Facilities for Traveller

The Bad And

The Good Of It:

In Pm

The Bad:

Recently I voyaged from Sydb to the Territory on a well knor vessel belonging to a well knor firm.

A good 75 per cent, of passengers were returning Tea’ torians who have moved beyy their back doors and were ini position to compare and critioi They did both.

All complained of the lack of service. Floors cabins were unswept; towels mained unchanged for days; staff was inadequate to cope w the number of passeng§i Generally speaking, all gained J impression that a favour was bed done by Australian unionised lath in allowing passengers on ship, and that both owners passengers were at the mercy of 1 crew (stewards).

This, in fact, was borne out a je days later in Lae when one of I stewards was overheard to b«d that he had collected 14 hoc overtime money for which he worked only 10 hours. He went): to say that if the boss (do steward) started throwing weight around and giving too mm orders, he got nothing done becso the staff “just slows down.”

A bystander interjected with r remark that “there must be s<e discipline on board a passene ship.” The steward’s reply to ( was a careless shrug and the adbj that “Our Union is pretty strrf and there are plenty more shin

The Good :

In an hotel in the Territory se time later I was particulli impressed by the service givems the dining room by the native sa Alert in their snow-white raiJ3 they spilt no liquids, moved sileei and efficiently, and, believe itti not, served to the right and t away from the left, as any traijr waiter should.

This, incidentally, was a rarely performed on the ship, ,

then only by accident.-

P.

H Mr. J. E. Bell, who will be 9( membered in Fiji as resident pan t ot Sands, Junor and Compq. accountants and auditors, of S 3 between 1949 and 1951, now is liil at Albany, Western Australia. Ei ever, he has not -entirely giverac his interest in and association T j the Pacific Islands—last montHt was enquiring from PIM above volume on how to run a plants in New Guinea.