LDS Programme for Pacific Education

Pacific Education.

From Our Own Correspondent Apia, September 12.

MANY Pacific Islanders in years to come will benefit by an extensive school-building programme now be ing sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon).

Three new schools are now being con structed in Tonga, Western Samoa and New Zealand. While the LDS Church Board of Education will direct the opera tion of these schools, the curriculum set down by the New Zealand Education Department will be followed.

The school in Tonga, located on the outskirts of Nukualofa, is nearing com pletion, and will be the largest school in that Group.

Work has recently begun in Samoa on a school which will consist of four large multiple class-rooms, a large auditorium, principal’s home, and other buildings. It will accommodate 1,000 students and is located at Pesega, near Apia.

Plans are also in preparation for a college in New Zealand to replace the former Maori Agricultural College, which was destroyed by an earthquake. It will be located on a 215 acre farm near Hamilton.

These buildings will all be of reinforced concrete structure with asbestos roofing and they will be specially adapted to the various climatic conditions existing in their respective localities.

All costs of construction, materials and labour for these schools are being pro vided by the LDS Church in America, (headquarters are at Salt Lake City, Utah) in order to advance education and a higher standard of living in the Pacific.

All planning and designing is being done bv E. O. Anderson. Supervising Architect of the Church, and construction in Samoa and New Zealand is under the direction

of Elder G. R. Biesinger, who left a private contracting business in Salt Lake City to direct this work as a missionary.

There are 7,000 missionaries for the LDS Church in almost every country in the world who support themselves while engaged in mission work. Elder Biesinger has already spent two years in New Zeal and as a missionary and now speaks Maori. He is accompanied by his wife and four children on this, his second mission.

The Samoan Government and Samoan leaders, on behalf of the Samoan people, have expressed their appreciation of the LDS Mission at Apia for the generosity of the Church in making large amounts of money available for education in Samoa.

The Branch Manager of the Union Steamship Company at Apia, Mr. B. L, Russell, has been transferred as manager to New Plymouth, NZ‘. Mr. C. E. Pea gram, branch manager at Rarotonga, has been transferred to Apia.