trapicalities

Pacific Islands Monthly

Magazine Section

Pick Up Your Foot And

Say Cheese

WHEN talkies first hit the screen it didn’t matter much what the actors said, so long as they said something. The voice was the novelty.

Cinerama has been going for some time now, but apparently it hasn’t got out of that novelty stage yet.

The Fiji Visitors’ Bureau, report ing progress on the production of an American cinerama film on the South Seas, says that in one scene the producers have 15 giant Fiji Rugby footballers run up to the camera, sit around in a circle and take off their right boot and sock, stand up, kick the ball at the camera, and then all start hopping around on their left foot, nursing their right foot in their hands.

“It’s hysterical in action,” says the Visitors’ Bureau. Which must just about sum it up.—HOPPY.

All His Eye

THIS business of identity cards for P-NG native labourers is all my eye. A lot of people are going to do a lot of laughing. Will they >et their cards mixed up? Anyone who has ever been a tax collector knows all about it. Ask them for ast year’s papers and they are likely :o produce six or seven—all belong ng to different boys. They did it in ny time and they’ll do it again.—

Dld Hand.

Fiji’S “Wairarapa”

SITE mostly called him “Wai-ra -7T rapa” in Fiji—he being one of the few rescued when a ship ;f that name was wrecked off the ;oast of New Zealand.

The story was that the first thing le did after the wreck was to send i cable to his brother in England, laying, “SAVED”.

His brother knew nothing of the vreck, but was fully informed about i lot of other things, and replied,

•Hallelujah”.

I always felt rather drawn to that )rother and sorry I never met him.

Wai-ra-rapa was a good sort, irratic as a result of the wreck, no loubt, but I always liked him.

How well I remember the night *hen, starring in one of the amateur heatrical shows, we used to put on n the Suva town hall, he was in )articularly good form and gagged

so much that the prompter got lost.

The latter kept booming out the prompt, till finally Wai-ra-rapa walked across to the wings and said, “Shut up, damn you”, and back to centre stage while the house, from the Vice-Regal party in front to the gods at the back, rocked with laughter.

Came the sad day years later when I arrived from the Ba district with a cargo of prisoners and wit nesses for the Quarter Sessions and one of the first things I heard was that Wai-ra-rapa had the DT’s.

It was my job to open up the court and have everything in readi

ness for its session at 10 a.m. and the first thing I saw when I got there was our friend, peering through the Venetian blinds, sticking his fingers through and pulling them back and shaking his hand as though he had been bitten by some thing.

It was a matter of passing the buck quickly—that court had to be ready on time or else —so I said good day and told him that the Superintendent of Agriculture w r anted to see him.

He trotted off without argument and I heard later that he went into R. G. Knowles’ office and said, “What are you going to do about these red spiders?”

“What red spiders?”, said R.G.K.

“Why”, said Wai-ra-rapa, “They’re all over you NOW. They’re all over you NOW!” and from then on he w 7 as taken good care of.

Poor old Wai-ra-rapa, he passed on years ago and there must still be

This is "Miss Manam". Her real name is Boisali, and she—and all that fruit precariously balanced on her head —are products of Manam Island, off the coast of Madang, New Guinea. However, in case any tourists have the idea of racing up there to take a first-hand look, they should be warned of the following points: (a) Manam Island is at present in the grip of an erupting volcano and everybody is now on the mainland (b) The only time you see this kind of thing in New Guinea is when magazine photographers pose it —as New York photographer Madame de Beausacq did with "Miss Manam".

a few left who like myself had a lot of fun with him and who, also like myself, hope he is having good hunting, wherever he is.—C. WAGER.

Roll Your Own Rock ’N

Roll

HONIARA (BSIPi bachelor Eddie Clooney is a rock ’n roll fan.

He liked the music when he first heard it, but not having seen it danced to he got over the problem of what steps to use by creating his own. Thus, rock ’n roll came to the Guadalcanal Club.

Eddie is currently, in Australia on leave, and while in Adelaide he popped along to a rock ’n roll turnout to see what the experts were doing with it. •Well,” says Eddie. “I decided I liked the Honiara brand best. And when I turned it on, I heard one chap say, ‘Gee. I’ve never seen it done like that. Is HE from America?’ ”

Away From It All—Almost

\ LOTUS eater, diligently search ing a chart of the world for a spot in which to eat his lotus

in peace, might well settle for Suwarrow, currently uninhabited atoll of the Cook Islands, as a pleasantly warm spot as far from the affairs of the world as he well could be.

That was perhaps what Richard and Abbie Stafford of the Panama registered yacht Meridian thought when they put into that quiet lagoon anchorage for a break en route to Pago Pago from Borabora recently.

But they were wrong.

Their consternation can be imagined when, barely having arrived in the place, not one but two helicopters came roaring over, looked them over, then put down on the beach of Anchorage Islet like space ships from Mars. They uplifted Meridian’s outgoing mail, and zoomed off over the horizon again— to return later with a handsome contribution to the yacht’s larder before rejoining their ship some where out in the blue and proceed ing on their way to the Antarctic as part of the American Operation Deepfreeze.

Wouldn’t it!— JPS.