[?]assau for the Puka Pukans

i BILL was introduced in Parlia ment at Wellington, NZ on jptember 26, which gives statutory Feet to the purchase from the rown by the people of Puka Puka land, Northern Cooks, of the sighbouring 300-acre Nassau Is ad.

The Cook Islands Administration proved the sale of Nassau last ar, and in June 1951 it was occu ;d by 124 people from Puka Puka. le price of £2,000 has now almost en paid off, from the proceeds of pra exported.

It was assumed that, as with the nous re-settlement schemes in the estern Pacific High Commission s domain, Nassau would be perm ently settled by a portion of the pulation of Puka Puka. This now pears to be not the case, as it is derstood that all or most of the sent population intend leaving issau in October on the inter-island isel Mahurangi, to be replaced, ssibly some time later, by an en dy new group of families.

A lorry left in reverse gear and un ended ran back and crashed into VAC plane which was on Norfolk and aerodrome on October 19. e fuselage of the plane was

damaged, passengers were off-loaded and the plane returned to NZ empty.