Tropicalities

Pacific Islands Monthly MAGAZINE SECTION

Lae’S Got A Dogophobe

A DOG in Lae, New Guinea, is truly a girl’s best friend, guardian and companion. Liv ing alone, or sharing a donga, or walking along the unlighted streets, she feels safe from molestation from natives when Fido is by her side. Husbands, too, feel happier at leaving their families alone in the house, when a dog is around for protection.

And so the dogs are cared for and loved, and it is no unusual sight to see them escorting their Dwners to and from the clubs and along the dark streets.

But there’s just one thing wrong vith the Lae dogs—they are illi terate, or at least we suppose so, Decause they will insist on lifting a leg at the sign outside the Lae 31ub, which reads “No dogs al cwed”.

Or maybe it’s disdain?

One unnamed gentleman in Lae :rovides a lot of amusement for :lub members, and a lot of fun for he dogs, although he doesn’t mean o.

His wary eye is ever alert over lis glass of beer, and seldom does dog’s presence escape him. A dog ighted, he is up in a flash, hasing it. The dog gallops off, ather enjoying the fun, and fter a while reappears at nother entrance, and so the fun oes on, for all except the gentle lan, who obviously does not en ey his drinking, or dogs.

He even writes letters to the wners about their dogs, but the ogs still come back. As one wit he should write the letter ) the dog. He might get some here.—PAT R.

/"Hen Politics Were Serious

Business

HHE early elections for the unoffi- L cial seats in the Fiji Legisla tive Council had their touches l humour.

Many will remember “Billy the anker”, who took his electioneer ig campaign very seriously, made study of elocution and—for the ke of practice—never missed a lance for an after-dinner speech.

It was at J. T. J.’s house at Ayua, one Saturday evening, that Billy” entertained a large party ith a recitation, during which his

voice sank to a whisper as he said “Hark! what do I hear?”

In the deathly silence a hoarse voice, from around the corner at the far end of the verandah, said: “Your two bob and two bob better!”

Then there was the candidate

(none other than our well-beloved Hugh Ragg, who probably to this day does not know he made the Irishism) who said, to a large audience: “I don’t wear my sleeve on my heart.”

But the best of all, was the time a planter and two lawyers con tested one of the country seats.

Said lawyer No. 1 to lawyer No. 2: “Anyway, we will be sports. You vote for me and I’ll vote for you.”

The ballot-boxes were taken to Suva for the count; and the three contestants, with quite a crowd ot voters, were at the local post office

Against a background of drying fish nets, this Papuan of Koki employs a primitive hut efficient method of rope-making Port Moresby has grown to engulf Koki, but it still is the anchorage for a fleet of lakatois on which hundreds live a wholly aquatic life ; and it also is the centre of the local fishing industry—such as it is.

Photo: N. V. Salt.

le day the results were to be tele boned through. My 50-years-old for the first two are near iough correct; but the third is iite unforgettable.

Called the Postmaster: “The lanter, 467; Lawyer No. 1,256; awyer No. 2, 1.”

And he proved that neither ot le two lawyers had been sports 7 reeling and saying, “My God, y own vote!” —C. Wager.

Sleight Of Hand On The

Fruit Front

ITARTLING news from Sweden ) indicates that soon it will be possible to produce commer ally, apples that taste like oranges, nd pears that taste like apples.

Ithough why anyone but frus ■ated fruit-hungry New Zealanders lould want apples and pears tast ig like something else is hard to nagine.

The apples that taste like 'anges are expected to have parti liar importance commercially as icy can easily be grown in cold imates and yet be used to produce kind of marmalade.

But there is surely more in a fruit than its flavour and for our money an orange will only be an orange while it is full of small cells of drippy juice. The Cook Islands’ orange growers will be advised not to go out of business yet and leave the field to NZ’s own apples.

If Swedish horticulturists really wanted to help New Zealand, they would go to work to produce maybe sweet potatoes that tasted like bananas. — D.

Another Book From

Fr. Tremblay

WRITING from Hawaii where he is now stationed, the Rev. Fr, Tremblay, SM, long-time resi dent of Tonga, said in May that he expected that a new book of his will appear in the US before 1959.

With US talent for a piquant title it is called Georgia Redhead in Samoa. It will be a story of the life of Rev. Fr. J. R. Deihl, SM, who served for many years with the Marist Mission in Samoa and was popularly known there as “Tili”.