The Editors' Mailbag

The Other Side

of the Picture

A few months since, in “Do You Remember” events of 20 years ago, we recalled the deportation of Cap tain Macarthur Onslow from Nor folk Island, as a “dipsomaniac” and “a nuisance wherever he went.”

Maybe, there was another side to that picture.

“My late husband (Ronald Roy Johnson) and I knew the Macarthur Onslows well during our residence on NI,” writes Mrs. Francis M.

Johnson, of Caulfield, Melbourne, “and I can assure you that he never did anything that many other re sidents did not do. But he was un fortunate enough to have been found out. His conduct as a guest in our house was quite in order and his wife —who had been Pixie Herbert, a well known dancer—was a charming woman.”

Commander Burrows

A cheery note from England re ports that Commander William Burrows, whose lean and erect figure for so long was well known in the streets of Fiji’s capital city, has settled down at White Cottage, 3 The Close, Wonerst, Guildford, Surrey, England. Despite the handi cap of the decade’s foulest summer, he says it is a lovely place, and he is there engaged in the com pilation of a book, with much of his South Seas memories in it.

William Burrows was born with literary ability and a writing itch, and his pen never is quiet for long.

Preference for Bugs

and Crocs

That restless jungle-wanderer, G. M. Rio, has been back for a brief spell in the Bulolo Valley of New Guinea, from bouts of insect collecting and crocodile shooting.

“The place has become a blasted suburb,” he complains. “I am get ting too old to endure the discom forts and hardships of civilisation— too many white masters, and near masters, and white women and kids.

What a joy it will be get away to the Sepiks—away from the crooning of radios, and to get fresh game for kai, instead of bits of long-dead animals sent by the benevolent Aus tralian exporters.

“Great changes have taken place around Bulolo. Insect life is practic ally gone—except mosquitoes—and so is the game. The climate is changed, too. I think some of this may be caused by the large area of dredge tailings. But one good point is that the bush mokas and the scrub typhus also have gone.

“I had about 18 months out in

the Fly, Bamu and Arawia country, after bigger and better bugs, and crocs. The bugs let me down — hardly got any—but the dear old crocs pulled me out of the red —God bless them!”

71 Years Ago!

Notable among Christmas greet ings from scores of friends are those written on a postcard by Count Goedicke van Asten, aged 93, a long-time resident of Tonga, and now living in Devonport, Auckland.

The postcard shows the tombs of the Khalifs, in Cairo, and was bought by Mr. Goedicke (as he then was) in Egypt in 1883 —71 years ago and only 14 years after the Canal was opened.

Brief Glimpses of

This Chequered World

In a wander abroad, recently completed, Pastor A. J. Campbell, of New Guinea Highlands, spent a brief while in strange places: A few hours behind the Iron Curtain, in East Germany; some days among 20,000 Seventh Day Adventist people at a special gather ing in San Francisco; a brief wander in Greece, following the steps of St. Paul; a flight from Oslo, Norway, into the Arctic Circle; a flight up the Nile Valley into Central Africa; a personal meeting with the 7 ft king of the Ruanda- Urindi, whose car choice is the latest model Studebaker; a brief sojourn among native Africans who baked their bread and their bricks with the wood of Australian eucalypts, introduced there many decades ago; and a brief glimpse of Mauritius, dotted with sugar fac tories.

Much of what the Pastor learned abroad will be applied in practical fashion in the work of his well known Mission at Goroka.

Have You Got

Any Becke Books?

If anyone has any spare copies of the Pacific Islands books of the late Louis Becke he would be assist ing the cause of international friendship by sending them to a New Guinea old-timer who still is deeply interested in the Pacific— namely, Captain C. Haug, 16 Weiter stadt, Darmstadt, Germany. Captain Haug believes that there still is in Germany a great deal of interest in life and conditions in the South Seas and that some translations made from the books of Louis Becke would find many readers there. Of all the innumerable writers about the South Pacific Is’ands. Louis

Becke seemed to give the tn picture, in the things he wrote the latter half of last century. C tain Haug is enquiring the book, By Reef & Palm.

About An Author,

Long Dead

A letter from Miss Ida Lee: well known Australian librarian writer, about our reference (I PJVE) to the book, Rovings in Pacific, by a merchant long resic at Tahiti; “The spelling of the auth name is generally accepted Lucett (Edward Lucett). His fc is very interesting. He’s a vi§ ous writer; and, I remember, he: dulges in strong criticism of men, very well known in with the Pacific in differing w Herman Melville and Captain Wil of the US Exploring Expedition “When Melville published Ty\ Lucett remembered an encoui with him when Melville and other Lucy Ann mutineers were the stocks at Papeete. There’s a letter or a statement by Lui in the Tahiti Papers, in the Mite Library.

“He had a turn in the stocks h self, about which he also waxes: dignant in the book. Altogether is a very informative and colon account of a colourful period!

Tahiti’s history.’’

More about Rovings in the Pan from Charles C. Deland, of Ur South Australia: There is a w preserved copy in the York! section of the SA Branch of Royal Geographical Society and original catalogue gives the auth name as E. Lucett. There are coloured plates in the book, and of the artists was Lucett himsu

Foodstuffs Which NG

Can Grow

A PIM contributor asked rece‘ about guavas at Tadji Plantat Aitape District of NG (writes L. F. D. Carter, of Queensland). T! were, I think, originally planted the Germans, and remnants of orchard were there when I i chased Tadji in 1927. When I after working the property for i 10 years, the orchard was OK: had pomolos, grapefruit, grs dilla, custard apples and U lemon planted there, and all v flourishing. Manure from the; herd of cattle fertilised the ssb loam to some order. There was a large pomolo standing down r the Raju River ferry crossing.. good deal of bombing occurreo that area, and no doubt cleane© most of the trees.

I actually grew potatoes at T r Although the tubers were small 1 were good eating, and a big provement on the tinned varietf:

iaused seed potatoes to be taken ato and planted in the Wapi area Torricelli Range). As no kaikai ras forthcoming after 3 or 4 lonths. I enquired and found that iy couriers (“finish timers” and heir cobbers) had kai-kaied them n route to Wapi. A further plant ig of seed spuds was sent in and iter, I enjoyed beautiful tubers, hese were equal to the Finsch aven mission product, and those •om the Namatanai hills (which sed to go as far as Kavieng),

lot —No Re-Broadcast

The Christmas Message of Queen [izabeth was broadcast to the Eng fh-speaking world —and listened ► with interest and affection.

But (says a correspondent) no xangements whatever were made Western Samoa to re-broadcast e Mes?age—so far as the Samoans e concerned, they were told noth g of the Queen, and her appeal r peace and goodwill.

He says he asked officialdom why thing was done; and was told that le people can hear the direct oadcast from overseas” (ignoring e fact that few Samoans have sets pable of tuning in to overseas) d that “re-broadcasting arrange ;nts would be too expensive.” ir correspondent thinks this was n insult to the Samoans.”

) You Remember

att Crowe?

Anyone with early records or mories of Matt Crowe, colourful meer goldminer in Papua and w Guinea, is asked to write to . Charles C. Deland, of 20 Opey enue, Unley, South Australia.

Matt was on the goldfields of ist Australia in 1896, and did a her hazardous trip with me as junior, to Mount Ida, beyond nzies. I should like to complete ! record,” writes Mr. Deland. ’he Pacific Islands Yearbook s: “The three most persistent the Australian prospectors (from Yodda and Gira fields, in Dua) were Matt Crowe, Arthur fling and “Sharkeye” Park. They •e always prowling about the robe ranges (German territory) the years just prior to World r I, ostensibly shooting Bird-of •adise, but actually gold-seeking; I always were being chased off the German officials. Sometimes y were together, sometimes by tnselves.” mong students from Fiji who sed the New Zealand University imination in December, 1954, e. E. L. Bentley, J. D. Cavalevu, N. Dud’ey, G. S. Ewing, T. A. ster, C. P. Goulding, L. O. ;an, Kaorimaiwai, C. J. Kingdon, A. Patterson, M. A. Plucknett from Suva); and U. Naiker, n Lautoka.