Canadians Take Relief To

Fanning Island

ON its homeward voyage, after its Australian Jubilee visit, the Canadian cruiser Ontario gave a practical demonstration of Empire co operation.

Difficulties in arranging for ships to call at the Cable Station at Fanning Island—a coral atoll some 2,000 miles north of Fiji—had upset plans for sup plies and relief staff.

An appeal by the Overseas Telecom munications Commission (Australia), who staff and provision the Cable Station on behalf of Cable and Wireless Ltd., Lon don, was met and promptly acceded to by the Canadians. The Ontario took on board both relief cable staff and sup plies, including frozen meat, and these were successfully landed on Fanning Island at the end of May.

This station is a vital relay point in the Pacific cable which links Australia and New Zealand with Canada. The Fanning Is.-Bamfield (Canada) cable is the longest unbroken stretch of sub marine cable in the w0r1d—3,450 miles.

New Manager For Fanning Is.

In transit between the Cable Stations at Southport, Queensland, and Fanning Island are Mr. and Mrs. F. S. Sutherland

and family.

They left Australia by fiying-boat on May 28 for Suva, whence Mr. Sutherland will proceed by the “Comliebank,” while Mrs. Sutherland will join him when other transport is available. Mrs. Sutherland (formerly Miss Joan Rayner) will be at home at Suva, where she lived for a number of years.

During 25 years in the Cable Service, Mr. Sutherland has served at Adelaide, Suva. Fanning Island, Darwin, Southport.

Cottesloe and in England. This time he goes to Fanning Island as Station Manager.

While owned by Cable and Wireless, Ltd., London, the Fanning Is. station is staffed and provisioned, on behalf of the company by Overseas Telecommunica tions Commission (Australia).

Patrol posts are being set up on the Australian side of the Papua-New Guinea- Dutch New Guinea border to stop pos sible infiltration by Indonesians.