Good Relations

Between

Fijians And Papuans

A WARM friendliness which quickly developed between the Papua-New Guinea delegates and the Fijians was commented upon by the Papua-New Guinea Director of Education, Mr. W. C.

Groves, when he passed through Sydney on his return to the Territories, in the second week of May, with the Papua-New Guinea delegates.

Mr. Groves did not join much in the Fiji junketings—he remained mostly with the New Guinea native delegates, and assisted them wherever he could in their activities outside the Conference room.

“I was most interested in noting the interest and friendship that developed between our fellows and the Fijians” he said. “The Fijians might be described as being at one end of the Melanesian scale, and the Papuans at the other end; but the Fijians extended a warm greeting to our fellows, and took an interest in their viewpoint, and showed them round, and treated them most hospitably.

“I formed a warm admiration for the Fijians—their fine spirit and pride of race. I only hope that, in course of time, our policy of helping and training our native people will bring them to the stage where the Fijians are now.

“I had a look at the students we sent to the Suva Medical School. One man is in his third year, and doing well. Two others, who had to undergo a couple of years of training in simple education, in Suva, before they could enter the School, are now coming along satisfactorily.”

The old-established Newsagency busi ness conducted for many years in Vic toria Parade, Thursday Island, by E. H. and E. A. Vowels, has been sold owing to the continued ill-health of Mr. E. H.

Vowels. The business has been taken over as from March 1, by Mr. Richard James Moore, who recently went to TI from Queensland.