Church And State G[?]

Into Fish-Farming

WHEN SPC’s Van Pel capture- Rarotonga’s fancy in April, 195 J with his cry of, “Why go fishin when you can grow fish at home?? he started off a chain of interestin events that, among other thing drew attention to the healthy conn petition between Church and Staf that sometimes enlivens life in thu fair isle.

The “interesting events” com menced some three months after H Tila pi a Mozambique fingerlinix arrived by air from Suva, thro’c happily in the brand new Govern ment fish-ponds, and produce: countless numbers of Rarotonga fn Meanwhile, many fish-farm con scious Cook Islanders had bee: excavating private ponds in pn paration for a “Government issue It became necessary for M Maurice Baker, Director of Agn culture, to publicise a date, som three months ahead, when the locas born Tilapia would be fit for life : more commodious premises.

The date fixed, Mr. Baker wv embarrassed to receive an invitatioj from the Rev. W. Murphy, LM leader, which read that he (Bake:e had “graciously consented to offio. ally open the grand new Tilapia fill pond at Takamoa, LMS headquan ers in Rarotonga,” on a muck earlier date.

Diplomatic ’phone calls follower “. . . but Mr. Murphy, I’ve promise these people no issue until six weee from to-day. . . ” **...! fully undertsand your posi tion, Mr. Baker, but the invitatioic are already out!”

Mr. Murphy had his way, aiL Takamoa had a air ok sunny day in August when a gree assembly watched Mr. Baker, wii appropriate and moving wore* empty his well-wrapped containn into the virgin waters of the spaoj ous new fish pond.

The more observant clearly §s; the flashes of silver as, it appear©the two promised lady and gentll; man Tilapia glided downwards their new home.

Happy and content, the crow dispersed, unconscious that the gi?

sue had been cunningly fashioned mother-of-pearl shell by a local aftsman.

Soon conscious of the horrible nth Mr. Murphy took it very well, ith mental reservations befitting man in his position. But he en yed the game of life, and had an triguing thought: Two years earlier he had officiated the Penrhyn Island Christian ntennial. There, in preparation r the great feasts appropriate to ch an occasion, the islanders had ccessfully cultivated in brackish iols a large quantity of a local Itwater fish known by them to re ond to such treatment. ft was worth a trial, and a chosen sciple was dispatched Penrhyn irds per MV Charlotte Donald, on special mission.

Some months later, Mr. Murphy Dk pains to see that Mr. Baker ew that the Takamoa fish pond ,s now well stocked with fish, ex nrhyn, that were fatter, happier, d twice as big as any Tilapia Mr. ker cared to produce. /Lv. Shankar Pratap, a well-known irchant of Suva, Fiji, has been der medical attention in Sydney. •. Pratap left Fiji on a business p to India in December last, and joined an airways service in mbay late in March, on his return me. He evidently caught a chill :ause, on his arrival in Sydney a iple of days later, he was suffer - : from pneumonia and was sent mediately to the care of a doctor a friend’s house in Vaucluse. He urned to Fiji early in April.