South Pacific

Commission

Sixth Session Opens at Noumea

THE Sixth Session of the South Pacific Commission will be held at Com mission headquarters at Noumea, from October 21-28. The six participat ing Governments will be represented by Mr. R. Halligan, for Australia, Mons. R. > Lassalle-Sere, for France, Mr. J. B. D.

Pennink, for the Netherlands, Mr. C. G.

R. McKay for New Zealand, Sir Brian Freeston, for the United Kingdom, and Dr. F. M. Keesing, for the United States.

The main items on the agenda will be (1) the report and recommendations of the second meeting of the Research i Council, which met in Sydney during Aug [ ust and produced comprehensive plans I for the Commission’s future work pro ! gramme in the three fields of Health, Economic Development and Social Devel ooment; and (2) the Budget for 1951.

It will be no easv problem to reconcile the research needs of the area, as set out in the Council’s report, with the natural reluctance of manv metropolitan Treasuries to increase their financial allocations.

Other matters of interest will include the apoointment of successors to Dr. L.

G. M. Baas Becking, Director of Research, who resigned in September to take up an appointment in Australia; and to Briga dier F. L. Hunt, Deputy Secretary-Gener al, who is retiring in November.

This will be the first session in which the Commissioners will be able to con sider final reports on Commission pro jects—notably those by Dr. A. Capell. of Sydney University, on Linguistic Re search; Professor A. P. Elkin and Dr. F.

M. Keesing, on research needs in Anthro pology in Melanesia/Papua and Poly nesia/Micronesia respectively; and Mr. A.

L. Moore on the use of visual aids in island education. Far from being mere academic studies, they contain positive recommendations for solving some of the major technical difficulties faced by island administrations in these fields.

Probably the most eagerly awaited re port of all, that on Centralized Voca tional Training Institutions, is at present being prepared bv Mr. R. A. Derrick, the well-known Fiiian educationist and historian. To obtain the data for his work. Mr. Derrick visited every island territory with the exception of Nauru and Niue, examining educational institutions and technical training facilities and listening to the views of local authorities.

He is now completing his findings and recommendations, covering the whole field of technical and professional training from Netherlands New Guinea to Tahiti, at the Social Development office of the Commission in Svdnev, and hopes to Place his report before the Commissioners before the end of the year.

Mr. R. w. Robson, editor and publisher oi the Pacific Islands Monthly, left Syd ney by air on October 3 to spend four or five weeks in Papua-New Guinea. He “*Pf c .ted to visit the Solomons, New Hebrides and New Caledonia also but transport arrangements “would not jell.”

HI p -NG he will visit Port Moresby and ?™er parts of Papua, Lae, Wau, the Cen tral Highlands, Madang, Wewak, Rabaul, Bougainville and Talasea.