlers of Euro pean origin. Bona fide tourists and new residents with an assured income are economically useful, and are welcome.

Mr. Bambridge has many interests in Tahiti, but he is chiefly concerned with the theatre business. He has practically a monopoly of the cinema theatres and halls throughout French Oceania. He is a handsome, middle-aged man of charm ing personality, and one of the outstand ing figures of Tahiti.