First South Pacific Conference

Another Plan For Co-ordination of Islands Administration and Policies Gets Off to Good Start

From R. W. Robson

SUVA put on its most charming cool weather dress of green and gold to greet the opening of the South Pacific Conference at Nasinu Training College (5 miles out towards Nausori) on April 25. Hundreds of interested people of all races gathered to watch the assemb ling of delegates from 15 Territories, and to hear the formal opening addresses of the Governor of Fiji (Sir Brian Freeston) and other high officials.

Behind the constitution of this Con ference there was a magnificent job of organisation, for which full credit must be given the Secretary-General of the South Pacific Commission (Mr. W. D. Forsyth) and his team of able assistants. Most of the delegates were strangers to each other and were seeing Fiji for the first time.

They spoke not only their own languages, but English, or French, or Dutch, as well, and each called for special help and con sideration.

The world’s newspaper Press was well represented. Present were the represent atives of world-wide news agencies, and also distinguished correspondents like David McNicoll, of Sydney Telegraph, Guy Herriott, of Sydney Morning Herald, Colin Simpson, famous radio commenta tor and producer. These men needed fac tual “background material,” so the Commission very wisely borrowed from Wellington (NZ) Post the services of Eric Ramsden, well-known writer on Pacific affairs, and R. G. Pauli, of the ABC, and their services as Public Rela tions Officers were of inestimable value.

As a result of it all, the Conference ran very smoothly from the first auspicious moment of its assembly; it was skillfully and sympathetically directed from the chair by Sir Brian Freeston; and at the stage of this writing (part-way through) it looks as if it will be completely suc cessful in the objects which its planners hoped to achieve.

The following are the names of those present:— Chairman Sir Leslie Brian Freeston, KCMG, OBE, Governor of Fiji, High Commissioner for the Western Pacific.

Representatives from Territories Netherlands New Guinea. —Delegates: N. Jouwe, M. Kasiepo. Alternates: Dr J. V. de Bruyn, P. J. Merkelljn.

Papua.—Delegates: Willie Gavera, Bondai Pita.

Alternates; Prank Aisl. Mirla Gavera, Aisa Gu’u. Advisers: Dr. J. T. Gunther and Mr.

W. C. Groves.

New Guinea.—Delegates: Waiau Ahnon, George Kassi. Alternates; Kamono Walo, Aisoli Salin. Advisers: R. H. Boyan and S. H, Christian.

British Solomon Islands Protectorate. —Delegates: Belade, Gina. Advisers: Mr. M. J. Forster (Administrative Officer), Dr. J. S. MacKenzie- Pollock.

New Hebrides.—Delegates: Petero (Catechist at the Marist Mission, Tanna), John Kalsakau.

New Caledonia. —Delegates: M. Raphael Bouan ani, M. Maou Djoel. Adviser: M. Lescan du Plessix, Nauru.—Delegate: Jacob. Alternate: Raymond Gadabu. Adviser: Mr. T. H. Cude.

Gilbert Islands. —Delegates: Mr. I. G. Turbot (Acting Co-operative Societies Officer), Tutu Tekanene (Senior AMP).

Ellice Islands.—Delegates: F. Penltala Teo (Administrative Officer), losefa (Acting Head master of the King George V School).

Fiji.—Delegates: Hon. Joell Ravai, Hon. Vishnu Deo. Alternates: Hon. Ratu E. T. Cakobau, Hon. M. S. Buksh.

Kingdom of Tonga.—Delegates: HRH Tungi (Premier of Tonga), HRH Tu’lpelehake (Governor of Vava’u). Adviser; Mr. P. A.

Richardson (Secretary to the Government of Tonga).

Western Samoa.—Delegates: Hon. Tamasese, and Hon. Malietoa (both members of the Council of State). Alternates: Hon. Tualaulelei (Mem ber of Legislative Assembly), Paipule Anapu (Chairman of Pono of Paipule). Adviser: Ainoa Kalapu.

American Samoa.—Delegates: High Chief Tufele, High Chief Tultele. Advisers: High Talking Chief Tuiasosopo, Lieut. Edward V. P. Horne

(Usn).

Cook Islands and Niue. —Delegates: Makea Nui Toremoana Ariki, Robert Rex. Alternates or Advisers: Rongomatane Ariki, Albert R. Henry.

French Oceania.—Delegates: M. Luclen Vayssiere (Director of Education), M. Paul Berniere

sur stD,legate ° Permanent Officers of South Pacific Commission Secretary-General; Mr. W. D. Forsyth.

M. Baas-Becking. ° r L '

Member for Health, Research Council: Dr. E.

Massal.

Member for Economic Development, Research Council: Dr, H. G. MacMillan.

Member for Social Development, Research Council; Mr. H. E. Maude.

Observers

Commissioners and Advisers nominated by Participating Governments Australia. —Acting Senior Commissioner: Rev. Dr.

J. W. Burton, Ex-President General oi the Methodist Church of Australia. Adviser: Mr.

T. A. Pyman, Officer in Charge. South Pacific Section, Pacific Division, Department of External Territories, Canberra. Adviser- Secretary: Mr. C. H. Cox. Department of External Territories, Canberra, Prance. —Senior Commissioner: M. Robert Las salle-Sere (Inspector-General of Colonies).

Commissioner; M. Pierre C. J. Bonnard (Administrator of Colonies and Director of the Cabinet of the French High Commissioner in the Pacific).

Netherlands. —-Senior Commissioner: Mr. J. B. D.

Pennink (Netherlands Minister, Wellington, NZ).

New Zealand.—Commissioner: Lieut.-Colonel P.

W. Voelcker, CBE, DSO, MC (formerly High Commissioner of Western Samoa). Adviser: Dr. T. R. A. Davis (Chief Medical Officer, Rarotonga).

United Kingdom.—Commissioner; Mr. H. H.

Vaskess, CMG, OBE (formerly Secretary, Western Pacific High Commission). Alter nate: Mr. H. A. C. Dobbs (First Assistant Secretary, Wiestern Pacific High Com mission) .

United States. —Senior Commissioner: Dr. Felix M.

Keesing (Professor of Anthropology, Stanford University). Commissioner; Mr. Milton Shal leck (Attorney and Counsellor-at-Law, New York). Advisers; Mr. Claude G. Ross (US Consul, Noumea). Mr. Robert R. Robbins (Department of State, Washington DC).

Associate Members of Research Council Mr. Howard Hayden (Director of Education. Fiji, and Educational Adviser, Western Pacific High Commission).

Mr. B. E. V. Parham (Senior Agricultural Officer, Fiji).

Dr. J, M. Crulkshank (Inspector-General of South Pacific Health Service and Director of Medical Services. Fiji).

Representatives from Official and Non-Official Institutions Father Doherty.—The Roman Catholic Missionary Organisations in the South Pacific.

Rev. C. F. Gribble. —The National Missionary Council of Australia.

Archdeacon Hands.—The National Missionary Council of New Zealand, (The Reverend C. F. Gribble and Archdeacon Hands jointly represent the International Missionary Council.) Dr. Harold J. Coolidge.—Pacific Science Board of the National Research Council (USA).

M. Michel Legand.—The French Institute of Oceania.

Dr J. van Beusekom. —Division of Information, from Non-Self-Governing Territories, Depart ment of Trusteeship, United Nations Organi sation.

Mr. C. H. Moore. —The World Health Organi sation.

Mr. Andrew Hammond—The Caribbean Com mission.

“Never Before In History”

THE first day’s proceedings consisted

wholly of formalities and the pre

sentation of opening addresses. One

of the outstanding contributions to the

Conference was the address wherein the

Chairman (Sir Brian Freeston) declared

the Conference open. Here is its full text: — “Sitting before me in this hall during the next ten days I hope to see chosen

spokesmen of three million people. You

will have come from an area of the earth’s

surface which extends for five thousand

miles from east to west, and for nearly two thousand miles from north to south.

“All the major races inhabiting that

area are represented among you; Melan

esian, Polynesian, Micronesian, European

and Indian; and every territory—every

political unit within that area—has been

invited to send its representatives to take

part in this Conference.

“Never before in the history of the world have all the peoples of the South Pacific met together under one roof; never

before has an opportunity been afforded

for spokesmen from all the islands, spread over many millions of square miles of ocean, to meet each other on common ground, united by a community of interest, and animated by a common purpose.

“Need we wonder, then, that the news of this first South Pacific Conference has aroused attention far beyond the limits of the Pacific; and that our proceedings in this hall during the next ten days will be watched with interest, and let us hope with sympathy, from every corner of the globe.

“Of the various political units repre sented here to-day, all but one still oc cupy a dependent status. We are im mensely gratified that Her Majesty the Queen of Tonga has been graciously pleased to send her two distinguished sons to take part in our proceedings.

“But the rest of you come from com munities which have not yet reached the stage of political development, where they can stand upon their own feet; each is still subject to the tutelage and control, in varying degrees, of one of the six great Srs —Australia, France, the Nether - , New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America—which share between them the ultimate respon sibility for the South Pacific.

“I need hardly remind you that three years ago these six great powers solemnly agreed to establish a South Pacific Com mission, with the object of promoting, on an international basis, the economic and social welfare and advancement of the non-self-governing peoples in the South Pacific region.

“Of the activities of the Commission and of its Research Council you will be hearing more at a later stage. For the moment I am concerned to express to you what, to my mind, is the true purpose of this Conference, and its relation to the South Pacific Commission. Put shortly it is this.

“The Commission represents the Gov

ernments of the South Pacific; this Con ference represents the peoples. ‘‘For the information and the ideas on which it bases its activities and its advice the Commission relies normally, as is only right and proper, on governmental sources.

But the sole object of the Commission, as defined in its charter, is to promote the social and economic welfare and advance ment of the peoples in the Pacific; and this Conference has been devised as a means whereby those peoples, through

their chosen representatives, can make known to the Commission, direct and at first-hand, their hopes, their wishes, their needs and aspirations In all matters affecting their social and economic wel fare.

“You are, in fact, a Parliament of the South Pacific peoples, subject to two im portant limitations which will have to be borne in mind throughout our proceed ings.

(Continued on page 62)

“First, your functions, like those of the Commission itself, are advisory only; you can express opinions and offer your advice upon matters of common interest—l need hardly say how warmly such advice will be welcomed; but you cannot, of course, take decisions.

“Secondly, the matters with which you are concerned relate only to social and

economic welfare; politics are no concern either of the Commission or of this Con ference; and, as your Chairman, I do not propose to allow any member of this assembly to waste his own time and that of the Conference by talking politics.”

His Excellency then, as Governor of Fiji, extended a warm welcome to the visitors from other Pacific countries. He assured

them of the warm and sympathetic in terest of the King of England, and read a goodwill message from the British Secretary of State for the Colonies. His Excellency concluded:— “Let me conclude by reminding you that, during the next ten days, you will be making history; and that throughout the length and breadth of the Pacific, the generations to come will look back on this Conference as an outstanding land mark in their progress. Let us remember that we are embarking together on a momentous experiment, and setting our hands to a great adventure; and let each and every one of us determine that the experiment shall be fruitful of good, and that the adventure shall be crowned with success.”

What Research Council Is Doing

IN a friendly, informative address, the Deputy Chairman of the Research Council (Dr. Baas Becking) explained to the Conference the purpose of the Re search Council, and its relationship to both the Conference and the Commission.

“In order to illustrate the work of the Commission,” said Dr. Baas Becking, “let us compare it to the ways of a medical man. He is called to see a patient and his first duty is to find out the nature of the ailment. The process by which he arrives at this, what he calls his diagnosis, may be easy in some cases, long and laborious in others. From this diagnosis the nature and the stage of the disease, the general condition of the patient and Of his environment, he ventures a predic tion as to the course the disease will take and this he calls the prognosis. From the diagnosis and the prognosis he builds up his treatment. This treatment may be either active or preventive, medicative or surgical.

“Now, the work of our Commission may be compared to the work of medical men in more than one respect. In the first place, it has nothing to do with politics,

colour or creed; it only wants to see a sane organism. You will object, perhaps, that it seems unflattering to compare communities to diseases. We must re member, however, that a great deal of the work of a modern doctor lies in the pre vention of trouble rather than in an active fight against it. Preventative medicine requires also rigid diagnosis and prog nosis.

“The goal we are all aiming at is a happy community with a low mortality, and a still lower infant mortality, where people are free from the great diseases of the region, where they are able to procure adequate food by adequate agricultural methods, where they will form a market centre from which they will guide and equilibrate the inflow and the outflow of goods necessary to maintain the economy of their community.

“In some cases, now, we have most of the data. We know what is the matter with a certain community. In other cases we are still ignorant. Therefore we have still much work to do in diagnosis, in finding out things.

“We are still studying the preparation of suitable infant food, prepared from the usual village staples and accessories. We are still gathering data on the existing diet and nutrition of communities. We are still studying what pasture grass will be suited to a region, what soils are pre sent and what we can do with them; now land is used and whether it is used for the proper purpose; whether land is wasted.

“We know next to nothing of the habits and the quantity of fish present in our vast ocean.

“We have to investigate the social structure of communities in order to see in what way they can best be brought to greater prosperity.

“We have to know these things and many more things and there are only few of us and there are many things to be done. For, after we have made our diagnosis, after we know a certain con dition, we have to make a good guess as to where it will lead to, and, the more regions we have studied, the more similar data we can compare, the more confident we will become as to the validity of our prognosis.

“This is why one of us has made a study of the copra situation, both in this region and in the consumers’ area. This is the reason why he studies our economic main stay, the cocoa palm, in every aspect.

“Never has there been a time when the world, apart from a circumscript area, has been so open to inspection. Excellent statistical surveys will give us at a moment’s notice data on the infant mor tality in Sweden, of the milk production in New Zealand, on the import of textiles in almost any small island. Because the world lies open to inspection we may start to compare. Because now we have a basis for comparison. We will say that the people in a certain community are far from healthy. But we know now how far.

“Comparison of our area with other tropical areas will show clearly where our problems lie. Like in trade, we cannot in our diagnosis remain isolated. Let us suppose we know where the evils lie, what are we going to do about it?

“There are a great many people all over the world who like to sit under the tree and wait to be saved. Wait for a marvel lous ship to come, in which are all the things they need. Even if such a ship did exist, it would not solve our troubles.

For Man has created his own condition by sitting under the tree. By holding up the hand like a beggar we will remain beggars, and beggars are poor.

“It is therefore that the greatest thing that could happen to this region (and it has happened and is happening right in this place where we gather now), is that education in all the skills necessary to promote the development of a healthy community is extended to all of those that are capable and willing to take it.

“I do not mean primarily the graces to be derived from the reading of news papers, but development of good crafts men who may build upon the foundations given by their own culture. Good hygienists and medicos, agriculturists and fisheries specialists, who may graft new scions on the old traditional stock. For the old plant of your own civilisation should not be uprooted, because that is not only a treasure to you but also a treasure for the whole world.

“And now for the treatment. One can lead a horse to water, but one cannot make it drink. All measures which are imposed upon you, sometimes well meant but ill fitting in your scheme of things, will remain useless unless they find a resonance in yourself, unless you are will ing to take over yourself and shape your own community, self-respecting, open to all inspection and for the world to see.

“If 'the specialists interested in this region may take part in this work, it will be a great thing for them to witness a development by the people and for the people and they will find their reason for existence in the fact that they are wanted as friends and as advisors to help you prepare a better future.”

The General Plan

out of the 28 projects, that is approximately two-thirds of the projects recommended by the first meeting of the Research Council of the South Pacific Commission less than a year

ago, are already in operation,” said the Secretary-General, Mr. W. D. Forsyth, in

a prepared statement, on the opening day. In connection with nine of these projects, experts are or have been at work in the field in territories of the South Pacific. It is less than two years since the Agreement establishing the Commis sion came into force.

“The Commission’s tuberculosis team has almost finished the first stage of its work in New Guinea and will shortly go on to New Caledonia and later to Western Samoa and Tahiti to continue its work.

“A nutritionist is at work in New Guinea.

“A study of the best ways of using motion pictures and other visual aids in schools in the islands has been completed.

“A study, which promises to be of im mense importance to the area, of the needs for technical education in the South Pacific territories, is in progress.

“Gardens, in which plants which may usefully be grown in the region can be tested, have been begun in Fiji and New Caledonia.

“Some study of the possibilities for pro duction of cocoa in the region has been made.

“The weeds which menace agricultural production in the South Pacific are being studied, with a view to finding methods for combating them.

“In addition to these and similar inves tigations the Commission’s staff has begun to collect and distribute technical infor mation.”

Mr. Forsyth said that the idea of a South Pacific Conference had been in the minds of men of vision for many years.

In this wide oceanic region, sprinkled with a multitude of islands, they could see, as well as the wide expanses of sea dividing them and the differences of language and custom, many similar features of geo graphy and climate, of natural resources

and economic life. They could see the need of the peoples to find ways of pre serving the best in themselves in the face of a vigorous alien culture. They could see also that peoples and governments to do.this mlgbt(Mr ° n6 another s suc " cesses ana mistakes.

But this could not easily be done. In the course of the past century the islands had become divided between six govern marts these be- Sns oS toe whole P there w?nnta £ons. On the whole, there was not a separate authorities. Useful work done in one territory might never be heard of in others. o nmp nennie hari hnneri thp Hav w were for fnri

thLne<Ses

wito toe peoples of toe South Pacific could come together and compare notes on what they were doing. Some looked further forward to the day when the peoples of the territories them selves would not only play a greater part in improving their own conditions but would

also be able to meet people from the other islands labouring to the same end, and by talking with them, discover what each might have to learn from the other.

These hones have he<nm to hear fruit T h? South P PaSflc Commlssto auxiliary bodies, the Research Council and the South Pacific Conference, have been set up for these purposes, Thpi . p nf bnv J he f nurnose f though tasks arp

ent . P Th? Research CounciltdvSS

the Commission in what ways scientific methods can be applied in the territories evenpp C pvivt« a t!? ?pu d the ci° n - oomerence exists to ten toe Commission what the people think about these things, what their needs are, what things the Commission might give atten tion to, how the Commission can help them bU ~~’ . . . .

The Governments have not set up the Commission to rule the territories. There has been and is no idea of the Commis sion becoming a super-state. Just as the Conference and the Research Council ad

vise the Commission, so the Commission is an adviser to the Governments. What the Commission, with the help of the Re search Council and the Conference, can do, is to bring together the experience and opinions of people in and out of gov ernment services, whether living in the islands or elsewhere, and define certain practical things that can be done to make life better for the peoples living in the area.