Australia Goes Into

Pearl Button Business

THE recently established trochus button industry at Levuka, Fiji, seems likely to meet increasing competition from an Australian factory. About a year ago a group of Brisbane businessmen established a mother-of-pearl button factory at Smith’s Creek, near Cairns, Queens land.

Until recently this factory has ben equipped to cut and drill blanks only, the final polishing being done by another firm in Sydney. How ever, polishing and other equipment is reported to be on the way from Germany to Cairns, where experi ments are also being made in cut ting trochus buttons in addition to the MOP.

Several Sydney firms have in the gast produced a small number of uttons, but it has never developed into an important industry in Aus tralia before.

Tahiti learned in October that Mr. Jean Fougerousse, who was born there 47 years ago, and has been resident at Seattle. USA, is being deported for Communist activities there. Tahiti will protest against the re-entry of Fougerousse to French Oceania, where Red activities are unwelcome. However, as J l ®, is a nati ve of Tahiti, he probably cannot be debarred from returning home.

Glamorous bridal array for this native girl—Patricia Boa who married Jol[?] Lamond at the Koki Mission, Port Moresby, on October 10.

Photo by Papuan Print