News of the Small-Ships

It Happened In This Month:

-As a reminder that hurricanes lave always periodically swept hrough Fiji, Fiji Times (then of Jevuka) reported in its issue of February 26, 1870, that Taveunl and ither islands had been severely bat ered. Damage was done to planta ions, villages, European buildings ,nd the smallships fleet. At “Mr. >eckham’s end of the island” the chooner Caroline was blown ashore, »ut later salvaged. The “Bau chooner” anchored off the Catholic Mission at Wairiki sank at her noorings, and much concern was elt for the safety of Captain Jarrack and his schooner Van 'romp; and of Messrs. Wilson and lamilton aboard Coquette. Both assels sailed shortly before the blow truck; what was their fate that jsue of the weekly did not reveal.

SORANA AWAYThe name onora del Mar given last month > Captain E. Savoie’s newest cquisition (ex Wambat ) was in arrect. The name is Sorana del lar. Before clearing Sydney early i January, Captain Savoie spoke *elingly on the subject of vessels i distress in New Caledonia-New [ebrides waters. The Monique ;arch, and the recent search for le French Administration launch a Concorde, had involved him in icpense, which he felt the Admin itration should meet.

Von Luckner Coming?:

bunt Felix Von Luckner, raider upper of World War I, and a man f mystery in World War II —he ;11 out of favour with Hitler—may lake a motoring tour through New ealand, with his wife, this year.

Whether the Count will visit some I the Islands associated with his cploits is not yet known. He was ist in the Pacific in his yacht eeteufel in 1938.

Jap Whalers Look In:—Four

lodern high-speed Jap whale lasers, Kyo Maru Nos. 1,3, 6, and powered by diesels, called in to ydney for fuel in mid-December, hey were to rendezvous with the ictory ship Tonama Maru at 66 eg. south, 135 deg. east on Christ tas Eve to commence the 1955 >uthern whaling season. This fleet assed through New Guinea waters i December. Reported speed of assels is 30 knots. In the past, hale-chasers have been steam owered.

Distress Watch Must

OME: —F ollowing two recent larine disasters in Fiji waters, at mtion has focused on weaknesses f Fiji’s otherwise splendid inter land and ship-shore communica ons network. The key stations are ie Suva and Lautoka post offices, at as they maintain watch only Liring normal daytime business purs, a vessel in trouble during the ight has little hope of obtaining d.

This was recently demonstrated with the Vuniwai stranding.

The solution is to equip the inter island fleet with a distress channel frequency—2lB2 kc/s or another — and establish a continuous watch on this by Suva Coastal Radio station.

This station already maintains con tinuous watch on 500 kc/s, and equipment for operation on a voice shipping channel would be merited on safety value. An alternative is surplus “Gibson Girl” emergency transmitters at present available in Sydney at below £5 each. When Suva coastal Radio received a dis tress signal from a ship equipped with one of these, it could advise

the Post Office stations to go on the air and deal with the matter on the existing ship-shore radio telephone channels.

No completely satisfactory solu tion will be found until all South Pacific Territories agree on a standard R/T distress channel—as already exists for aircraft,

Windjammers Reprieved:

The well-remembered 4-masted barques Pamir and Passat are to sail again. Pamir, seized from the Finns in Wellington, NZ, during World War 11, has spent most of her time idle in a German port since she con eluded her trans-Pacific trading under the NZ flag.

Now Herr Karl Massmann, man ager of the Schleswig-Holstein

Landes Bank, supported by a “non profit-making institution” and cer tain German shipping companies, will recommission the two vessels as training craft for merchant marine officers. Pamir was to sail from Hamburg for the River Plate in February, and Passat would fol low soon. The vessels will run

The open boat and, inset, the men who sailed it from Easter Island 2,130 miles Kauehi, Tuamotu. They arrived in Papeete per French Government schooner [?]amara.”

cargo to help defray costs.

Pamir, of 2,799 gross tons, was built in 1905, and Passat, 3183 tons, was built 1911. Both are steel. Many old seamen will be delighted to learn of their recommissioning.

Seeking Liberation:—Three

emissaries from Easter Island.

Felipe Teao Aranciba, Aurelio, Pont Hill, and Pedro Elios Chavez, seeking 1 i b e r a ti o n from the yoke of Chilian rule for their island, made a 29-day, 2,130-mile voyage in an open 22-ft rowing boat in November-December.

Because they knew nothing of navigation they finally brought up on Kauehi atoll towards the western end of the Tuamotu chain, not at Tahiti, as expected. They completed their voyage on De cember 17, aboard the Tahiti Gov ernment schooner Tamara. The men were rushed to hospital for a check-up but, apart from losing weight, they appeared to have com pleted the journey in good shape. At the hospital they were embarrassed to find themselves sharing a ward with Senor Garcia Palacios, newly appointed Chilean Consul in Tahiti.

The boat carried a makeshift sail, hoisted on the branch of a tree, and two oars, and a 20-gallon drum of fresh water which was exhausted some time before they made landfall.

Rain had helped out.

COPRA RACE:—Fiji’s inter-island

fleet was engaged in a race against time in the latter days of 1954. The Copra Board had decreed that all copra-laden smallcraft anchoring in Suva or Levuka harbours before midnight of December 31, would have their cargoes accepted at the 1954 price. After that the price

would fall by about 10 per cent SNARLED UP;—Some time i an Auckland yacht, bound Noumea, fouled a long Japan fishing net on the open ocean : north of Norfolk Island. In m January, Mr. W. A.

Crack, owner of the 40-ft kel

onga, reported that he had fouled set line, which he estimated at miles long, set off the Queens nd coast near Mark Pass, on the irrier Reef. The tar-treated cotton ie was buoyed at 100-yard inter ,ls. The line, which he considered is Japanese-laid, carried thousands hooks on its droppers. Mr. Crack id been engaged in shell-diving the Ninigo Islands north of New linea during the past year. He id that widespread Jap poaching is taking place on that valuable ell fishery.

VEGA PREPARES:—The graceful I steel yacht Vega, which became feature of Papeete harbour as she j there in dismasted condition im December, 1951, to August, >4. is now refitting in San Pedro, ,1. American Omar Darr, who rchased the luxury yacht from Mr. melius Crane, will probably re fer Vega under the Liberian flag • his intended passenger opera ns between Honolulu and Tahiti s year. Rerigging may cost 1,000.

’Ufofua For Sale: —The

ngan Government’s personnel ;ch Hifofua, reported to be for e, arrived in Auckland January 1 m Nukualofa via Makogai and va. Leper patients had been :en from Tonga to Fiji. The 108 i, Auckland-built vessel will refit 1 return to Tonga, unless sold.

Sunk At Moorings:—The

ding ketch Evaleeta, owned by M. bbard, of Noumea, and active in s Solomons trade in recent years, ik at her moorings in the Mary /er, Queensland, on Christmas y. She had been idle and laid up ;re for sale since last April, use of the sinking is not known, is understood that she will be sed.

Ui Naval Appointment:

iieut. Commander W. R. Williams, ZN, has been appointed Director Naval Operations (Fiji), in suc sion to Lieut. Commander J. F.

Kenzie, who was appointed last y. The new DNO has lately been dgating officer in HMNZS Black nee.

Itom Compensation;

ough the Japanese Government i now agreed to accept a final tlement of $2 million from the Government for damage done the March, 1954, H-bomb ex sion at Bikini, Japanese fishing ipanies are claiming about $6 lion for human injury, im bilisation of polluted vessels, and lution of useful fishing grounds.

WNG HO READY:— Ronald inson and his imported fishing k Bung Ho, now based on Syd , may head north for the New irides or Solomons in April, anwhile, after completion of im vements to accommodation, nson has returned to his occupa i as a street photographer, and rates outside Sydney GPO

Lights On Or Out!;—Captain

Rhodes in his Pageant of the Pacific (1934) gives the following order to the establishment of Pacific lighthouses: Amadee, 1865; Venus Point, 1868; Levuka, 1875; Suva, 1879; Nasalai Reef, 1886; North Astrolabe, 1888; Apia, 1888; Noumea, 1889; Suwarrow, 1889; Prony Bay, N. Caledonia, 1890; Papeete, 1890; Nukualofa, 1892; Wailangilala, 1894; Frederich Wilhelmshaven, 1897; Marquesas (place not stated) 1898. There are, of course, many others after 1900.

Motives for establishment have not always been the requirements of navigation. Since aviation caused international interest in forgotten

outliers, nations have had to give some evidence that they are in occupation of unused and disputed islands. Thus was Henderson Island light, quite unimportant from a navigational point of view, estab lished after World War 11. Gas operated, the cylinders have to be shipped from New Zealand to Pit cairn by liner, thence by Pitcairn open boat when the people make one of their bi-annual visits for timber. Thus Henderson Light is usually out—as it was when our photo was taken a few years ago by Mr. W. Thomas, of Welling ton, who called there in his trading vessel Huia (since wrecked), Suwarrow Light has, of course, long

nee disappeared in a hurricane.

LST AS FERRY:—One of the ritish Ministry of Supply LST’s, je and Ldbuan, well known in New uinea waters and currently tied 3 in Sydney, was sold in January i Kenline Ltd., of New Zealand, I be used as a Cook Strait, NZ, ihicular ferry, mainly for the ter-island transport of loaded otor trucks.

The vessel will be given a Maori une with the prefix Ken. The impany at present operates the eighter Ken Waihi on the trans isman service.

New Hull Protection:

What appears likely to be a most important development for Islands ship-owners is the perfection of fibre-glass sheathing. It is applied in wet sheets to give a tough, seam less protection much superior to metal sheathing, as it has anti-foul ing properties, and, being seamless, will not easily come off. At least one Sydney firm is now handling the material which is being used overseas on a large scale.

Extensive Abrasions: —Fiji

Medical Department’s ketch Vuni wai, examined on the Suva slip of

Charles Whippy & Co. following her recent stranding at Wakaya, was found to have her planks damaged for most of the length; the rudder in need of replacement, keel damage, and a lot of copper lost. However, the 77-ton, 55-ft vessel was expected to resume duties early February.

Change Of Sceneryserv

ing aboard the British freighter

Left: Kyo Maru No. 3, one of several fast new Jap diesel whale-chasers which [?]lled at Sydney in December enrouto the Antarctic.

Right: Henderson Island light.

Thistledowne, lately in Australian eastern ports, is New Zealander Major Bill Watson, who formerly commanded the Papuan Infantry Battalion in World War 11. He was also captain of the AIF Rugby XV which won the Empire Cup, con tested between all Empire armies after the war.

Where Praise Is Due:—Cap

tain George Robison, master of the British freighter Cedar Hill, which reached Suva soon after the Jan uary hurricane alert, praised the forecasting service provided by Fiji Meteorological Service. The hourly situation reports were of immense assistance.

Much of the thanks must go to the Fijian observer stationed at Yasawa-i-Rara who, for 48 hours non-stop, radioed in his instrument readings every hour and thus pro vided the vital information required by the Nadi forecasters before they could compile their shipping bulletins.

Throughout the alert, Nadi Radio appeared on 7530 kc/s on every GMT half hour, and Suva broadcast station VRH or 930/3980 kc/s on every hour GMT, to provide a thorough warning service.

Governor’S New Yacht,—

To replace Viti 11, which is for sale, the Fiji Government is now inquir ing overseas for a suitable vessel of about 70 ft overall as a replace ment.

The vessel’s main purpose is to

transport the Governor and senior officials between islands.

NINO BIXIO :—Some Desert Army veterans from the Islands will have reason to remember .Nino Bixio, an Italian freighter sunk by a British submarine while trans porting 3,000 New Zealand and Aus tralian war prisoners from North Africa in 1942. Only 300 in the bat

tened-down holds survived.

January Nino Bixio, which salvaged, called at New Zeal ports, where work was halted w commemorative services were 1 in memory of the 118 NZ-ers 1c

Solomons Battles 1

CALLED:—Another reminder of dark days of 1942 came in Janu with the death of Vice-Adm

bomas L. Gatch, who flew his flag om USS South Dakota in the ival battles of Santa Cruz and nadalcanal.

Not Yet For Islands.—The

8-ton twin-screw vessel Nikau, tiich Mr. Lewis Graham purchased om the Anchor Shipping & nindry Co., of Nelson, NZ, August, 54. is operating on the New Zea nd coast under charter to the aion Steam Ship Co. She is un- Lely to be seen in the New gbrides in the near future, as rlier planned.

—And The Kitchen Sink:

f great interest is the recent dis very that modern kitchen de rgents are superior to oil for loothing breaking seas. In future e cook may have a definite life iat station when the signal is ren to abandon ship!

New Fiji R/T Frequencies:

Fiji P. & T. Radio Engineer, H. W. ilstead, reports that new ship ore R/T frequencies for use in ji waters came into operation in member. Ships now call on 73.9 kc/s instead of 6,000 kc/s, id Suva Post Ofißce-VRO replies i 4445 kc/s instead of 4200 kc/s. atch is maintained from 2000-0100 MT and 0200-0400 GHT daily, in jding holidays.

Suva Coastal Radio, operated by ible & Wireless Ltd., also main ins R/T watch for overseas vessels ice daily for ten minutes at 0400 MT and 2300 GMT, listening on 80 kc/s and replying on 5887.5 i/S.

For Ng Fishing Survey:

le P/NG Administration has lartered the Mackay 60-ft fish g vessel Peekaye, owned and ippered by Captain J. V. Busuttin, carry out a 3 months’ fishing sur ly under direction of Fisheries ivision officers. Various grounds id equipment will be tested, as ill methods of storing and pre rving fish. Peekaye has a refrig ation storage of li tons and a uising range of 500 miles. She is [uipped with a motor dory. The has on order a 30-ft id a 16-ft motor boat, and if the irvey is satisfactory, a 60-ft shery survey vessel will be pur lased for permanent use. Survey ork has been going on in Papuan aters under Mr. Rapson, of isheries Division for the past 8 onths. Pond culture experiments, r the establishment of food fish i some inland areas, are also being idertaken.

VASU: —The little Tasman SS Co. amp Vasu made another return run om Suva to the Gilberts in De smber-January. Southbound she irried 400 empty drums.

RETURNED: —Emori Railagaga, f, Suva waterside worker, who ;owed away in Orcades as she eared that port northbound on ecember 23, was returned under rrest in January. He was dis )vered in the starboard propeller

shaft tunnel the day after sailing, and made the round-trip to Honolulu, Vancouver and San Francisco. r'NFNd- no AGAIN' This iunkyacht, whose story has been told in nnst ismips of PIM is again the subject of a court action in Papeete, whprp the vessel lies rotting at moorings, her ownership in dispute, Captain Eric de Bischop was reported to be bringing an action for 2 million francs against a Papeete business firm for failure to maintain the vessel in good order or settle charter fees said to be owing.

A Papeete firm operated the vessel in the inter-island trade for a time but the junk has been idle now for several years and one of her three masts recently fell. She is unlikely ever to go to sea again.

RETIRING:—C apt a i n L. C.

Boulton, for many years past Master

of NZGS Maui Pomare, on the New Zealand-Samoa-Niue-Cooks service, was the recipient of a presenta tion made by the people of the Cook Islands, at in January as a mark of appreciation of his lengthy service to that Pomare was making her last call prior to refit. t Th( p® pr 'Boulton reports that Captain Boulton planned to retire y ea £ ag°. when he was awarded the OBE in the New Year Honours,

Melanesia Sold:— Captain H.

Frewen recently sold his well known 39-ton clipper-bowed Melanesia to Mr. C. F. Cliffe. Captain Frewen acquired the 54-ft ex-schooner about 6 years ago in a deal with the Seventh Day Adventist Mission i n Fiji, they taking over his Viking Ahoy as a mission boat, and he tak ing their Melanesia, which he has

lince operated

n the Fiji in er-island trade. j[r. Cliffe, a few Zealander, rho served in rar-time Malta jnvoys, and was iter Mate in r u i a, will per a t e the essel on the ladavu ■ Lau , u v a circuit, r elan esi ais owered by an >-hp Gardner lesel, has a [jeed of about knots, and juries 15 tons f cargo and a Laximum of 29 ;rsons, includ ig crew.

ews of

raising

achts

fhere are few ports of yacht ivements this onth, most ■isers being out the Islands area snug in port till e end of the rricane season. » There was bad ws from one sht still out how ir. Norman Ziska rt owner of the

ckland yacht WAIMANA, was killed at rd Howe Island In mid-January when he 1 while climbing Mt. Lidgbird. Ziska and y Williamson sold their yacht KERERU

in the New Hebrides August, 1954, after cruising up from Auckland. They flew back and purchased WAIMANA, sailing again in October for Brisbane. (Over)

Upper: “Rannah”, little damaged, but unlikely to be re floated, as she now sits on the reef near Avarua, Rarotonga.

Distant, off her stern, is the boiler of the Union Co.’s “Maitai” wrecked many years ago. Lower: Captain E. Savoie’s “Sorana del Mar” (ex “Wombat”) clearing Sydney for Noumea on her first French-flag voyage.

• In Sydney, a would-be cruising yachtsman, who gave the name of Peter Scott, aged 27. allegedly an ex-RANZ rigger, twice “arrived” from New Zealand in two different mythical yachts. On December 30 he called on a newspaper with the story that he had just arrived in the 32 ft. yacht SILVER CLOUD on the first leg of a round-the-world lone-handed cruise for a wager of £3,000 plus a new yacht. The newspaper could not find the yacht and did not use the story.

In mid-January the same man pulled a hoax on the Sydney Royal Motor Yacht Club, was invited along, borrowed a tie to enter the club, gave an interesting and amusing talk on his voyage—this time from Nelson, NZ, in the yacht TOAHO HANA, a 42 ft. ketch. He said the yacht was anchored near Garden Island. But when the Customs authorities called to take charge of his cat next morning there was no yacht—and never had been.

By then, however, another paper had written up the story of the 25-day passage. Scott—and a club members’ tie, and two yachts which never existed—are still missing! • LE KORRIGAN, mentioned last month, first arrived in Papeete from France in September, 1934. according to PIM files, having left Marseilles in March that yeai;, with owner Compte E. de Ganay, M. C. van den Broek d’Obrenan, and M. J. Ratisbonne aboard. They were on a collection expedition for the Geographical Society of France and for a museum. During 1953, the yacht cruised to Auckland and Fiji. Some ex citement was caused when the schooner rigged yacht was reported overdue at Suva from Auckland. Then the trans pacific liner AORANGI picked up her life boat. Later word came from Moala, Fiji, that LE KORRIGAN was there and un damaged.

• BEYOND, aluminium alloy motor sailer owned by Tom and Ann Worth of England, which passed through the Pacific last year, was welcomed home to Beaulieu River by the Royal Cruising Club on September 18 last. • BISSY GIRL, formerly owned and widely cruised in the Islands by ex- French merchant marine skipper Victor Brisson around 1935-36, is still afloat.

Now owned in Sydney, this yacht entered

the December-January Sydney-Hob Race. The yacht was named by Capti Brisson after the little daughter American Harvey S. Bissel, owner WANDERLUST of which Brisson v skipper. • COONGOOLA, 74 ft. Brisbane-bt motor-sailer which completed a cru round the world in January, 1954, v sold January, 1955, by Mr, G. H. Griffii to Mr, Norman W. Thomas of Wellingi

r. Thomas is best membered in the lands as former Her of the trading tch HUIA, wrecked f New Caledonia reral years ago. He ms now to carry t certain alterations d to sail on an and cruise about ril. 1956. With him r the voyage to sllington via Sydney

,s well known Aucklander Terry Ham »nd who was also navigator in COON )OLA during the 1953 world cruise.

Vlr Griffiths formerly owned the Fiji ssion craft VIKING AHOY, of which (ONGOOLA is a larger version, powered th twin Southern Cross diesels made in s Griffiths-owned Toowoomba Foundry. • NAITAMBA arrived at Wellington, !, rather ingloriously, on January 13, ding her trans-Pacific delivery voyage tow. This was the yacht for which nerican R. K. Smith, now of Welling i, advertised for crew' last year. The 0 men who went up from New Zealand pear not to have sailed in the yacht lich cleared Los Angeles on August 4, ning via Honolulu, Fanning and Raro iga. After battling head seas for the it few days the yacht sprang a leak d finally was towed in. Mr. Smith was ;ompanied by his nephew as far as nolulu; there nephew was replaced by ■. Smith’s aunt and uncle and by kita Astafieff, a W’hite Russian, tafieff had recently returned from 14 •nths, mostly alone, on Palmyra, where was dropped by the PHILANTE II at 1 own request in 1953. 3n the way to Fanning a drill fell im a shelf, piercing Smith’s ankle and jaking off. When the wound became >tic a radio call was made to the US astguard, which sent out a 829 from waii to drop medical supplies. Then s Alaskan tuna boat COMMONWEALTH ved the yacht 450 miles to Fanning, iere further medical attention was ren; 14 days later, bound for the oks, Smith succeeded in pulling the oken drill out with a pair of pliers, om Rarotonga Smith’s aunt flew to I by air, and two local boys, Joseph d Tere Marsters, joined the yacht. That lise demonstrated the value of a radio msmitter. • CARIAD H, Mr. A. W T . Flitton’s big 1-ton ketch, which cruised the Islands 1953 in course of her trip round the rid, arrived home at Capetown in tober. The yacht suffered damage in a le 100 miles from home. • NEW SILVER GULL of Sydney, iched Port Hueneme, Cal., as she headed ith for Panama in December. • KYLIE, 39 ft., bright blue painted dney ketch, cleared that port January

22 for Auckland and Tahiti. Owner skipper Harry Fink, 35, had spent four years in building and fitting the yacht.

With him is Brian Darcy, 26, and Phillip Davies, 23. • ANNA ELIZABETH, Dutch yacht, with owners Ernst and Rebecca Lamberty, last reported in Suva, has come to moorings “for the time being” in the New Hebrides.

'Upper, Ronald

[?]son and his [?] fishing junk.

Bung Ho”, framed , the doorway of a

[?]ydney boatshed.

[?]hn son may head [?]orth in March. [?] W er. the unusual [?]ght of Pacific Ship [?]ners, Ltd. (W. R. [?]roenter & Co.), [?]ans-Paciflc vessels

Lakemba” (left)

[?]d “Suva” dis [?]arging timber rgoes side by side Sydney Harbour December.

Hr Lamberty has taken employment on he plantation of Mr. Claude Giraud, of Lore islet, near Santo. It was Mr. Giraud fho recently purchased the American racht MANDALAY from James Rocke ter These two yachts were together in he Marquesas, and again in Papeete.

INNA ELIZABETH reached Santo via fas. • KONA, US, a. Auckland December 19, rom Suva, having called at Norfolk and Uy of Islands, NZ. Bob Houtz was re nting to Fiji to take a geological post rith Fiji Government. Messrs. Blackford ,nd Skolmen plan to sell KONA in Auck »nd. • GHOST, Auckland 28 ft. cutter which ruised the Islands in 1953, will probably lead north again in April. • MOONRAKER, with Peter and Anne •ye, should be nearing or through •anama by now, as she heads down from ’ancouver homeward bound to England • 1955 OCEAN RACES; There was talk i Sydney in December of a projected ,uckland-Suva ocean race in January, ■his appeared unlikely to be correct in lie middle of the Fiji hurricane season, mother Sydney-Noumea race will take lace about July if sufficient interest is town. The biennial Trans-Pacific Race, resumably this year in the direction [onolulu-Los Angeles, is scheduled for illy, and, if sufficient interest is shown, Los Angeles-Papeete race will take lace This is likely to commence soon fter the end of the Trans-Pacific classic, he well-known Sydney yacht SOLVEIG, wned by the Halvorsen Brothers, is a kely starter for these two events. • VOYAGER, 40 ft. Brisbane launch ound for New Guinea, received a ammering by bad weather on the ueensland coast during January. Owner

Ralph Mauchan and his wife were forced to seek shelter in Trinity Bay. No details were available of destination. • PATHFINDER, 40 ft. Sydney ketch which left there two months ago. arrived at Thursday Island early in January and will probably be seen in New Guinea waters. The three men aboard are Messrs.

R. Prvce. F. Bendall, and J. Thompson.

The yacht’s dinghy was lost in rough weather between Brisbane and Townsville.

IT Mr. E. J. Wauchope, formerly a well known planter in New Guinea, and now retired and a resident in New South Wales, recently sold his three coconut plantations near Madang—Awa, Kaien and Awa Ex tended.

T[ Mr. Moti Tikaram, LL.B., of Lami, Suva has been admitted to the Fiji Bar. He was educated at Marist Brothers’ Secondary School, Suva, and at Auckland and Wellington

University Colleges, NZ. While com pleting his LL.B. degree last year, he was attached to the New Zea land legal firm of Messrs. Rothwell Gibson Page and Marshall, of which the Hon. Mr. J. R. Marshall, Min ister of Justice, is a partner. Mr.

Tikaram was one of the founders and President of the International Club of the Victorian University College, Wellington.

H Mr. D. D. Bhatia, recently appointed High Commissioner for the Government of India, was ex pected to arrive in Fiji from India early in February.

Advice has been received from Sandy Creek Gold Sluicing that during November and December, 35 ozs. 5 dwts. of gold were recovered from 15,800 cubic yards of material treated.