When Queen Arrives

No Room Likely

In Suva

From Our Own Correspondent

Suva, Feb. 28.

FROM Rotuma in the north to Kadavu and Lau in the south, Fiji has broken out in a rash of Coronation celebration commit tees, planning events for the first week in June. It will be the Colony’s biggest celebration on record —until it is eclipsed by the arrival here of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on December 17.

A minor preliminary skirmish occurred when some people sug gested that the Government might reduce the expenditure on Corona tion celebrations to help meet the heavy bill for the Royal visit at the end of the year. This idea was turned down in a diplomatic official statement which pointed out that the Coronation will be celebrated in every corner of Fiji. (See page 82.) The event is being planned par ticularly to leave a lasting im pression on the children. The two days’ Royal visit will be confined mainly to the Suva area and most children in the outside areas will not see the Queen. rERE are signs that many people in New Zealand and Australia would like to come to Suva to see the pageantry of the Fijian wel

come to the first reigning British monarch to visit the South Pacific Islands. It can be said now, how ever, that few of them have a chance. Suva’s four post-hurricane hotels have already decided to close down on applications for accommo dation in mid-December on the grounds that every inch of space will be taken up by people from the outside areas of Fiji.

Nobody knows what will be done about the thousands of Fijians who will come to Suva. But, in the light of Fiji’s history since Cession in 1874, the native race must have top priority in welcoming the Queen.

Elder R. A. Bigler, of the Mormon Church, Aitutaki, left there by air on holiday for his home at Salt Lake City, USA.

A scholarship for £l5O a year for ree years has been awarded by the ikistan Government to Miss alima Husn Bano, of Rewa, Fiji, order to complete a three-year irsing course at the Jinnah Cen al Hospital, at Karachi. She left ji in January.

Work has begun on the construc tion of a new airstrip at the nor thern end of Taveuni, Fiji, and it should be in use in about six months.

Miss Helen Lees, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Max Lees of Kokopo, New Guinea, recently returned to NG after a trip abroad. She will marry Mr. Gordon Munro, of Sydney in March.

Top row: Commnader J. T. A. O’Neill; s ship, the “Southern Cross”; and Mr.

S. Lewis, who joined as Chief Officer fore the Mission ship sailed early in arch.

Below: Captain H. Simpson (left) of [?] Sokula”, with Captain A. M. Harvey, arine Superintendent for W. R. Car penter & Co., in Suva; and the “Ai [?]kula” on arrival in Auckland for [?]rvey.

George Hunt’s “Corsair” cleared Sydney February 1 for Lord Howe, Auckland d Polynesia. Crew—left to right; Ken Windsor (well-known in the Islands), disgorge Hunt (remembered as British insul for a period in Papeete), American [?]b Magel, and Mrs. Hunt.