Pacific Report

Search of a House for

>m, Dick and Wall

European-style houses for P-NG fives are on the way, say reports >m Port Moresby. The Adminis ition Works Department is ex rimenting with building materials an effort to find an easily and eaply constructed house for iversal native use. rhe department has already made icks and blocks of pise (rammed rth), adobe, and stabilised earth sing an ingredient, such as port id cement, to make the earth >isture resistant). [t has got a number of natives Port Moresby under instruction

the different methods, and ex its to build several experimental ases this year.

Phe idea is to expand the nucleus uur force as the programme ex ads successfully, so that eventuv T natives will be apprenticed to s type of building and spread it ht throughout the Territory.

Said Mr. M. Lumsden, the Works’ partment architect: “We want a iterial which can be used in per

inent construction—cheap in first

it, easy to make and to use, and luiring little or no maintenance. ‘From data to hand in this early ige, it is almost certain that :ths occurring in the major

titres of the Territory are suitable r the making of blocks and bricks one or all of the three earth pre sses.

Tt is hoped that in every popu «d part of the Territory, earth 11 be found for block making by least one of the three methods.”

Across the New Guinea border, the therlands administration has been ving the housing problem, in rts of the coastal areas at least, building with crushed coral cks —and red-tiled roofs.

it Stuff for

e Future

Black pepper may make news as new cash crop for the Pacific, rhe plant introduction gardens at duruloulou, near Suva, are con itrating on it as one of five main ps (the others are cocoa, coffee, nboo and taro) and many in ries are being received about uting material. during 1957, Naduruloulou sent re than 500 black pepper cuttings the agriculture departments of ler Island territories.

ih in the

■lagers 7 Diet

niapia, which have been used by Icialdom to stock pools and lakes many parts of the Pacific in the t few years, are apparently iving in the New Hebrides, jake Siwi, on the island of Tanna, t a marsh on Santo, both of ich were stocked with a few fish the South Pacific Commission in 6, seem to be teeming with tilapia v. This is despite losses due to : exceptionally dry weather. ’eople from villages neighbouring se Siwi have been catching and ing the fish for months.

»'s New Tax: Get What

u Can, When You Can

*apua-New Guinea’s new annual id tax of £2 a man, got off to good start, if not exactly to a ng start, on January 1. It met h a few growing pains, tome people complained about ring to produce a tax receipt be e being issued with a travel ticket get out of the country, taxation Commissioner G. Too to said he would fix this by issuing i travel companies with lists of zens who had done the right ng, and save the inconvenience.

Ie said there was also a pos llity that Customs’ officers would authorised to relieve travellers of ir unpaid tax before they left the port or wharf. is the head tax, for Europeans i Asiatics, is due from males over i age of 18, the Taxation Com

missioner said he was looking forward to eventually having lists with 6,000 names—4,ooo European end 2,000 Asiatic.

However, the native population still looks like being harder to fleece, not having any desire to take a plane trip out of the country.

Some native groups told patrol officers they didn’t want to pay their tax—especially since it had been fixed at the some rate applicable to the highly paid European.

However, District Officers filed reports on what proportion of the tax they thought the natives in their districts were capable of paying.

As a result, natives in the poorer district may be exempt, or pay only

portion of the tax, but the others will be invited to appeal to patrol officers, who will be appointed taxation tribunals.

T raf J p I In* Rrlnhfpr

laUc up. Drigmer

<Jirlp in W Samna

i!ae m vv * 3amoa Despite the Government’s financial crisis and a retrenchment policy for Government servants in 1958, Western Samoa managed to have a boom Christmas and New Year, Trade figures were excellent, Among the stimulants that brought this about were the end-of year payment of the growers’ banana bonus (at the rate of 6d a case for

r shipments, amounting to about }0), and the increased prices f ci te beans. he cocoa crop recently harvested a more than average one, and ana shipments had increased • the last few months of the

iru Gets a New

icial Reorganisation

r. Justice Mann, Chief Justice Papua-New Guinea, is to be je of the Court of Appeal for ru, under a new reorganisation he Nauruan judicial set-up, an iced in January, lis will be in addition to his Guinea appointment, le new change is one of several h follow introduction of a new ciary Ordinance for the phos e island. The main effect is divorce the Executive and nary, and free the Adminis >r from dealing with appeals, lere will be a District Court, a ral Court and an Appeal Court, ropean and Nauruan magis is will sit in the District Court, in the Central Court jurisdic will be exercised by either a e, or a bench of not less than i magistrates.

More Japanese

)$ for Scrap

re Japanese cargo vessels, left > from World War 11, will soon ide revenue to the BSIP Gov lent in the form of royalties, ounded on the coast of Guadal 1, from 10 to 25 miles from ara, the vessels are all of approx ely 5,000 tons. e Hongkong Company, Inter on ia 1 Industrial Enterprises ted, in conjunction with local R. C. Symes Pty. Ltd. have ?ht 39 Chinese labourers to the to demolish the vessels scrap iron, which will be ex d to Hongkong. e fact that each vessel is with -0 feet of the shore has made :ask of demolition easier. As plate is cut away, drag lines attached and the scrap is )d to the beach by winches, is estimated that the job will >mpleted within 2 years.

ng More for Power

Zest Samoa

!St Samoa’s new Executive icil has made a fairly timid on its plans to get more me for 1958. announced new increases in il rates, then had to shelve the ne temporarily because there doubt that it had the power to ge the old rates. (Over)

evertheless, it has managed all it to put up charges for post ;e boxes and telephone instal ls, and make a considerable in ise in electricity charges. It said previous electricity rates didn’t

;r production cost,

id there are plans for the hydro trie works to be run as a sep ,e venture, controlled by some ig like an Electric Power Board, ead of being under the Public ks Department, as at present.

IG's Cadet Scheme Seems

the Ball

ith 22 “professional cadets” on way to P-NG from Australia i, the Territory’s cadet training me appears to be working well, re scheme was instituted a few s ago when Dr. John Gunther, then Director of Public Health P-NG, recommended that jted medical students at Aus an universities have their fees on condition that when they finished their training they > the next few years of their to the P-NG Administration, re there was a shortage of ors. .ter, a similar scheme was tuted for students qualifying as hers, agriculturalists, forestry veterinary scientists. ?ures released in January show in the last three years, 44 Bssional cadets have been led for the Territory service, lother 73 are still attending ersities and colleges in Aus a.

right Year for

cation in Nauru

st year was something of a [S year for Nauruan students in ralia. Of 33 studying in the try, five sat for the Leaving ificate and 12 for the Inter ate Certificate—more than in year since the establishment of julsory education for Nauruans J2l. addition to these secondary mts, three Nauruans are fing at the Central Medical 01, Suva, and others are rtaking courses in teacher ing, civil engineering and ral administrative duties in ralia. In 1958 two Nauruan who have recently completed secondary studies in Victoria begin five-year apprenticeship ses, probably in the metal is, while another will study ) engineering.

Cook Islands

arts Up

th the exception of pearl shell d even there the value was ahead all Cook Islands ex

ports increased in quantity and value during the last financial year, with tomatoes taking the lead.

Though the citrus crop lags heavily on planned output, there was an increase from 39,453 cases on the previous year—to 61,403 cases—and value rose from £55,138 to £86,641.

The tomato cash-crop, given much less consideration in the past by the Department of Agriculture, has steadily increased in grower-popularity, despite the absence of a guaranteed price or shipping outlet. The growers have been very well catered for in actual shipping, however, over the past several years.

Exports last year reached 96,599

half-bushel cases (averaging about 17 lb of fruit per case) which was up 4,687 cases on the previous year.

The financial yield rose from £99,978 to £101,660.

Banana exports, which the New Zealand importers and the Admin istration are encouraging, rose from 946 to 1,105 cases and the value from £906 to £1,071.

Copra, which is again becoming the subject of some attention after having been permitted to decline badly, increased from 1,076 tons to 1,439 tons. The value last year was £87,573 compared with £71,684 in 1955-56.

The Rarotonga clothing factory also appears to have had a record

ir, the value of exports of cloth ; increasing by £5,000 to £64,396. e articles are made up from im •ted materials and sold to New iland wholesalers. >ineapple exports rose from 15,710 22,801 cases, but prices were un isfactory, taken over all, and the al value declined by £330 to ,526. he total trade balance for the >ks was, as usual, deep in the with total exports at £485,117 p £6s,ooo—out-balanced by im ts of £769,210—up nearly £200,000 the previous year. The New land tax payer found the ance.

r Heart is Where

> Work Is

he story of Father Damien has aarallel in modern times, accord to the secretary of the New

and Lepers’ Trust Board, Mr. . Twomey. siting the leper settlement at >s, New Caledonia, he met a ich European nursing sister who worked among the lepers for 15 s and who contracted the disease l result. But the sequel is a >ier one than in the case of ier Damien. ter she caught the disease, ir Othilde had to cease living tie convent to make her home ag the lepers. This continued i long time. cently Sister Othilde was de d free of leprosy and the doctors her she could return to the ent. t she decided that to do so it result in her missing oppor ;ies to help the outcast natives, he still lives among them, here is no 40-hour week for r Othilde”, said Mr. Twomey, ag that her duties went far be

id the instruction of the women handcraft and the domestic arts. 5 kept the men and boys busy in ■ gardens, ran the small farm, I was loved by everyone.

w SPC Secretary-General

e in February

'he new Secretary-General of the ut h Pacific Commission, Mr. >mas Richard Smith, is expected irrive at headquarters in Noumea ; in February.

t. Smith, whose last post was ; of Secretary to the Government Western Samoa, is a highly lifted administrator of wide and ed experience, gained mainly in service of the governments of t Zealand and Western Samoa, i 1953, he was sent under the ted Nations technical assistance gramme to Indonesia as adviser mblic administration to the Gov nent of that country. In 1956 1957 he attended the United ions Trusteeship Council meet > in New York as special repre bative for New Zealand. [r. Smith is also an expert on the 'keting of copra. Last year, as lirman of the Western Samoa ira Board, he represented the

territory at a meeting held in Lon don of copra buyers and producers from the main coconut-growing areas of the world.

Before leaving London he finalised the sale of Western Samoa’s entire copra output for 1958.

Yaws "Almost Beaten"

Yaws, one of the Pacific’s trouble some diseases, has been almost conquered in Fiji, according to a South Pacific Commission report in January.

In 1955, when the World Health Organisation opened a control cam

paign there, 28 per cent, of Fijians —more than one in four —had yaws.

Now only one-half per cent, are affected. Sufferers from infectious forms of the disease, formerly esti mated at six in every hundred, have been reduced to less than one per thousand.

Islanders to Get a New

Church in Auckland

A site is being cleared in Auck land for the erection of a new Congregational Church to replace the old Pacific Islanders’ Congre gational Church in Newton. (Over)

[?] SPC Secretary-General, Mr. I. R. Smith, [?] the oath of office at a ceremony at [?]ament Buildings, Wellington, NZ, on [?]ary 10.

[he new building, planned to it 450 —it may be made larger— -1 adjoin the present church site. ?hnds for the church, estimated cost £30,000, are being collected New Zealand, the Islands, and England and about one-quarter the amount has now been eived. Construction will com nce when £12,000 has been lected. [he building will be of concrete, modern design, with car parking ierneath.

ien She Shoots,

ey Like It

hcked away in a little cul-de in Lae, New Guinea, Mrs. D. rorrie”) Cahill —the only female dical assistant in the Territory onducts a native clinic where, ly, a stream of patients suffer from minor illnesses and aries finds relief, he clinic, an old wartime build of tin and arc mesh, with jement floor, has been painted gay colours (by “Norrie” Cahill self, with paint begged, borrowed i scrounged). An attractive den surrounds it, and hanging plants and painted seats create restful atmosphere for sick ients. ,11 day long they come, to be ited for scabies, and malaria, lave their heads bandaged, their mds sewn up, dog bites, snake ;s, and millipede bites attended (the millipede is an insect which ks over the native while asleep, ding a fluid which results in a r looking wound that has to be ited as a burn). he seriously ill are given first and then sent by ambulance Malahang—the native hospital Liles out of town. [ighlands native labourers line

up daily at the clinic, awaiting their shots for typhoid, whooping cough, and a Mantoux test for TB. The precautions are necessary before the employment of Highlanders, be cause they haven’t been in contact with these diseases, and have no natural immunity against them when brought to the coast.

Natives have great faith in the healing propensities of a “shoot”

(injection) and expect that treat ment for everything from a fractured skull to scabies.

The infant and maternal welfare dept, holds a clinic every Friday for native mothers and babies.

While waiting to be weighed, the small ones decorate themselves, or even try to feed themselves, with the flowers from the garden.

“Norrie” Cahill has been with the P-NG Department of Public Health for nine years now, a lot of it spent in Rabaul. But she has been in the Territory itself a lot longer than that —since she was five.

Her father, Albert Pechotsch, died in Lae last December, aged 80 years, 45 of them spent in the Territory.

Port Moresby Sea link

With UK

The MV Donegal, first of the Fed eral Steam Navigation Company Limited’s vessels on the new United Kingdom-Australia-P or t Moresby service, is due in Fremantle on Feb ruary 5.

Donegal will discharge at Sydney, Brisbane, Townsville and Cairns, and is due in Port Moresby on March 10.

Messrs. Birt and Company (Pty.) Limited, Sydney, Managing Agents in Australia for the Federal Steam Navigation Company Limited, have announced that the second vessel on this service, the MV Westmeath, is scheduled to leave the United Kingdom on April 1, and is expected to arrive in Port Moresby on June 2.

Port Moresby agents are Burns Philp (New Guinea) Limited.

RNZAF Flight to Rarotonga

A RNZAF Hastings transport air craft made a special flight from New Zealand to Rarotonga on Jan uary 24, returning via Fiji two days later.

The flight was made at the re quest of the Island Territories De partment, mainly for the transport of Administration staff, as no ship ping berths were available. TEAL offered a special DC6 direct flight, subject to sufficient loading, which was evidently not forthcoming. A RNZAF Hastings made a similar flight about the same time last year.

Northbound passengers included Resident Agent Perks, recently appointed to Mauke, and Mrs.

Perks; Radar Technician Gale, to staff the new RAWIN weather equipment at Rarotonga, and Mrs.

Gale; Mr. John Bryce, organising teacher for Rarotonga; Mr. B. Spiers, organising teacher Northern Group: Mr. N. Pearson, organising teacher, Atiu - Mauke - Mitiaro; Mr. O. P.

Davies, relieving organising teacher, Rarotonga; Mr. Duncan, and Auck land lawyer. Mr. Miller, an SDA Missionary; and Sister M. Columba, of the Catholic Mission.

They May Have Killed

Old Markham Joe

The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary may not always get their man, but they make a good job of stray crocodiles.

One Sunday in January, round about dusk, Sub-Inspector Bill Curtis was told that a 13-ft croco dile was swimming offshore at Voco Point, in front of the Hotel Cecil, Lae. He was soon on the spot with a .303 and ammunition, and with the first shot, at about 40 yards, he got the croc at the back of the head.

The local natives were scared to

With bandaged heads and legs, and “gain belong bel”, these patients wait for New Cr uinea’s only woman medical assistant, Mrs.

“Norrie” Cahill, to take a look at them.

ABOVE is Mrs.

Cahill with a patient. She has spent many years at Raboul, but is now stationed at Lae.

pull it out but that redoubtable croc shooter, Col Pietrie, went in for it.

The police were just a little bit interested in that croc, on the chance that it may have swallowed one of their recently escaped native prisoners, who was last seen in the river.

A post-mortem showed no prisoner, but the croc’s stomach still had the remains of a large dog, including its collar, and there were plenty of battle scars on the hide. These in cluded two .303 wounds, a handful of shotgun pellets in the head, and a missing toe.

Thus was opened up a new ques tion: Was the croc really old “Mark ham Joe”, said to have his lair in

the old wrecked ship at the end of the airstrip, and a power to be reckoned with these last 10 years?

It was Markham Joe who was sup posed to have got the man who fell out of a boat near the wreck a few years ago; and the native boys who have disappeared there since the war.

It was Markham Joe who was sup posed to have left giant crocodile prints on the beach, and who was seen swimming around Voco Point with a pig in his mouth after one of his raids cn a village up the river.

But whether it was Markham Joe that Sub-Inspector Curtis got, the event brought home to many that Voco Point was not a good place to let their children swim.

Further Medical Team

For the Cooks

The New Zealand Medical search Council, whose report; some aspects of the general he situation in the Cook Islands year caused some shock to press, despatched another rese;; team for the Group in Janu The three-man group was hes by Dr. D. D. McCarthy included Dr. N. P. Markham, of] Otago Medical School staff, Mr. A. Stenhouse, a reset assistant.

Dr. McCarthy said in Auckl: before sailing that there t grounds for believing that s diseases prevalent in the C< might be spread in part by dome animals. A survey of animals to be made to check this the He would also make a gen

survey of the present health siti tion in the Northern Group at April. Dr. Markham would ret; to New Zealand late March.

In addition to carrying research work, Dr. McCarthy wt also be relieving Chief Medi Officer in the absence of Romans on leave overseas.

New Guinea Gets a New

Tuberculosis Hospital

A new TB hospital for the Te* tory is expected to be officii opened on February 15.

It’s at Bitapaka, near Rabs and about 100 patients have alren been transferred there.

TB is stated to be the th highest cause of deaths among natives of New Guinea, and seco amongst Papuans.

The hospital has 400 beds, to< extended by 200 later for Ask and mixed race sufferers.

Total cost of the buildings estimated to be £130,000, includf £16,000 for a water supply syst* The total maintenance a running costs are estimated approximately £lO,OOO to be bo:< by the Administration, but the str will be provided by the Sac;; Heart Mission at Vunapope.

Leader of the medical group, Dr. D[?] McCarthy (centre), with Mr. A. Stenhouse and Dr. N. P. Markham.

Photo: J. P. Shortall

■he Rabaul branch of the Papua s Guinea division of the Red ss is planning to assist in the » and rehabilitation of patients, imilar hospitals will be opened the New Guinea mainland and Papua.

\L Gets a Stand-In

RNZAF Hastings transport air rt made a stand-in flight from to Western Samoa and return in January. he TEAL Solent suffered a laged strut, probably in a rough er landing or take-off, along the al Route, and the damage was icted in routine check-over at thala Bay. be Hastings aircraft happened

be in Fiji, returning from a :ial flight to Rarotonga, and was sequently already fitted with >enger seating, so was able to e to the aid of TEAL, was anticipated that the Solent id be ready to resume normal al Route running in time for the iduled January 30 Suva-Papeete it.

use-Hunting in N. Hebrides

be first Russian earth satellite— -ITNIK to the world’s press, USE to the world of science nimum orbital unmanned satel

lite of the earth)—was the cause of some excitement in the New Hebrides at the end of December.

Reports from people on Malekula and Aore, including the testimony of a well-known French planter, to the effect that glowing pieces of “something” had come down on those islands were considered of sufficient importance in Vila and Noumea for the French Noumeabased naval patrol craft Tiare to be detailed to investigate.

A French military aircraft also arrived “from somewhere” and spent a couple of days of careful observation flying over these islands to locate signs of damaged vegetation which would pinpoint the supposed landing spot.

Search parties were landed from Tiare to investigate an area of Malekula. However, the investiga tions were apparently unrewarding as no announcement was made, It seems to be agreed that portions of the satellite may have come down in widely separated parts of the world during the last hour or so of its life.

The Russians claimed that the Americans had stolen a piece of the satellite or the third-stage rocket which came down in Alaska, The Americans admitted that some object had come down there in the snow but had not been located and their scientists calculated that the final break-up came on a path down the eastern Pacific. (Over)

[?] Polynesian Association in Sydney re [?] held a New Year "Luau" Party. Guests [?]ded Mr. and Mrs. John Lommel (top) and and Mrs. Jimmy Christian. Mr. Christian [?]e of the widely spread Fletcher Christian [?]y of Norfolk Island.

The New Hebrides may have lected a piece on the previous; —or theirs may merely have bee meteorite.

Cook Is. Business Sold

The business and business prem of dagger & Harvey Ltd., Raroto:< a branch of an old-establis Auckland firm, was sold in Janu to Mi’. D. C. Brown, retailer, de? in pearl shell, and ship-owner.

The property includes a st) warehouse, and copra shed, and price was in the vicinity of £lB, it having been advertised at t figure earlier.

With the closing of the Manil lagoon to shell diving for the r two years, Mr. Brown is evidei

transferring his main attention fa shell to retailing and planned come to New Zealand per the cm liner Bergensfjord early Febrm to purchase stock for the new st* His Fiji-built ketch Taveuni t also expected in Auckland for r in mid-February.

New Guinea's Supreme

Court to be Rebuilt

Port Moresby’s Supreme Cot part of which was mysteriou burned down in November, is to< reconstructed at a cost of £20,0 It will have two extra rooms.

The fire, which destroyed o judge’s chambers and many le records, broke out early on I vember 22, only a few hours afl firemen had fought another l which destroyed legal notes 8 documents in the Crown Law E partment, Konedobu, two mi 1! away.

Police investigated the possibil of arson, but nothing came of it

Leprosy Problem at

Aitutaki

When a leprosy survey for all p< sons up to the age of 30 was carr out last November at Aitutaki, Cos

Mr. and Mrs. A. M. Nola (right and and children, left Auckland in the "[?] Pomare" in January for a teaching app[?] ment at Mangaia. Miss J. King (centre) bound for a similar appointment at Rarot[?] Photo: J. P. Shortall

ids, 83 new cases were discovered, shortly afterwards four extra 5 were reported by the resident P. urteen other persons, who had paroled from the leper colony akogai, Fiji, were found to have ne positive. The majority of lew cases were schoolchildren. ie CIA recently purchased a ing and three acres of land ted at the end of Amun

e, Aitutaki, from Mr. John ngton. The building will be rted into a leprosy clinic, and ious cases will be isolated y until they are rendered ive. ; decision to treat the leper its at Aitutaki instead of send lem to Makogai, as in the past, nade for a variety of reasons, of which are lack of accom tion at Makogai, the great ex involved in transporting its, and improved methods of nent which will cure or arrest isease in a comparatively short

Whp.

(Over)

vy Weather in Tonga

nsiderable damage was caused 'onga plantations, especially in north of the group, by the cal storm which crossed in late mber to the south-eastward i of Fiji. the Vava’u group many banana i were flattened and breadfruit were torn out by the roots, anting of banana plantations is r way. damage was done at atapu in the south.

ks' Housing Scheme

thwhile

j Cook Islands’ housing-grant le, introduced by the New Zea- Govemment in mid-1957, is iy proving an important con ion towards the replacement of igh percentage of sub-standard over-age native dwellings ghout the group. •ecent report from the Social opment Department shows ;o mid-January, 57 applications teen made, and of these, 52 had approved. ler the scheme, property 's receive free roofing iron for oofing of one of a number of illy designed fairly low-cost s, materials for the building of l are available in Rarotonga at rate cost. the end of 1957 roofing iron s had actually been made to the applicants, whose houses

are now completed. Investigations have shown that each dwelling houses an average of about eight persons. Of the 39 applicants satis fied in 1957, 21 were in Rarotonga, 9 in Aitutaki, 6 in Mangaia, 2 in Penrhyn, and 1 in Mitiaro.

Although the scheme will prob ably not result in the replacement of all slum housing, it promises to have a snow-balling effect, partly through more people becoming aware of the advantages of a modern-style house, and partly through pride and jealousy.

There, as elsewhere, the Smiths shall not be outdone by the Joneses.

Mahogany is Promising

in Micronesia

A mahogany timber industry cf worthwhile dimensions may be developed in Micronesia, following satisfactory results of test-plantings at Babelthuap, in the Palau Group.

Micronesian Reporter, official Trust Territory Government publica tion, says that mahogany, one of the world’s prized timbers, is thriving in the climate and soil conditions there. So far no blights or insect parasites have troubled the planta tions. Trees eight to ten years old are now being milled.

Mahogany is a fast-g rowing timber, like the cedars now being planted in some Pacific Groups for

fruit-case timbers. Young trees less than three years old at Babelthuap are averaging six inches in diameter and thirty feet in height.

The report gives no indication of prices being realised for the timber, which is probably being marketed in Japan. The crop is being de veloped alongside cocoa, in pockets of land unsuitable for the latter crop.

Results have encouraged addi tional growers and altogether 10,000 seedlings have been distributed from the initial stands.

Babelthuap is hilly, with a wet climate. Other crops which do well are pineapples, taro, yams, ram butan, tapioca and coffee (liberica).

Niue's Fight Against

Filaria

An insecticidal spray known as dieldrin, which has come into the market in recent years, is proving

he Polynesian Association Sydney New arty, Mademoiselle Micaela Michel, of [?], with Robert Wilson; and Mrs. Peter [?], formerly Greta Shober, of Nukualofa, with Lieut. Lynn Betts, RAN, and his [?], Michael.

Pacific Cross-Section

The Pacific was certainly well represented at the 75th anniversary camp of the International Boys' Brigade held near Auckland. This group comprises, from left, D. Jacob, of Nauru, M.

Brown, of Rarotonga; M. T. Rearsley, NZ president of the Boys' Brigade (and the camp commandant); Mata Afa F. Fnii, Boys' Brigade president. Western Samoa (who is Minister for Agriculture, Western Samoa); Ikinepula Etuata, of Niue; Wee Chong Siang, of Singapore; Barry Taylor, of Sydney.

ily effective in an Administration i-mosquito campaign on Niue nd, were mosquito-born filarias i major problem, he latest Annual Report says t the residual effect of dieldrin ayed on the interior walls of ses is evident even after twelve iths. The spraying campaign will •epeated during the current year, he new and highly effective drug, •azan, first used in French ania, is also proving a valuable pon in the filaria fight at Niue, s drug kills the germs in the id-Stream of carriers—it does not s the disease directly. All new yals to Niue are now asked to i a full course of hetrazan to r ent the arrival of new carriers i outside areas.

Price of Pacific

gress

ith the big increase in motor ic in virtually all Pacific terri es in the last few years, more more road fatality figures are aning to show up in Pictific re 5.

West Samoa, an otherwise good lay record was marred on lary 1, when a truck loaded with engers ran off the road near manu, Aleipata, on the east : of Upolu, and smashed into a Result: Two dead, 14 injured.

i Caledonia Having

dine Trouble

w Caledonia is to ask the opolitan government to finance construction of a new pipeline ts water system, is only a couple of years since pipes were installed together a new dam on the Dumbea r. wever, due to the rapid growth e town and the constantly in

ising needs of the nickel smelters water supply is deficient, n expert from France recently le a study of the situation and of his conclusions was that there too much waste of water in 3. le expert states in his report very probably the new dam age could not contain enough ir to feed an extra pipe line, cially in times of drought, as Caledonia has been having.

v Australian Consul

N. Caledonia

istralia’s new Consul in New donia, Mr. Pierre Hutton, took lis post in Noumea in January, shortly afterwards arranged his big function —a party to irate Australia Day, attended by quests. ’. Hutton, whose previous post svas with the UN Assembly in York, is young, unmarried, and a French mother. He speaks t French. . Hutton took over his new post Dr. J. S. Cumpston (Doctor of

Letters in Political Geography), who has had an interesting career as a diplomat, scholar and soldier and who is presumably destined for yet higher things.

PlM’s Noumea correspondent com ments on Dr. Cumpston’s departure: “He will be known among his com patriots as the ‘people’s consul’.

Some of his predecessors were in clined to be a bit ‘stuff shirtish’, in spite of being good fellows. No task was too menial for Dr. Cumpston, and he leaves a reputation amongst both Australians and New Caledoni ans as a right good fellow”.

More Fireworks

On Manam

The natives of Manam Island, New Guinea, have settled down so well on the mainland that it will be possible to withdraw, early in Feb ruary, the extra Administration officers sent to the area to help them when they left their island home in the middle of December.

The 3,340 inhabitants of Manam were evacuated by a fleet of small boats when the island’s volcano be came violently active.

Since then there have been further eruptions and some of the native houses on the island have collapsed under the weight of ash and vegetation has been destroyed.

One violent eruption at the end of January, witnessed by Govern ment vulcanologist, Mr. G. A.

Taylor, sent ash thousands of feet into the air. It spread 70 miles to Angoram, and brought twilight over a large area.

Mr. Taylor said large cinders had rained heavily on the west and north-western slopes, where four

villages received more than six inches.

Glowing volcanic clouds descended in the four major valleys which run down from the cone.

Avalanches of fragmented lava s vept down to the sea in the south eastern and south-western sectors of the island, flattening the area of forest and wiping out a large part of a deserted native village.

Mr. Taylor said the smoking re mains of a Seventh Day Adventist establishment was the only identifi able remnants of the settlement.

Further avalanches descended in the south-western valley later.

Mr. Taylor has been on Manam since the native population was evacuated.

On the mainland, the Islanders have built themselves new houses with bush materials, and with the use of Administration machinery, have planted a total of 50 acres of food gardens.

Common Market Effects

In Noumea

First effect of the Europe Common Market has been felt in Noumea,

Rted From Noumea: Dr. John Cump-

Australian Consul there since 1953.

D: Mr. Pierre Hutton.

After The Hurricane

These emaciated looking Jersey cattle were part of a consignment of 158 well-bred beasts that were shipped from the Waikato in New Zealand to the Colonial Sugar Refining Co. and the Methodist Mission Agricultural School in Fiji. The cattle were on the "Navua" which had a bad time in Fiji's January hurricane when on its way with the cattle between Auckland and Suva. The cattle were badly affected by the rough conditions, became sea sick and would not eat. However, almost all landed safely and are expected to recover con dition quickly. The photo illustrates what a few days in a hurrican-tossed sea can do to prime beasts.

Photo: Fiji Public Relations Office.

where the announcement has been made that under the new system common soaps and cooking oils may enter the country without restriction. Up to now common soaps had been disallowed, no matter from where they came.

This was to protect local T m " dustries which easily supplied New Caledonia s needs, some 200 tons per

ye^r - x-i. *

A quantity of peanut oil had been allowed into the country for cooking so as to protect a local oil precessing Plant. Legislation Sc" these industries. , i. 0

Mr. Leydin Goes

r .. , j, , SO NortOlK IS.

The Australian Territories of Nauru and Norfolk Island are both to have new Administrators.

New Administrator of Norfolk Island is Mr. Reginald Sylvester Leydin, QBE, who has been Administrator of Nauru since 1954. He succeeds Brigadier C. H. B. Norman, who re tires after five years in NI.

Mr. Leydin will take up his new post at Norfolk on May 1. He will first SO me leave in Australia.

Mr. Leychn, who is 52, has had extensive experience in Territorial administration, having served in Northern Territory for 28 years prior to his appointment to Nauru, Dur i ng t he war, from 1942 to "

Islands and Singapore and attained the rank of Squadron-Leader. He was awarded the OBE in 1953 for his outstanding services in the Northern Territory.

The Aust. Minister for Terri tories, Mr. Hasluck, said in January

that the Government was o appreciative of Mr. Leydin’s s= at Nauru, where as Adminis?

“he had made a real contritt of lasting value to the welfse the island and its people”.

Mr. Leydin has been in indifif health for some time, and sumably it is felt that N» Island will be an easier charge, tainly it has a much more pie climate.

The name of the new Adir trator of Nauru has not yet bees nounced. Occasionally thes« appointments to Australia’s tories have gone to men whose experience fit them for the (as in Mr. Leydin’s case), but frequently they have been poi appointments given to supers ated soldiers or ex-politicians.

Last April, when Mr. Leydi: came ill, Mr. J. K. McCarthy of the senior officers in the Pi New Guinea Administration, we Nauru as Acting Administrah was thought that the appoint would be for an indefinite tern Mr. Leydin recovered sooner expected and Mr. McCarthy turned to Port Moresby (whe:: is now Acting Director of F Affairs), in July.

AAore Freak

Pacific Weather

Freak weather conditions experienced in Western Samos Cook Islands and Tahiti for i a week from mid-January.

The disturbances are believe have been caused by a tro seven days depression statk in the Marshall Islands.

Although the Cook group is< ject to hurricanes, they are ra= W. Samoa and Tahiti.

There was, of course, the hurricane of 1889 when Calliope made her famous dan sea and safety; and winds of li cane force have been expend in Tahiti on about four occasii the worst being in 1906.

Most damage was caused in January storms by phenomenall rather than by the winds tha*

t reach more than 40 knots. For ist of the time, the skies were ar and sunny, but in Papeete a pical storm followed. ?he huge seas washed over the reef il even the breakwater, flooding •und floor premises. At one stage ‘ hotel Les Tropiques had one >t of water in its public rooms.

The MM liner Tahitien, which s in port, snapped her lines and J to anchor out in the harbour, e Matson cruise vessel Lurline s heaving as much as 30 feet at i wharf. n Apia, the waves striking the f rose 70 ft and rushed across i harbour to the beach, where ay was thrown hundreds of feet d the air and carried boulders i rocks onto the roads beyond ere they had to be removed by Idozers. round Aggie Gray’s guest-house t the far end of Apia’s waterfront -ees were dying because of the water. o great damage—but a good deal concern at what might be going happen —was experienced at nihiki atoll, Northern Cooks, big north-westerly swell began

ievelop late January 14, and all ts were pulled well up at the n Tanhunu landing, where seas lark were sweeping into the open t-shelters. i the early hours of next morn a Boys’ Brigade bugler was

called out to rouse the settlement to care for the boats inside the lagoon, where a considerable slow swell—similar to that experienced in the Cooks from the Aleutians submarine eruption last year—began to develop.

Some canoes and a launch were washed out into the lagoon but were soon recovered and all boats were secured as much above the high water line as the low atoll permits, by morning.

During the following day the lagoon surges swept up as far as the Resident Agent’s house on the lagoon side of the island. On the seaward side some native houses and chicken runs were washed out.

Further round the lagoon at

Tukao, the other settlement, many houses were flooded on both sides of the island. Much debris was washed up onto the main ‘'street” and the flagstaff at the landing was brought down.

Had the wind been strong much damage would have been done.

West Samoa Visit

Expected in March

It has been officially announced that a delegation of members of the New Zealand House of Represent atives will arrive in Samoa in March to attend the official open ing of the new and enlarged Legis lative Assembly. (Over)

he new NZ Minister of Island ritories, Mr. John Mathison, will a member of the delegation. : will present to the Assembly a smonial mace to be used as a ibol of authority by the Speaker.

a Drama

F Lae

he motor-vessel Kulu, a small stal copra vessel owned by rns Philp (NG) Ltd., of jaul, was returning from a cial trip to Port Moresby, via > Bay, on January 22, when she nailed to Lae that she had a ntal patient on board and re red a doctor and ambulance on Lval. hortly after, when she was about miles off Lae, the patient, a 'opean, made a further attempt his life (he had previously tried jump overboard and was rescued a native crew member; then ked in a cabin, he broke the •ror and slashed his wrists, neck i stomach). Kulu sent out a dis -3S signal for help in quietening man.

Ixtremely bad radio conditions vented operators at six stations m reading the signals correctly i it was presumed that the ship ;lf was in distress, lowever, arrangements were

quickly made for the workboat Melisa to leave Lae with the Dis trict Medical Officer, Dr. Campbell on board. Melisa got alongside Kulu at about 3 a.m., when Dr. Campbell transferred and treated the patient.

Kulu arrived in Lae at 8 a.m., January 23, but when just off Bragg’s Wharf, at Voco Point, struck a sand bank. The patient and doctor were taken off in a small boat and later the Kulu lifted off of her own accord and continued her journey to Rabaul.

Retirement of Fiji's

Chief Justice

HAVING reached the age of 65, Sir Ragnar Hyne retires in February from the post of Chief Justice of Fiji. Sir Ragnar and Lady Hyne expect to reside permanently in England.

Sir Ragnar Hyne is a Queens lander, and was educated at Queens land University. He became Director of Education in Tonga in 1920; and served the British Colonial Office as education director, magistrate and legal adviser in various South Pacific Territories until he was transferred to Sierra Leone in 1944 ; as Solicitor-General. He was Puisne Judge in Gold Coast in 1948, and became Chief Justice in Fiji in 1952.

Mr. Justice A. G. Lowe, who has been Judge of the High Court in Tanganyika since 1953, has been appointed Chief Justice of Fiji, in succession to Sir Ragnar Hyne.

The new Chief Justice was born in New Zealand, 56 years ago; qualified in New Zealand as a barrister and solicitor; was a legal officer in the Government Service in Tonga in 1938-40; was an Air Force Squadron-Leader in World War 11. He entered the legal

A Warm

Handshake

It's between smiling Herman Womsiwor, of Biak, Netherlands New Guinea, and Nicolaas Jouwe, of Hollandia, back home after making a visit to Papua-New Guinea in January, as members of a Netherlands' delegation which made a study of native village councils across the border. The party, headed by District Com missioner H. Veldkamp, also took a look at native agricultural development.

Photo: W. E. Tausent.

And

Another!

This one in Port Moresby in January, where the president of the Aquatic Club, Mr.

Justice Gore (right), after presenting trophies to members, is himself presented with a token of esteem and good wishes by the Com modore, Mr. Bill Nicholas. It's in the form of life member ship of the club.

Photo: Papuan Prints.

ction of the British Colonial nice after the war, and served Kenya and Malta before his ipointment as a Judge in uganyika.

edical Degree for

iva Resident

[he chancellor of Sydney Uni rsi t y, Sir Charles Bickerton ickburn, on January 24, conferred ‘ degree of MB on 24-year-old !ix Emberton, of Suva. )r. Emberson is a member of a .1 known Fiji family. He will spend i next year as a resident at Royal nee Alfred Hospital, Sydney, and n return to work in Suva.

New Bishop for a

w Vicariate

he Most Rev. A. Stemper, the 7 Vicar Apostolic of Kavieng, v Ireland —which is itself a brand 7 Vicariate —took up his duties New Guinea in early February. !is Vicariate, comprising New and, Manus Island and the Duke forks, was created last year with separation of the Vicariate of iaul (Vunapope Catholic Mission) ) two parts. he new Vicariate has been placed

harge of the American Province the Missionaries of the Sacred rt, and Bishop Stemper was secrated in the US on Sep ber 3. efore the splitting of the old mate, Vunapope Mission served population of 152,797 natives, 00 of whom were Catholics, here were 95 tribes in the area, h with its own language, and isionaries from seven religious ers were drawn from Germany, itria, Ireland, Poland, USA, land and Australia, he new Vicariate of Kavieng

will look after the needs of 21,864 Catholic natives, leaving 56,340 to the old Vunapope mission.

Bishop Stemper has four years in which to replace the present dif ferent nationalities with Americans of the MSC. In the meantime the Vicariate staff consists of 18 priests, four brothers, 16 European sisters, four native sisters, and 189 catechists.

The new bishop is a short, thick set, grey haired man obviously used to hard work in the open. He was brought up on a farm outside the town of Caledonia, Minnesota, and contrary to reports he was not a businessman before becoming a priest late in life. He attended a university, spent a few years at home, studied for the priesthood, was ordained in 1940 and taught in Apostolic schools afterwards.

He arrived at Vunapope in 1946 and although dubbed the ‘Flying Bishop”, he has never piloted a plane in NG for he let his pilot’s licence lapse. He had no use for it. on New Britain.

He worked at the mission until the middle of 1951, when he re turned to the US for six months.

He was back on New Britain in January, 1952.

WPHC Residents

Receive Honours

A number of residents of the Western Pacific High Commission territories received decorations in the Queen’s New Year Honours List.

New Hebrides: J. S. Rennie,

Esq., OBE, British Resident Com missioner, to be a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George.

British Solomon Islands

Protectorate: The Rev. J. R.

Metcalfe, Chairman of the Methodist Mission, to be an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire: E. Boko. Esq., President of Ysabel Native Council, to be a member of that Order.

Gilbert And Ellice Islands

COLONY: P. G. Roberts, Esq., Administrative Officer (whose dis trict includes Christmas Island) to be a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

"Blue" Allan to Open

Soldiers' Congress

The Annual Congress of the New Guinea Branch of the RSS & ILA will be formally opened at Lae on March 22 by Colonel H. T. Allen,

Obe.

Colonel Allan is a decorated veteran of both World Wars, a pioneer planter, miner, and trader of New Guinea, the first Com mander of the Pacific Islands Regi ment, and a man who was very well known in New Guinea affairs for twenty or thirty years. He now is a resident of Woolgoolga, NSW.

The ex-Servicemen’s Association of New Guinea, of which the Hon.

R. F. Bunting, MLC, is President, is one of the strongest organisations

Bishop Stemper.

Former NG patrol officer, John MacGregor, with his attractive bride, formerly Miss Rita Wood, as they leave Taurama Chapel, Port Moresby, after their marriage in January. Mrs.

MacGregor is a school teacher, and will teach at Minj, where Mr. MacGregor is a traffic officer with Gibbes Sepik Airways. Mr. Mac- Gregor's name was in the news a lot last year, during what came to be known as the Anderson-MacGregor case.

Photo: Papuan Prints.

he Territory, and its forthright Louncements on matters of public ;y cannot be ignored—no matter much they are disliked by high ialdom.

rge Made and

hdrawn in Tahiti Court

private legal action which has ed some stir in Tahiti was ated in Papeete early in January, i American shipowner, Mr. ter Keene, of Los Angeles, ned that he was defamed by Mr. . E. Devenish, described as the ish Consul in Tahiti; and he ht damages accordingly, cording to the documents filed tie French Court, it was alleged Devenish, speaking in the rice Bar to Mr. D. Shields, a sete business man, made a de tory reference to Keene and to of Keene’s ships, the Hidalgo ; “those words, uttered in a ,ic place, are liable to cast a on the honour and the pro lonal credit of the applicant ene) and at all events they con ite the charge of defamation e to punishment under Articles 12 and 33 of the Act of July 29, le hearing was set down for aary 29, and Mr. Devenish pre ;d a defence. n January 29, Mr. Rudolph ibridge appeared for Mr. Keene,

and announced that Mr. Keene wished to withdraw the action and would pay all the costs. The action was discontinued accordingly.

Current report in Tahiti is that the matter will not end there —that further action may be taken on the initiative of Mr. Devenish.

Fiji's Elder Statesman is 76

On January 25, three things happened, of importance to the

Hugh Ragg family, of Fiji.

On January 25, Sir Hugh Ragg, one of Fi j i’s Elder Statesmen, at tained the age of 76. He still is going strong a s Managing Director of Northern Hotels Ltd., head of the Makogai Leper- Trust, etc., etc.

On January 25, there was

born in Suva the first great-grand child of Sir Hugh Ragg. He is a boy, and he arrived per medium of Mr. and Mrs. David Hugh Ragg —and young D. H. Ragg is the son of David Petrie Ragg, of Sydney, who is a son of Sir Hugh Ragg and Chairman of Northern Hotels Ltd.

And the arrival of the new in fant Ragg, on January 25, meant that no less than four generations of Raggs have been born in Fiji— for Sir Hugh himself was born there in 1882.

Another Jap For

Appendix Op.

From Our NO Correspondent There is not a main port in the Territory of Papua-New Guinea which has not been visited, over the last 12 months, by a Japanese fishing vessel with a conveniently sick crew member on board.

We say conveniently, because we feel quite satisfied that they would not hesistate to sign on a man suf fering with acute appendicitis if they wanted to use him as an excuse to get into a port.

Latest port of call was Lae, NG, when the fishing vessel Hakko Maru called with an appendicitis case on January 22.

The usual procedure of asking permission to land their man was carried out, and an ambulance quickly took him to the hospital, where he was operated on.

But what really rocks the old timers, with long memories, is the audacity of these people, combined with the laxness of supervision by whoever is responsible for their movements. Or is it quite all right for them to roam the town at will?

Four crewmen left the ship and landed at Voco Point. Here they were quickly surrounded by a large crowd of curious natives. With the aid of Japanese-English dictionaries and a Japanese-speaking native they were apparently endeavouring to find their bearings for the ship’s anchor age for the night. Two Europeans also assisted in pointing out the harbour markings, which advice they presumed was to be passed on to the skipper of the vessel.

The conclave broke up eventu ally, but the seamen did not return to the ship; nor did they signal any of the information they had received.

The ship just turned around and headed around to the wharf (where the Shansi was berthed) and the Japanese sailors wandered non chalantly off around the town.

It was later learned that the Hakko Maru dropped anchor on the other side of the Shansi at the wharf. About 2 hours later three of the wandering Japanese crew members arrived at the wharf. These were taken on board their ship per wooden box, rowed w'ith shovels and hauled on by rope attached to the ship. After this strange manoeuvre, Hakko Maru headed for the open sea, minus two crew members. She was ex pected back on January 28 to pick up the sick man, and, we hbpe, the other crew member who has been loose in Lae for five days.

A couple of policemen and a civilian look over the shoulders of delighted Mr. and Mrs. [?]n Common, of Clark Street, Suva, who won £25,000 in the NSW State Opera House ry in January. Mr. Common is assistant-manager of Morris Hedstrom, Ltd., Suva. He Mrs. Common had been in Fiji only a week. They had bought the ticket before leaving gwood, in the NSW Blue Mountains, to come to Fiji.— Photo Stinsons.