Tropicalities

Gary And Barry Arrive

JULY 21 was Faleolo’s big day, according to a message from Western Samoa.

When the stars of the Warner film “Return to Paradise’* arrived in Samoa by aircraft from Fiji hundreds of people surged through a police barrier to mob Gary Cooper—but the English star Barry Jones, aboard the same plane, was not even recog nized. About 3,000 Samoans milled around the special plane that had brought them.

Warner Brothers have had to charter a small Panamanian ship, the Maria Ines to bring cameras and equipment to Samoa, owing to the Pacific Coast shipping strike. Maria Ines was expected at Apia during the last week in July. Filming was to commence immediately the equip ment arrived on location.

There were some difficulties in the interpretation of the agreement with the people of Lefaga where the filming it to take place, but these have now been ironed out.

Wants The Bare Facts

THE Folies-Bergere—straight from France, they claim—have opened in Sydney and are playing to capacity bouses.

It is said that at least one applica tion for preferential bookings has come from a New Guinea planter (due for leave) who wants a seat as near to the front as possible “be cause I have forgotten what a white girl looks like.”

Prunes Go North For

Tourists’ Breakfast

STAYING at a Suva hotel, a mem ber of an American film unit now in Fiji, complained bitterly that in stead of tropical fruit for breakfast 'Jie was given prunes. It was ex plained to the irate visitor that Viti Levu happened to have had a hurri cane.

Well, in other years, when there have been no hurricanes, I have still been served prunes for breakfast in Fiji—and those abominable little tasteless pieces of nothingness which New Zealanders call cornflakes. Has no one in those parts heard of Mr.

Kellogg?—!.

Fijian Feminism

CJIGN of the times: A team of Fijian girl debaters drawn from the

staff of the Adi Cakobau School has cleaned up a men’s team from the British Council Viti Club. The Sub ject: “The time is ripe for Fijian women to share equally with men in the management of our country.”

The debate was lively enough, but the school roof nearly came down when, in the open discussion, a young schoolgirl bobbed up with: “Fijian women live longer than men . . .

And I know this—you men are all selfish!”

Chimbus Get The Jim-Yams

ALL because of a yam, 300 Chim bus (natives from the NG Cen tral Highlands) fought 200 Goilalas (Papuans) in early July. Casualties were one dead Chimbu and scores of minor injuries on both sides.

The battleground was Koitaki rubber plantation, 25 miles from Moresby.

A Goilala is alleged to have stolen the yam from a Chimbu.

Those Port Moresby

Looting Days

AN appeal was made in Brisbane recently for the return of curios and artifacts stolen from the Port Moresby museum during that shame ful period in 1942 when troops looted homes and buildings in the newly evacuated town.

It is a guinea to a gooseberry that few, if any, will be returned. In most cases the novelty probably wore off before the soldiers returned home and the curios were likely thrown away—or exchanged for American cigarettes. Those that did get to Australia were no doubt shoved in the rubbish-bin years ago or thrown into a dark corner of the garage and forgotten. Australians rarely sustain their interest in such items.

No buildings in Port Moresby es caped the attentions of the soldiery —and the Americans were as bad as the Australians. The only difference was that the Australians got there first.

One resident, when he finally got back to what remained of his house, was astounded to find large square areas cut out of his flooring. It appears that an American unit had required floors for its tents and had gone to the nearest house and cut them out to size with a saw.

Wanted (For Dollars)

Corsair Planes

NEW Zealand war-surplus junk merchants reported in July that they have received inquiries from aircraft firms in the United States for the re-purchase of Corsair fighter planes.

The planes include many returned from Pacific Island operational areas by the RNZAF after the war and eventually sold for scrap. Many of the planes have already been com pletely wrecked, but a number re main in the Waikato area.

The explanation of this interest from America is said to be that cer tain American aircraft firms sold Corsairs to South America and else where on the understanding that they would provide spares for ten years from time of sale. Such spares are no longer being made and the firms concerned are now combing the world’s scrap heaps to provide their customers with the essential parts.

Anyone with a few Corsairs in his back yard can receive fancy prices for the individual parts—and in dollars.

Wandering Hawaiian

Brought Steel Guitar

To Nz

rpHE Hawaiian steel guitar came X to NZ per Henry Alexander Bishaw of Honolulu, who took up residence in Wellington about 1923 and commenced to train pupils, in the novel art.

The unusual tone of the instru ments, and the ease of learning, made the first few years of this art form very prosperous ones for the firm sponsoring the innovation.

There was no broadcasting then, of any significance; had there been, undoubtedly the Hawaiian instru ments would have had even wider scope.

The “talkies” (and broadcasting in its current form) have, it is to be feared, vulgarised Hawaiian music; it now occupies the demode position that the Italian mandolin (another vogue of the past) has sunk to.

The gramophone companies have done notning to elevate it; and Tin Pan Alley, with nostalgic “tripe” about Hula Dream Girls and Ukulele Ladies, seems to have determined to make the thing a farce.

The final fate of the wandering Hawaiian—a giant of a men, nearly seven feet tall—is not clear. As far as is known, he did not return to his native islands, though the words “Bishaw ukulele-guitar setting” no longer appear on popular sheet music.

Henry Bishaw was a master of his art, and is remembered by this writer with gratitude, for many enjoyable hours in our own Group with the instruments he loved so well, which the writer in turn popularised in

the Cook Islands.-