Territorial

New Year Honours For

Mr. G. R. Powles, Cmg

NEW ZEALAND’S High Commis sioner in Western Samoa, Mr.

G. R. Powles, received a CMG (Commander of St. Michael and St.

George) in the New Year Honours, in recognition of distinguished ser vice in Western Samoa. He has been in charge there since 1949; and, within that period, there has been very remarkable constitutional and political development.

Dr. John Gunther, Obe

The Director of Medical Services in Papua-New Guinea, Dr. John Gunther, was awarded an OBE an. the New Year Honours. It is a well deserved acknowledgment of long years of hard, constructive work in a large, primitive country whose slender 1940 economy was blown to pieces in 1942-45. Dr. Gunther took charge of medical services in New Guinea in 1946, and, owing to lack of skilled assistance, faced an appalling task. He partly solved it by enlisting in his services the Nevr Australian doctors who came from Europe with diplomas which were perfectly good, but which were not recognised in Australia by the all powerful British Medical Associa tion. Dr. Gunther has introduced an efficient organisation, the growth of which is now limited only by lack of trained personnel and lack of hospital buildings: and he has rep resented Australia at many overseas conferences. In actual fact, he has earned a higher award than the

Obe.

Honour For A Mcnicoll

Among the New Years Honours was an award, the OBE, for Cap tain Ramsay McNicoll, an officer of the Australian Navy, who per formed notable service at the Monte Bello atomic tests a year ago. He is a son of the late Brigadier-Gen eral Sir Ramsay McNicoll, who was Administrator of New Guinea before the war. Another distinguished son is David McNicoll, who became Editor-in-Chief of Sydney Daily Telegraph a few weeks ago. Lady McNicoll, who is a Scandinavian noblewoman in her own right, and a lady of outstanding personality and ability, now resides in Sydney.