Do You Remember ?

From PIM of 20 Years ago.

MOST of our news 20 years ago seemed to be about New Guinea, Papua and Western Samoa— with Fiji trailing the field. Per haps this was because Fiji was sup posed to have fewer problems than the other Groups. Most of the news concerning Fiji said that that Colony was “fortunate” or “prosper ous.”

The following are extracts from our issue of September, 1934: We reported that: "A mysterious disease called, variously, ‘Chinese tick', ‘bush tick’ and ‘Japanese River Fever’ has appeared in the Morobe goldfields area of New Guinea and is causing alarm.

The symptoms of the disease are like those of typhoid and the disease itself is almost invariably fatal.” (The same disease Scrub typhus caused much trouble among Allied troops in P-NG during the early days of the Pacific war, but little is heard of it to-day. It is caused by a minute tick). * * * The finances of the Mandated Territory of New Guinea, to June 30, 1934, showed a surplus of £26,000. In 1934 that was news. * * .

The BP steamer “Montoro”. which in August had appeared to be hopelessly wrecked near Finschhafen in New Guinea, was in dock in Sydney undergoing repairs. * * * Over 270 Chinese coolies had arrived in Western Samoa from Hongkong for plantation work. They were to be paid the rate of 1/9 per day. The ship on

which they had come repatriated 4( time-expired labourers. ♦ ♦ * We reported that “Gundoa” a 25-toi yacht, had reached Suva from Sydnc after a very rough voyage via Norfol Is. On board were Mrs. G. Vine, ownei Captain L, Kingdon. described as wel known in the Islands; Mr. C. Belfrag a London journalist; and an enginee Mr. Belfrage subsequently wrote a boo based on his experiences (“Away from All”) in which he did not mince word about either Mrs. Vine or the Captain. * * * Philippines copra was so cheap ii Europe, English crushers could pay th 10 per cent, tax imposed on it and stii find it good value compared with copr from other sources.

Normally, the whole 300,000 tons c annual production in the Philippines wa taken by the US, but a new processim tax in the States (to protect domesti producers of vegetable oils) had dlverte: tens of thousands of tons of it to th European market—to the dismay of Pacifli Islands planters. * * * General Ramsay McNicol took over dut: as Administrator of the Mandated Terr® tory of New Guinea on September 12 He succeeded Brigadier - General Ti Griffiths. * * * The Norddeutscher Lloyd Co., of Bremen announced that, for the first time since World War I, it would engage in t passenger and freight service betweet Sydney and Hongkong via New Guine; ports. The company had purchased two 7,000-tons ships, “Merkur” and “Neptun” for the service.