The Editors' Mailbag

Another "BP & CO."

Cannon

Memories were stirred for Mr. R.

Hosking of the Cook Islands by that article about ancient cannon in the April issue of PIM. (It was alleged that some of these ancient pieces were stamped, or had cast into them, the letters “B.P. & Co.” and the question was asked whether they had been used by Burns Philp in their early operations in the Pacific. The Big Firm’s Mr. J.

Mitchell answered with some heat that they emphatically were not, and he suggested that some prank ster had chiselled the “& Co.” —the “8.P.” representing the insignia of some Continental royalty).

Mr. Hosking goes on: “Probably the Co.’ on the ancient gun was carved with a chisel, by the founders and not by ‘a mischievous person’, as Mr. Mitchell speculates.

If Mrs. Baldwin’s gun also! the Co.’ it may tally w: following: During the defe Mafeking, when we of th rison were in some slight diffl someone discovered that aj ing-post in the Baralong Sts a gun given by Sir Charles ' long before. It was plant side dowm, but when remow cleaned up, it was a blood to the one that appeared in April photograph. It was 1770, cast in iron and—this point—on the breech beautifully scrolled and en not cast, ‘B.P. & Co.’ Th became much admired—and in our extremity, very use:;

Some Ideas About

Museums and Native A

Some interesting commi Tolala’s plea for the preservs native customs in P-NG PIM, page 35) comes froim K, McCarthy of Port Merest! a revolutionary idea for at for the proposed Port I Museum—when it finally tuates. He asks; Instead of the uninspirin and wall-board beloved of Territory architecture, wM build the museum to the? of a Papuan “House Dobui New Guinea “Haus Tam) Why not, indeed. If anyo doubts about the spe<; nature of a Haus Tambai should look up the o illustration of the Maprik; in PlM’s Quarter-Century i July 1955.

The only thing against; course, is that native mat not particularly enduring fibre and wall-board unfort are. Mr. McCarthy suggests; frame and special tiles nr simulate thatch. There ma;, idea there —and if it were p it would give the Terri museum that was worth loot as well as looking into.

Mr. McCarthy goes on that Tolala will be pleased t that about three years ago he (McCarthy) was D.C., a competition for the best c: weapons, etc., was started s the Tolai and some amazing specimens of the old arts o light. As a result of the interest in native arts, MI was presented with the fit a dog carved in stone —it w that these figures were m a particularly malevolent sorcery in cannibal days bri specimens had been destre the early part of this centj Mr. McCarthy’s stone ±

(Continued from Page 14£J

i the Port Moresby museum it is built. He adds that ieves that the cult of the at is having a renaissance igainville (this was a tall like contrivance which was a child’s head when he was oung and remained there is teens. It had the effect ipressing the head into a arrow shape—evidently con a mark of beauty amongst ugainville natives.) McCarthy says that he does nsider it too late to en the old ways, but that it ntial to have the natives the movement. To this has attended meetings at villages around Port y and spoken over the air umber of occasions.

\e\ for

Jalifornian named Frank rrow, who gives his ad as Morrow’s Nut House California, P.O. Box 388), to say he is interested in a site for a motel or hotel ie of the islands around e readers jump to con , it might be as well to

point out that a nut-house in America is a totally different in stitution to what is meant by the term in Austral-English. It is a shop where nuts and dried fruits etc., are sold.

Anyway, if any Fiji resident can help Mr. Morrow to his motel or hotel, doubtless he would be obliged.

Information Sought

About Fishes

A world-wide study of the Istio phoridae—that family of fish which includes the marlin, the sailfish and the spearfish has been laun ched by a group at Miami Univer sity’s Marine Laboratory, in Coral Gables, Florida.

Group member John K. Howard, whose particular task is to try to outline the presently-known dis tribution of these fish, says that he turns to each issue of PIM for assistance.

He writes: “From time to time items appear in the Pacific Islands Monthly regarding the taking of marlin or sailfish, which information I could obtain in no other way. In addition, it is true that the Japanese type of long-line fishing almost al ways produces Istiophorids as a by product. I am therefore con tinually trying to follow the Japanese long-line fishing or its equivalent by other peoples.

“In almost every issue of PIM is some notation of such fishing, and

of m ma°rhn^ 6m mention the catching f Re anyone with data on Lh^ 1011 °f SUCh fiBheS shouid communicate with him at

Miami University.