RNZAF Catalina Mishap

BSIP and Fiji Officials Have Lucky Escape

VILA, August 15.

WITH ten passengers, including the Resident Commissioner of the British Solomon Islands (Mr. H. G. Gregory Smith), the Public Relations Officer. Fiu (Mr. L. G. Usher) and Mr. R. A. Derrick, technical education chief in Fi.ii who is making a survey of Islands educational needs for the South Pacific Commission, an RNZAF Catalina flying-boat was badly smashed when it struck a reef

at Vila, New Hebrides, on August 9. No one was in jured, although two large holes were torn in the air frame. The reef joins the small islet of Iririki, and juts out about 500 yards in a semi circle across Mele Bay.

The Catalina was tem porarily repaired and pumped out by the crew, with tech nical help flown from the RNZAF station on Laucala Bay, Suva, and on August 12 it was floated off the reef and beached. Technicians who have gone to Vila hope

the flying-boat can be patched up to per mit a safe flight back to Laucala Bay.

The flying-boat was on the way from Suva to Honiara, via Vila. The passen gers were taken from Vila to Honiara by a relief aircraft sent from Suva.

The incident has revived an old con troversy between the Government and local residents: should there, or should there not be a marker of some descrip tion on this reef? The Government says

it is not necessary; residents say that it is.

The photograph shows the Catalina held fast between two niggerheads, with her nose well under at high tide.

The seventy-fifth anniversary of the landing of the Rev. George Brown in New Britain fell on August 15, 1950. This pioneer missionary, explorer and natural ist, had been a Methodist missionary in Samoa for years before serving in New Britain. There are now 15,000 recog nised Methodist church members in New Britain and 150 young men are train ing as missionaries in the George Brown Teachers’ College.