Or Pacific Radio Amateurs

Conducted By Ex Zk-1 -Ac/Vr-2-Ak.

(Address notes to P.O. Box 5179, Wellesley Street, Auckland, NZ.)

ISLAND HAMS: Let your Pacific neigh iurs know you’re on by giving a call your favourite band at 0100/0700/1900Z. se of a known time will help you—and em. • Unfortunately by the time this appears o interesting events will probably be [ over. On January 30, three NZ Air spt. technicians left Auckland to instal w radio telephone equipment at tntaki. One was Eric Armstrong, rmerly a VR2, and another was Max mstrong—no relation —formerly VR2BY. ix had obtained permission to operate »m Aitutaki during their month on the and under the call ZK-l-AC. At the »ment of writing he is active on 20 m. one, and probably on 40/80 m. also.

L-l’s are now in very short supply so e appearance of the call with 100 watts the DX bands was bound to cause me interest—however, Max stated that was not really interested in the DX gle—just wanted to keep in touch with ■ mainly.

Phe other item is from “Amateur idio”, reporting that in January or bruary CE3AG and CE3CZ would be dting Easter Island for four or five ys and would operate from there under e call CE-0-AA on CW or phone con mously. Bands not stated. We suspect at these men may be attached to Thor yerdahl’s (ex Kontiki) expedition which

was visiting the Galapagos in January and believed to be going on to Easter. • BERS-195, in an interesting letter from his new QTH at North Fairfield, Vic., says he believes that Dr. Rob Black, VK2QZ, will be returning to the Trobriands soon—probably March —and will be on with his VK2QZ/VK9 call using phone and CW. He recently returned to

Sydney after appearing as VR4AF and YJ 1-AB during the past year.

Alan Smith, VK9YY, checks in with some news from Lae. Formerly VK2AIR of Sydney, he made his 20 m. VK9 debut with 100 watts on December 19—crystal frequencies 14,020 and 14,090, CW only at moment of writing, but a modulator is under way. And if anyone can send him along the gen on a GBPO antenna, rush same to Box 13, Lae. Meanwhile, it’s a folded dipole, with a 8C348 doing the receiving.

Perhaps the most interesting point in the letter is this: “To my knowledge there

re only two active hams in TNG— K9FM at Madang, and myself. If any ne knows of any other we would be leased to hear about it. There are quite lot In Papua—but as far as the DXCC concerned they are different countries”.

Other points from Alan: Due to skip, ’s difficult to QSO many Pacific Island ;ations on 20 m., so he’ll be going on I m. also. P.I. Net times are not too mvenient for NG except at week-ends -but he’s particularly interested to con ict Island stations. Men who contacted J-l-AB will soon he receiving his special SL with a mosquito motif, according to ob Black whom Alan spoke to in Sydney • Another letter was from Bari Hogg who ismantled his station VR2BZ on ecember 2 (sorry for the typographic Tor to your call last month, Bari) but »pes to be on again in about a year 'ter helping deliver the RNZAF’s new inderlands.

Bari reports two stations remaining at luthala Bay—VR2CP/CR—both just ■rived and preparing for action on 80 m. ainly. Names and past calls not entioned. Let’s hear from you, men! hether or not the call VR2CQ was lotted, we do not know—if it was ere’s a third new VR2 somewhere in ji.

A yachtsman recently returned from ■ench Oceania, Ron Lamb, of Auckland, ports that FOBAD plans to remain in s present position as Met and radio an at Rapa Island for another year at ist. Roland is completely absorbed in et. research and radio, Ron says. And e probable reason why he’s never heard ZL: he has two fixed beams, one on ihiti and the other on N. America— us the fact, of course, that he’s well ielded by very high mountains.

The crew of the yacht “Stortebecker I” were very kindly treated by Roland and e Island’s medical assistant during their days’ stay.

Nothing has so far been heard in ickland of VR6AC who planned to be tive from Pitcairn by the end of scember. • We recently farewelled Hugh Hickling, >m Auckland, returning to the Cook lands. He was formerly on Mangaia. iis time he’ll be at Rarotonga—and ly be active under his old ZK-1 call.

The XYL said “nothing doing” when e subject was broached, but Hugh, in aside, said that he might swell the t-I ranks occasionally.

Fhor Gundersen, after about five years Purser and Sparks in “Maui Pomare”, the Auckland-ZK-1 run, retired from e sea in January, when the ship laid for survey. He has probably been the ►st active Cooks station —so you can >ss ZK-I-AZ off the list; and also l-1-BE, Ray Sutherland, rarely active, to finished his term at Rarotonga Radio d returned to ZL in January. Thor II doubtless be active as ZL-l-VU. her calls he’s set aside are VK-2-AM d VR4AM in post-war years. ‘Break In” gives us the current ZM6 t; ZM6AA, Pat Senior, Box 23, Apia, Samoa. ZM6AB, Des Fahey, c/o Apia dio. ZM6AC, Arnold Stanbury (ex 3LT), c/o Observatory, Apia.

Conditions, especially on 20 m., seemed very poor in Auckland during January, in limited evening listening. The list of Islands stations heard is short: KC6QY,

Kg6Aex/Hl, Vk9Fm, Zk-L-Ac.

WANTED: News from the Gilberts, Papua, Tahiti—and all points, east and west.

The wedding of Miss Judith Hudson of Terrigal, NSW, to Mr.

Arthur Wyndham Hoile, of Lae, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Hoile of Wau, New Guinea, took place at St. Philip’s Church, Sydney, on January 28. Among the guests were a number of New Guinea residents.

The Most Rev. A. Noser, Bishop of Accra, West African Gold Coast, has been appointed Vicar Apostolic of Alexishafen, Nsw Guinsa, in

succession to the late Bishop Applehaus, who was killed in a plane crash in NG in July, 1951.

The new Bishop is 52 and an American.

Kon Tiki is now housed with Dr.

Nansen’s famous Fram and three 700-year-old Viking ships in a special museum six miles from Oslo.

When Kon Tiki, was taken aboard Thor I at Papeete in 1947, she was to go to an American museum. But at San Francisco the authorities would not allow the raft ashore owing to danger of introducing un desirable pests in the balsa wood logs. So the raft was loaded onto another Norwegian ship, for Norway.

Just completed his first year at Flinders Naval College, Victoria, is Donald Edgar, 15-years-old Cadet- Midshipman, RAN, and son of Mr. and Mrs. Victor Edgar of Wangar atta, Vic., but formerly well-known residents of Salamaua, Wau and Rabaul, New Guinea.

(See story opposite)

These two photographs (kindly supplied by Mr. J. M. Clift) show people who were well known in Solomons in the middle ’Twenties, and some of whom took part In the Malaita punitive expedition of 1937, referred to in article opposite.

Group, left to right, back row—Tony Olsen; Jack Clift; Ernie Palmer. Front row—Mrs. Olsen; Jim Risby; Mrs. Risby; Mrs. Jack Clift. (Elderly lady in centre, not Identified).

Lower left—Bill Adams. Jack Clift and J. A. Johnstone, out on the Malaita expedition, 1927.