Norfolk Is. Blames NZ for Its Ants

Its Ants

From Our Own Correspondent

N Norfolk Is., Feb. 12.

EW ZEALANDERS are blamed for bringing ants to Norfolk Island—they are thought to have arrived in Army huts in war time. Now these ants have multi plied beyond belief and are con trolled only by continual vigilance and the use of the “flit” gun. Nests seem always to be under houses and, therefore, Inaccessible: and some means of permanent eradication is necessary. (Our correspondent does not say what sort of ants these are—white ants (termites) or the more ordinary field ants. It seems odd, in any event, that NZ, which is not a par ticularly “anty” country, should be blamed for the invasion when they could as easily have got in over the years from Australia, which swarms with ants of every variety, from the minute foreigner, the Argentine, to the inch-long Bulldog whose sting is as painful as that of a hornet.

A „ comparatively new substance called chlordane is supposed to effectively rid large areas of ants of any variety. Recently thousands of pounds were spent by Sydney suburban Councils in Argentine-ant eradication. When Colyer Watson (NG) Ltd. built their new store in Rabaul, NG, the whole foundation area was impregnated with chlor dane as an anti-ant protection.

Norfolk Islanders, remembering how introduced rabbits turned small neighbouring Philip Island into a desert in recent years, are natur ally wary of introduced pests of any description).

Dalai Maniana and Maria Fioni who are attending the Firbank Church of England Girls’ Grammar School under the Australian scholarship scheme for Fapua-New Guinea pupils, were among 2,000 Junior Red Cross members who lined the route of the Royal couple when they attended divine service in Melbourne on February 28. They are probably the first Papuan girls to see the Queen and the Duke.