Tropicalities

Magazine Section

Fhe Whistle Went Peep, Peep

EUROPEAN girls in Honiara get whistles—but they aren’t wolf whistles.

This and other fearsome data were irought back to Sydney at the end f February by Miss Marjorie 'isher, an ex-BSIP Government em loyee, an English stenographer, and nursing sister who had found con itions of work in the Protectorate intolerable.” All girls had broken heir contracts.

Miss Fisher said that she wanted d warn other Australian girls gainst going to Honiara because Dnditions were “dreadful.”

The things that were dreadful in uded: • The war-time American army uts that served as Government flees; « The land-crabs that walked ;ross the floors; • The unbearable heat; • The snobbish caste-system of le British administrative officials— icy “ignored Australian girl enographers.” • The single girls’ quarters which id no kitchen facilities so that ey had to eat in the hotel.

Miss Fisher said that the acting aief Secretary, who lived in a 5,000 house, told them that they id to have a pioneering spirit.

The English stenographer, Miss ella Myers, said that the girls had en issued with whistles after a iropean girl had been nearly 'angled by a native three months o. Said Miss Myers: “We were d to whistle three times if natives mbled us. . . but the next girl packed found the whistle would ly gd feebly ‘peep peep.’ ”

FORECAST; Shortage of Aus dian stenographers and nurses in ? BSIP in next few months.

Shades Of The Coconut!

STRIKING manifestation of the . changing South Seas is seen in a recent Cook Islands Legislative uncil decision to supply every 100 l child between the ages of 5 3 12 years with a regular supply cow’s milk. rhirty years ago (or less) such a [gestion would have been laughed scorn. The milk of the coconut s capable of turning out fairly •d samples of children for 1,000 rs, and the atoll children of to for , exar nple Tokelau children mere the coconut is still in vogue,

are probably the finest physical specimens to be found anywhere.

Not that the Cook Islands move is revolutionary. Milk is being dis tributed to many Island schools to day; usually it is dried milk-powder which is mixed with water.

Getting

There

faster!

QANTAS’ Super-

Constellation C o nnoisseur! service to London has now had 20>,

hours travelling'

time clipped off it. I Planes leave Syd ney at 6 p.m.

Fridays and arrive in London

the following

Sunday a t 2.30 p.m. London time.

This is achieved by cutting out the night -st op in Singapore and over-flying Dja karta and Bang kok.

Getting there a day earlier will probably be fine for people in a hurry—but it takes all the fun out of travelling by air.

Most people, after a night and a day in a plane, are glad enough to break the journey to sleep in comfort in an a i r - c o nditioned room, and Dja karta and Bang kok airports were worth an hour’s visit. Djakarta for it s overcrowding, flies, armed guards who ride bicycles around the air field, and the howls of fury with which the Indonesians react to the wayward traveller who dares to put a foot outside the door of the terminal building. And Bangkok for just the opposite. The huge terminal building with its

air-conditioned lounge and dining room, is one of the best in the world; and the courtesy of the staff is in sharp contrast to the Djakarta staff.

As Qantas can no doubt point out, people who want to dawdle can still take one of their three other ser vices that are run each week. These, however, are mixed-class services and do not give the same feeling of spaciousness as the Connoisseur ser vice which carries only 43 people.

Cold-Shoulders (Male) For

Foundation Garment Plan

OUR Tahiti correspondent reports that one of the largest founda tion garment manufacturers in the United States has been recently

investigating market possibilities and suitable agents in Polynesia.

Our correspondent says, however, that there seems little enthusiasm locally towards the idea of further promoting the confinement of the generally attractive Tahitienne figure within foundation garments from the United States or anywhere else.

One leading importer, dismissing the suggestion that this might be a worth-while agency, recalled with nostalgia the well dressed woman of yesterday. Then the sole dress was a “wispy muslin chemise, suspended from the shoulders by two straps,” with accompanying volumnious and airy drawers —on special occasions only.

Thus attired, the local beauties greatly enhanced the evening sun set view from the verandahs of the Yacht Club, Cercle Bougainville, and other popular male lounging-places, as they passed between sun and viewer in their promenade along the Broom Road.

To-day, the importer said, there was no such view. The foundation garment had already made deplor able inroads.

Two years ago there was a sug gestion that an American firm might set up a foundation garment factory at Pago Pago—but the in tention had been only to manufac ture garments, not sell them in the Islands. The scheme fell through.

“Who Is Speaking, Please?”

A CALL on any one of the hand cranked party-line telephones in rural Rarotonga is always an adventure, and the outcome is rarely predictable.

When the line is not dead—as it frequently is—it is very much alive.

This you gather from? the rapid series of faint clicks that tell of receivers removed and clamped eagerly to the ears of neighbours, all able, willing and anxious to lis ten, and participate if allowed.

Seasoned subscribers will clear the line to base with a few searing words to “line crashers”, and per haps a cheery aside to some pet neighbour, distinguished by the way in which he or she breathes into the receiver.

As evidence of the uncertain out come of a call on this line, the following conversation took place recently in Rarotongan when a Titikaveka lady was interrupted in her efforts to contact Avarua. "Who is that speaking?” she queried.

“This is Jesus speaking Jesus Christ,” said a young and obviously female voice. The Titikaveka lady, who is familiar with the ancestry and problems of every Maori on the island, rapidly ticked-off in her mind all the young upstarts likely to be tuning in at that hour.

“Where are you speaking from?” she asked. A , , “I am speaking by the telephone here,” was the cautious reply.

“ And what is your father’s name?” , J „ And the voice replied, God.

Gfr.

Birth Control As Answer

To Some Pacific Problems

IT is a law of the human species that, as the standard of life im proves, the birthrate declines.

Among the swarming millions of Asia, where over-population keeps the masses very poor and the standard of living very low, the birthrate is fantastic.

Both in India and in Japan, where the birthrate has been so high that it creates almost insoluble politico economic problems, the Govern ments have been advocating systems of birth-control.

The problem has been reflected, for many years, in Fiji, where an annual birthrate of well over 40 per thousand per annum has placed the Indian population, in numbers, well ahead of the Fijians, although the latter are quite healthy, and have a normal birthrate. A few years ago a Governor of Fiji, Sir Brian Freeston caused a stir in high official circles by urging the Fiji Indians to observe the principles of birth control.

Actually, a deliberate birth-con trol policy in Fiji may not be neces sary. It is likely that, as the Indian standard of life in the rich and prosperous sugar Colony improves, the age-old law will bring the birth rate down to normal and less than normal.

An “International Conference on

Planned Parent hood” recently broadcast some startling statistics about the way certain world populations are in creasing and the probable economic and political effects of these in creases.

Following that, Japanese leaders announced that Japan, as a nation, now is deliberately encouraging birth control. They said that in no other way could Japan avoid disaster.

There are over 90 million people in Japan, increas ing by more than one million per annum: and there is not enough room now in Japan for the pre se n t population, and no overseas Japanese territory to which the sur plus people may go.