Ural Seotrh—Made in Japan

THE tourist souvenir business seems to have gone full circle since visitors to India bought Benares brass, manufactured in Birmingham. Now, visitors to Fiji buy “typical souvenirs” manufac tured in India—and other places.

They are cheaper that way, even though duty has to be paid on them.

Americans from the Matson ships, Mariposa and Monteiey, passengers on the Orient ships and air-travellers, all are free spenders on tortoise-shell, silver filagree, and silver articles.

But only a small proportion of the articles are manufactured locally from local raw materials.

Small bits and pieces, such as brooches, tie-pins and earrings are made in Fiji, but no one seems to have the ability to make bigger

articles such as tortoise-shell backed hair-brushes, powder bowls, etc.

One local store makes cigarette cases from tortoise-shell, and sells them at £5/5/-. The article imported from Ceylon sells at £3/15/-, so the local trader prefers to import these items from there.

All filagree is imported from India. Some, but only a small amount, is beaten in Fiji into the finished article.

Silverware comes from Siam and Indonesia; bracelets from Germany, spoons, glass powder bowls with a Fiji motif, from England, and toy Fiji policeman from Wales.

Some local stores say that it is cheaper to import the finished article than import expensive machinery to do their own manu facture.