Snowsill-Bolton Wedding

Developments In Fiji

Communications

From Our Own Correspondent SUVA, July 10.

THE Fiji Department of Posts and Telegraphs annual report for 1952 gives some interesting de tails of developments in the Colony last year.

It shows that when the hurricane struck early in the year, 1,500 tele graph poles on Viti Levu were either snapped clean off their cast-iron mountings at ground-level or bent at grotesque angles. In the few hours blow, about 500 miles of copper wire were written off —hopelessly tangled, broken in small lengths, or blown away. Replace ment costs are estimated at £50,000.

Since then the policy of laying underground cables whenever pos sible has been instituted, especially in Suva, and 37,000 yards of trench ing, with cables carrying from 26 to 208 pairs of lines, was completed by the year’s end.

Although equipment for the new Suva automatic telephone exchange came to hand, work is lagging on the building and it is not expected now that the job will be completed before the end of 1953.

Also scheduled for this year is a considerable extension to the Suva- Lautoka telephone service, with carrier equipment to provide six speech channels over the land lines and a new very-high-frequency radio circuit across the island via Nadarivatu. (Since the report was issued a radio telephone connection has been established with Levuka— a service which has not been avail able since the telephone cable broke 15 years ago).

During 1952 radio stations were opened at 13 new points, 3 of them privately owned, bringing the total outstations to 58. No island of any importance in the Fiji Group is now without radio contact with Suva.

Eight more inter-island vessels were equipped with radio telephone, bringing the total to 18.

Improved radio telephone trans mitters were established at Lautok* Labasa, Savusavu and Taveuni. To serve all these outstations, improve ments were made at the Suva re ceiving station at Vatuwaqa.

The radio telephone service especially to the outer islands, is becoming very popular, it now be ing possible to pick up a telephone m Suva and speak direct to passengers aboard - inter-island

vessels or at many points that were formerly very isolated.

The report shows that Fijians have a natural aptitude as tele graphists and that before long all wireless operators will be Fijians.

Snowsill-Bolton Wedding

Tyjtiss Shirley Jean Snows1Ll,

A daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. B.

Snowsill of Rarawai, Fiji, wore a white embroidered-organdie frock when she married Mr. John Bolton, of the CSR Company, on May 16.

The wedding ceremony took place in the CSR Co.’s Hall at Rarawai and the re ception at the home of the bride’s parents.

Miss Susan Snowsill was bridesmaid and Mr. David Strong bestman.