Help Buy the Yagona

Queen Competition Will Help Buy the Yagona

From Our Own Correspondent SUVA, July 19. (fpHE Queen Competition launched |X at Suva to augment Lady barvey’s fund for gift parcels for the Fijian troops in Malaya has [netted more than £l,OOO in the first

(fortnight. , . . .

Since Lady Garvey took into her ;own hands the urgent question of Ist Battalion gifts (there had been suggestions in New Zealand that the Dominion’s Patriotic Fund Board should look after the Fijians, as Fiji seemed unlikely to do any thing about it), every penny of ex penditure has been accounted for m regular and prompt public state ments. . f The division of the competition

finto groups—Commercial, Sports,

Social, Services and Arts—has pro duced some amusing line-ups, all calculated, accidentally or other wise, to provide red-hot competi tion for reasons of prestige.

For example, the three Big Firms (Burns Philp, Morris Hedstrom and Carpenters) are inevitably marshalled in the Commerce Section, but then the Indian Chamber of Commerce has entered this group with useful complications, and half way through the preliminary con

test its candidate is running a good second to Morris Hedstroms.

Another entertaining fight is go ing on in the Social Section, where the Defence Club will have to battle to the last ditch with a strong Indian organisation, the Stri Sava Sabha. On parallel lines, the Army and the Police are competing in the Services Section.

In its term of rather more than two years in the Malaya campaign, the Ist Battalion has probably accounted for nearly 150 Communist terrorists, but even the current total has not been announced in Fiji for months. (This may, or may not, be a reflection of the uproar caused by the system of “scoreboards” in stituted by some Army units in Kenya).

Many people feel that the Fijian jungle fighters are forgotten men and that a little public interest is overdue.

On July 15, Colonel T. C. Camp bell, Commander Fiji Military Forces, broadcast an appeal on be half of the gift parcels fund and in doing so gave more information about the Battalion than has been available since 1952.

Col. Campbell said that despite the contributions made to the fund from time to time, and the gifts of biscuits, soap and cigarettes, there was a clear need to raise more money, particularly for yagona (kava).

“Nobody will deny the import ance of yagona in the everyday life of Fijians”, he said. “If you could see the delight that it brings to the troops, either before proceeding on patrol or when they come in from a long and tedious patrol, you would realise how important it is to make this Fijian custom possible in a country 5,000 miles away.”

He added; “The Battalion in Malaya is second to none. They are probably our greatest am bassadors, and it behoves us all to make a contribution and positive effort to let them see that we appreciate the work they are do ing.”