Deaths Of Islands People

I Miss Pauline Hoeft

i German-Samoan by birth and rongan by adoption, Miss Pauline eft died recently at Auckland at f age of 51.

Hiss Hoeft, a noted swimmer 30 irs ago, narrowly missed New iland selection for the 1920 rmpic Games at Antwerp. She n many Dominion champion ship living at Niuafo’ou Island fin Can”), Tonga, in her teens, [ sometimes handled the famous -can mail.

Mrs. E. St. Aubyn

I resident of Levuka, Fiji, since 6, Mrs. Elizabeth St. Aubyn died September at the age of 81.

Irs. St. Aubyn was the widow of , Rev. Ernest Lyons St. Aubyn, Royal Navy chaplain and a mber of a family whose sestral home is St. Michael’s unt, Cornwall. Her maiden name l Garbell, and her grandfather i Sir Edwin Garbell, Attomey leral in Australia.

Irs. St. Aubyn bought a house Levuka and a plantation at tew a Bay, Vanua Levu. Her r children are living in Fiji— ssrs. Roger (Levuka) and ;hony (Natewa Bay) St. Aubyn I Mesdames Stevens and Bull. ;re are 15 grandchildren.

Bishop T. J. Feeney, S.J.

Ishop Thomas J. Feeney, S.J., ar-Apostolic of the Caroline and rshall Islands since May, 1951, 1 recently in Massachusetts, A ishop Feeney had been in these nds since 1947, and was editor i Marshallese grammar and four er books on the Marshall ?uage, of which he made a ticular study. He had earlier red in the Philippines.

Mr. A. R. Tarte

me of the Fiji’s best-known iters, Mr. A. R. Tarte, died at la Estate, Taveuni, on tember 19 and was buried in the lily burial ground. [r. Tarte was the younger son the late James Valentine Tarte, ) came to Australia from jland in 1870 to engage in gold ling operations at Ballarat, m there he moved to Fiji during cotton boom and took up land Taveuni. iter cotton failed and he turned coconuts and cattle, the massive le walls surrounding many of paddocks were built, miles of ch still remain. [is two sons —the late Mr. H. entine Tarte and Mr. “Rood” *te —helped on the estate and it his death took over. Both e noted athletes and horse ing enthusiasts. luring the 1914-18 War, Mr.

Tarte went to England and joined the Royal Flying Corps.

He married Miss Edyth Carr, daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs.

Fred Carr, of Suva, who survives him. Two of their children, a daughter, Talei, and a son, Adrian, live at Taveuni and another son, Spencer, is serving with the Fiji Military Forces in Malaya.

Mr. W. A. Douglas

Widely known in the Wewak district, New Guinea, Mr. W. A.

Douglas died at Wewak in September.

Manager of Muschu Plantation, Mr. Douglas had lived in the Territory for 25 years.

Mr. W. H. Halford-Thompson

Mr. W. H. Halford-Thompson, a retired Resident Magistrate of Papua, died earlier this year in England.

In Papua before the First World War, he did important patrol work as PO assisting the late Henry Joseph Ryan, RM.

After the outbreak of war in 1914, he travelled to Britain to rejoin his regiment and served with distinction in the campaign against the German Cameroons in West Africa.

After an unsuccessful flower farming venture in England, Mr.

Halford-Thompson returned to Papua for a long programme of patrolling.

In the Second War he served in ANGAU at Yule Island.

Mrs. M. E. Cleary

The death of Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Cleary, widow of James Cleary, a Suva businessman, occurred at Suva on September 17.

Mrs. Cleary was born at Suva 75 years ago, the third daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Hall Ragg.

Her father was one of Suva’s earliest settlers, having arrived in 1869.

Mr. Cleary was a sister of Mr.

A. A. Ragg and Sir Hugh Ragg.

She is survived by five children.

Patrick lives at Suva, James is in New Zealand and John, who entered the Roman Catholic priesthood, is now living at Christchurch, New Zealand. One boy, Leo, was killed in a motor accident. Of her two daughters, Sylvia entered the order of St.

Joseph de Cluny and is at Darjeeling, India, and Bridie lives at Suva. An adopted daughter, Jean, lives at Singleton, New South Wales.

Mrs. Cleary took a very active part in the wartime soldiers’ club and canteen established at the Sacred Heart Cathedral and during her years as a maternity nurse was closely associated with many of the old Suva families. The burial took place at Suva Cemetery after a short service at the Cathedral.

Mr. F. E. Wood

Mr. F. E. Wood, formerly of

Nadi, Fiji, died at Brisbane in May . after a short illness. iTr ßo l n . in En §!and in 1890, Mr Wood joined the CSR Company in 1912 and was attached to the Lautoka Mill. In the First World War he served continuously on the Western Front for 21 years, took part in many famous battles and was severely wounded during the final Allied advance.

After the war he returned to Fiji and was stationed first at Lomawai Sigatoka, and then at Nadi, where he and Mrs. Wood lived until Mr Wood’s retirement in 1949.

In recent years they lived at Burleigh Heads, Queensland.

Mrs. Myra Harrington

The death of Mrs. Myra Harring ton occurred at the Rarotonga Hos pital on September 26.

Mrs. Harrington was the wife of a well-known Aitutaki trader. She had been ill for a considerable period and had spent the last four months at Rarotonga.

Mr. G. Stoockicht

Mr. G. Stoockicht, an old resident of Apia, died on September 9. He was in his 82nd year.

He went to Samoa from Germany in 1905 to join his brother, who was Chief of Police in the German Administration. He engaged in trading for various concerns, and at the time of his death was trading at Tulaole for Burns, Philp.

He is survived by his wife, a son in Germany and two married daughters in New Zealand.

Mr. R. F. Warren

Mr. R. F. Warren, who had been an engineer in the Government service in Western Samoa for many years, died on September 11 at the age of 84.

Mrs. Sophie Tucker

Mrs. Sophie Tucker, who died at Suva on September 4, was in her 96th year.

A daughter of the late Joseph Storck, she married William Tucker, a Rewa planter, who died about 50

years ago. Their three childre 1 died before their mother, who,, mg part of her widowhood, with a nephew, Mr. Charles Tu at Sigatoka and Vatukoula.

Canon James Benson

Canon James Benson, who wa m New Guinea for many years < 1918, died in London on OctoU and on October 5 a special menr service was conducted at; Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney b( Primate of Australia, Archbc Mowll, the Bishop of New Gi (the Rt. Rev. P. N. Strong) prr ing the sermon.

Canon Benson’s adventures mg the Japanese invasion anc. cupation are part of the histoc war in New Guinea. For a tinr was hidden from the enem;j native villagers. Later he was? sumed to be dead, but emerged from a prisoner-oft camp at Rabaul.