No Mariposa Yet

IT seems unlikely that the Mariposa will come back soon to the Pacific service —as was indicated some months ago.

On October 17, the United States Mari time Commission informed the Matson Navigation Company, that it was willing under certain conditions, to pay the “out standing re-delivery obligation” on Mari posa and Monterey in a lump sum, this to be used for the completion of Mariposa only.

The president of the Matson Company said in November that this was at vari ance with the company’s original pro posal to the Maritime Commission and contained no provision for the disposition of Monterey. He said that the company would enter into further negotiations with the Commission in an effort to find a solution to the problem but that this would take considerable time and no re sults could be expected in the immediate future. (The “outstanding re-delivery obliga tion” referred to above apparently means the sum granted by the US Maritime Commission to the owners of Monterey and Mariposa for reconversion of the two ships after war-time duties. Reconver sion work was proceeding on the ships on the American Pacific coast but was suddenly halted in July, 1947, when work on the Mariposa was about 60 per cent, complete. The reason given by the Com pany was that costs were so much higher than anticipated that putting the ships back on the San Francisco-Sydney run had become uneconomic. It has always been understood that the grant allowed by the US Government (through the Maritime Commission), was considered inadequate to meet these costs. The ships have therefore remained in dock for the past 21 years. The slow turn around of ships in Australian ports, dollar restrictions and consequent lack of trade between America and Australasia, and

the development of trans-Pacific aviation have combined to make the running of a shipping service between USA and Aus tralia even less attractive than it might have been.) Another step forward has been taken in the establishment of the new Suva Medical Centre which is included in Fiji’s Development Plan. Tenders have been invited for the building of a Medical School to replace the existing Central

Medical School at which Assistant Medical Practitioners are trained. Tenders were recently invited for the home for local nurses in training.

A hundredweight of yams and a hundredweight of dalo (taro) were shipped by the Matua to Auckland at the end of January by the Fiji Amateur Sports Association. The vegetables are for the four members of the athletics team which represented Fiji at the British Empire Games.