The Editors' Mailbag

When the Coral Worm

Loses Its Tail

Note on the mysterious Rising of the Palolo has been received from Mr. C. G. R. McKay, of NZ, formerly of Western Samoa.

Writing in SPC Bulletin in July, 1953, Mr. McKay evolved the fol lowing formula: The Palolo rises on the 7th morning after the full moon (nearest to the end of October), be ing that last quarter of the moon nearest to the day when the sun passes over the zenith on its way southward. . .

Mr. McKay’s theory of the reason; The parent anelid, deep down in the coral, requires a combination of light and of minimum water pressure to activate its reproductive pro cesses. The sun, at its zenith, pro vides the direct heat and light.

Within a few days thereafter there comes the very low tide which at tends the zenith sun in that region.

The combination brings about the spawning of the coral worm, or Palolo.

This, in rather better words, is substantially the theory which we presented in recent articles in this journal.

Padre Sherwin Remembers

New Guinea

One man prominent in Anzac Day reunions in South Australia this month will be the vicar of St.

John’s Church, Murray Bridge—but much better known in New Guinea as Patre V. H. Sherwin, of the 17th Australian Infantry Brigade, AIF.

Padre Sherwin was active in the Morobe Goldfields heyday; and be tween 1941 and 1946 he seemed to be in every bit of unpleasantness in Salamaua, Wau, Lae, Wewak and Rabaul.

“The longer I remain in ‘civilii tion’ (said he, in a recent letti the deeper and more reverent comes my estimation of the systj and the men whom I knew in I in the years when such names Bill Money, ‘Sharkeye’ Park, £ Bridge, lan Mack, etc., etc., w not memories, but familiar face; “I had a session with John Robins recently. He was one of pilots pre-War, and immortali himself in a famous exhibition, aerobatics over Wau, Salama Bulolo, Lae, the Macdhui, and C Jacobsen’s cockaroo farm up Markham —in a Stinson p 1 a Strong men swore, women got vapours, and Carl Jacobsen’s cc aroos had a first-class moult! was a good show.”

Did You Know About

Westhoven?

Can anyone provide some det of an inland prospecting trip m in the area of the Delta Divis of Papua, about 1934, by (Frank?) Westhoven? If so, the c would be gratefully rec e i \ by Mr. S. C. Chance, PO Box 1 Brisbane.

Mr. Chance is compiling account of “Explorations in Delta Division (Papua) ”, from time of Staniforth Smith, Pratt Bell, W. H. H. Thompson, and F Ryan (the latter severely wour at the Bamu River), right thro to Claude Champion and G& Anderson. He has details of crossing of New Guinea by K Leahy and Mick Dwyer. But cannot locate an account of W hoven’s trip.

It should be a valuable comi; tion and Mr. Chance deserves help he can get.

Not a Matador

It comes from a P. Mor resident, and it is almost too a% be true: They were unloading a bull 1 a ship. The bull broke loose began capering around. All h sought tall timber. One lad ws the direct line of fire. “Stop bull!” they roared at him.

He leaped like a monkey f( ladder. “Not me,” he shouted a stevedore —not a matador!”

What Does ‘Mess’ Mean

In Administration?

From an American reader Guam, after subscribing for year to Pacific Islands Monthi “It is interesting to note that, Americans are making just as 1 mess out of their Trust Tern

a Micronesia as the British and .ustralians appear to be doing in aeir respective Territories and [andates. Since the war, I have pent several years in and around olomon Islands, New Guinea, and ew Britain and Bougainville areas, nd I feel that such a comparison justified.”

It is difficult to generalise in such tatters. Non-official folk judge ad linistration methods by the andards of commerce. In com merce, if an enterprise is not con icted at a profit, it must perish. :ofit-making calls for foresight, in istry and efficiency. If Adminis ation is carried on with grants ovided by guardian countries (New uinea and Solomons and Micro ;sia are good examples) then the les of commerce do not necessarily >ply and —especially if there are lot of idealists running the ad inistration —the things that hap m often sicken the soul of the alists of private enterprise. . .

As always, it comes back to the dividual. Many individuals too my—are apt to regard a “Govern »nt job” as making no call for e qualities of industry and effici cy—without which, in competitive ivate enterprise, they could not e.

iiother Shangri-La

Comment by a retired P-NG Dis ci official on the announcement it Patrol Officer James W. Kent d discovered a new valley full of tives of a very friendly and oerior type, in NW Papua, near ; Dutch border: Wot, still another Shangri La! ere is no doubt that the present er Patrol Officers are a race of >er-men. . . This place they de ibe cannot be far from the intry which Karius and Leo sten traversed over 25 years ago.”

iey Hated ‘Excellency’

am much amused by Canberra’s istance to any move to give a her title to the Administrator of pua and New Guinea (writes SCH, ormer RM in Papua).

Vffien Sir Hubert Murray was utenant-Governor of Papua, he s “His Excellency,” and he rcised all the privileges of his bus. Politician Ministers and aberra officials, who would very ch have liked to push him und, simply hated the set-up; 1 it was a foregone conclusion Papua that when the next head the Territory was appointed, he ild be an Administrator with a e (His Honour) no higher than t of the gentleman who held the

•ritories portfolio,

see nothing wrong with the es of Administrator and His

Honour; but I see everything wrong with the present system under which all the power and authority remain in Canberra with the Ministerial and official heads of the Territories Department.

Mysterious NH Visitors

According to a New Hebrides correspondent, writing on February 27, the British Resident Com missioner had then just arrived back from Maewe Island, where he had been investigating an extra ordinary report.

The local natives say that a party of heavily-armed Europeans came ashore on the island earlier in the month. They said the men were in military uniform. As far as we know the Resident Com missioner’s investigations failed to shed any light on the incident.

He Really Earned

That Medal

If there is one craft that really meets difficulties in the Pacific Islands it is modern printing. Hand composition is simple; but as soon as linotypes and semi-automatic presses are introduced, the troubles commence. Such machines should be kept under the eyes of experts; and, when a spare part is needed, it is needed urgently. Experts and spare parts usually are thousands of miles away, in Auckland and Sydney.

So (writes a correspondent) Mr.

Walter Bock thoroughly deserved the Imperial Service Medal awarded him recently. He went to Papua as a Government compositor in 1912, when conditions were primitive; he became Government Printer in 1934; and he filled that position until retirement in 1953. Only another printer and publisher can have any idea of the practical

difficulties Mr. Bock met and conquered in those 40 years of long and efficient service. He still is residing in PM.