A Ripley From Papua

A LEGAL advertisement in a Bris bane daily recalls one of Papua’s most unusual happenings: At the close of the last century a party of successful miners was returning to Samarai from the NE Coast gold fields.

At East Cape the men were pack ing up when a sudden squall made the cutter they were on heel over, and, to the owner’s consternation, his “shammy” of gold went over board.

Making a note of the position, the party sailed to Samarai and en gaged a deep sea diver who happened to be there. At the site of the loss the diver descended several times in different parts of the area and each time reported no luck.

At last the party gave the search away, and “Up Anchor” for the last time. Have you guessed it? Yes, the missing bag of gold was brought up stuck in the mud around the flukes of the anchor.

The diver was Percy Leigh, who died some time ago at Oonoonba, Townsville, NQ.

Percival Herbert Leigh, married a daughter of Captain Armit, Resident Magistrate , who was buried at Tamata Creek, loma, in Papua’s old Kumusi Division, now the ND. He was very well known and highly respected in the Papua of “Before.”

Sanasi.

t The No. 1 band of the Fiji Military Forces, 28 strong, under Lieut.- Colonel C. C. Jordan, Lieut. J. N. B.

Toganivalu, and Bandmaster K.

Cava, will visit Auckland, NZ, for the Easter Show, between March 24 and April 7. A programme of public band concerts, and of Fijian songs and dances will be given.

tin response to agitation growers, the Cook Islands Adminr tration has approved on a trial bas for one season, the shipping tomatoes as small as 11 inches i diameter (small grade) instead the former 2 inches (stands grade).