This Month These People Made Sydney News...

QUEEN SALOTE paid a month's unofficial visit to Sydney in January-February during which she was guest of honour at the World Council of Churches' Festival of Faith, appeared in a succession of fashionable frocks and chic hats at a number of social occasions and paid a one-day flying visit to Melbourne where she and her party visited the Shell oil refinery.

She was accompanied by her 7-years old grand son Prince Taufa'ahau, Private Secretary Vaea Tupou and a number of ladies-in-waiting. She left again for New Zealand on February 6.

The smiling Queen was as popular as ever with her admiring public. * MR. HAROLD GATTY, owner of Fiji Airways, spent three days in Sydney in January during which he arranged the purchase of two Drover

planes to replace one Drover that was vw when it crashed in mountain country bd Nausori and Nadi at the end of Deoi He told PIM that: Fiji Airways business is expanding phenomenal rate but the two aircraft novw used by the company will be able to me all services in conformity with existing tracts. The two Drovers that he has puni will be shipped by sea to Fiji—the fit April, the second in June.

Since its inception, FA has carried passengers without any fatalities. In the company carried 18,000 passengers.: Mr. Gatty made newspaper headlim arrival in Sydney by saying that if som were not done to bring Nadi to standard, Fiji might lose its internationn port to American Samoa.

Captain Bryan Monkton, Of South

Air Lines, paid a two-weeks visit to

and Melbourne in January-February. H for Honolulu again on February 8. 80.

Engine overhaul of Solent "spares"

Australian firm and sundry other itel connection with the inauguration of tti‘ Honolulu-Tahiti service. Interviewed bfl he stated: First SPAL commercial flights should t June, 1956. Survey flights will be coic in April and May.

It is planned to make the 2,800 miUl hop from Honolulu to Papeete a weekly ' at first; there will be only one stop 14-hour flight—2 hours at Christmas SPAL will make Christmas Island a firi flying-boat base. Sea-plane runways v marked for night-flying and a 1,000-wat: station will be erected. There will be ; modation for company personnel based Island. It is expected that there will permanent staff of four Europeans, bes number of Gilbertese.

The main equipment for Christmas : will leave Honolulu about mid-Februan being transported by an AKL ship, while

Captain Monkton ... new airlim[?]

Mr. Harold Gatty ... buying planes.

Smiling ... Queen Salote. (Daily Telegraph photo.)

‘ow a big barge carrying the necessary als. The barge will remain at the and be converted into a 100,000 gallon for refuelling the aircraft. Work at nas will be in charge of well-known ilu construction engineer, Mr. Robert Ms, who has established similar bases ious parts of the Pacific. company will establish, also, an ob on station on either Flint or Caroline in order to provide meteorological data ute forecasts, company believes that there will be of traffic offering, but its flight schedules ! limited at the outset, due to the lack jquate hotel accommodation at Tahiti, t will have to arrive at and leave i on the same day, otherwise there will overlap of travellers requiring first accommodation in Papeete. SPAL has the French Government to provide night facilities at Papeete; this would over

his difficulty.

.'s present schedule provides for a lu departure at say 11 p.m., arriving eete at 3.30 p.m. the following after engined British Solent flying-boats will d. Two refitted Solents are at present land, California, while the company is g delivery of a new Solent from I. The planes have seating accom m for 40 passengers, besides a certain of freight and mail. SPAL is a fully I US flag carrier. lanes are being used on the Honolulu service only because there are no s for land planes in Tahiti. Plans een drawn up for a landing strip near , but it is estimated that it will take i 3-5 years to complete this project.