New Ireland

Freighter On and Off the Reef

Prom Our Own Correspondent

Kavieng, July 1.

PERCHED with her bows high and dry, the Burns Philp 250-ton freighter, Kokoda, ran on a reef and remained there for two days, until a high tide and the gallant little 40-footer, MV Sepik, got her off. The accident occurred on the eastern side of Steffen Strait, about two miles inside the southern entrance, not far from Selapui. District Officer I.

F. G. Downs, former RAN officer, went out to the scene of the accident, and his experience, advice and assistance were invaluable. The Sepik towed the Kokoda to Kavieng Wharf. Only slight damage was done.

’ New Club Is Opened

AFTER many vicissitudes, Kavieng Club (1949), was officialy opened on June 29. Mr. lan F. G. Downs, District Officer, was re-elected president for the ensuing year. The bar was crowded by local residents and visitors from far afield; and dancing took place until the early hours of the morning.

Much building and improvement remains to be done, but now that the club is actually functioning, with an assured in come, it should not be long before it re gains some of the prestige of its popu lar pre-war rival.

The engagement is announced of Miss Patricia Audrey Stanfield, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. A. F. Stan field. of Bolegila Plantation. near Kavieng, to Mr. Peter Ross Kennedy Murray, of Perth. WA. Mr. Murray is a plantation manager, and Miss Stanfield is a member of one of the oldest and best-respected families in New Ireland.

Pasinganlos, an Enuk Islander, near Kavieng, dived a second time from a canoe to spear fish and was seen no more. Some time later, two other natives dived for him and found his head severed from his shoulders and indica tions pointed to his having been attacked bv a shark. Enuk Islanders are now at tempting to catch the man-eater.

The engagement is announced of two popular members of our Chinese Younger Set—Mr. Seeto Aid Kwong and Miss Seeto Linheung. Joe Seeto was our local postmaster. He is a son of one of New Guinea’s most wealthy Chinese residents.

Miss Seeto is the attractive sister of Nurse Francis Seeto, who has done fine work at our Asiatic Hospital.

Baseball will soon be a popular sport among our local natives, and they are also going to take up Soccer seriously by marking out the ground correctly and adhering strictly to the rules of the Foot ball Association (Sepiks v. Markhams barred!) Their Club House has many amenities, and is also open to all re ligions for Divine Service. But what we reallv need is a keen young anthropolo gist interested in the Boy Scout Move ment. There would be no dearth of native recruits if shorts, shirts, scdut knives, belts, billy-cans, etc., were sup plied; and, when one’s personal servant ran away or got “kalabus” for drinking “metho.” or playing cards, there would be myriads of ebony devotees of BP (Baden- Powell) only too ready to hop in and do a good turn for the unhappy “master'’!

An Australian tourist back from Noumea advises against going to New Caledonia. The French do not want tourists he says. He quotes Noumea hotel rates as £2B per week.