Put Palmyra
p. 59 · Read in the full issue
Another Attempt To Put Palmyra On Tourist Map
A SURVEY-cum-aircruise was be * ing organised in Honolulu in February by Richard K. Kim all, of the Palmyra Development ompany, and was due to leave Hawaii for the 6,500 miles flight on [ay 21.
This is another attempt by imball, a Hawaii hotel owner, to ;t Palymra atoll onto the Pacific iurist map. He hoped to get 50 en interested enough to pay $l,OOO )llars each for the seven days trip bich would take in Bora Bora, ipeete and American Samoa as 31l as Palmyra.
Kimball’s company has Palmyra ider lease from the owners, the illard-Leo family of Honolulu, imball was at one time interested South Pacific Air Lines—now ntrolled by the Dollar Company; _d in 1953 personally chartered a 24 to fly a group of Hawaii men Palmyra in an effort to stir up merest in the atoll as a potential !. £ ame fishing and tourist resort, us does not seem to have pro ced the desired results but the lyler-Dahl Fish Company, of
Seattle (which has an interest in Palmyra Development Company), later tried to develop the atoll as a tuna fishing base—but after poor results and the loss of two valuable boats has now given up the attempt.
What response Mr. Kimball has had to his sl,ooo-a-head air-cruise we do not know, but it is interest ing to note that Palmyra is in the Christmas Island area—something like 350 miles to the north-west of it. If Britain is to use this region as a testing area for H-bombs it is unlikely that it will become a popular playground for American tourists, even though Palmyra will
no doubt be technically out of the danger area.
The atoll is controlled from Hono lulu and is American territory; it is covered densely with Fullard-Leo coconuts but these have been un worked for a long time—the reason being that, unlike Christmas Island, whose copra is sold to the UK Min istry of Food, Palmyra copra would have to be sold to the United States and labour costs under Hawaiian conditions are excessive. In addition there is the matter of shipping— Palmyra having no natural har bours and only doubtful and dangerous anchorages.