Deaths Of Islands People

Rev. Mother Mary Alphonse

The Rev. Mother Mary Alphonse, oldest member of the Missionary Sisters of the Society of St. Mary in Samoa, died on June 17, at the age of nearly 90. She arrived in Samoa in 1892 and had been Regional Superior of the Marist Sisters in Samoa, residing at the Savalalo Convent, and at Moamoa.

Mr. W. E. (“Bluey”)

Goodsir

The death occurred in Suva, Fiji, on July 14, of Mr. W. E. Goodsir! a former Deputy-Mayor of Suva and one of the best-known businessmen in the Colony. He had been in poor health for some time.

He went to Fiii from Now Zealand in 1924 and throughout his life there was associated with the timber industry. The fact that the prejudice against Fiji timber has been overcome in the last 20 years is attributed in the Colony Goodsir g ° f “ BIUGy ”

In 1949 he formed the Nadarivatu managing°Sre^tor L^nd a w d hen eC ?r P m7unteTns ed be 0 h U ind itS Tav r^ 5 hp trans^rred^oneratfnns d f n T v!nHt,inf

Th^Kanl?n

operations a V T wLV I over a ys sf ago loso 6 „^, came a Suva Councillor in 1952 and was elected Deputy-Mayor in the same year—a community Ihhnnch 6 unti l last . year ' sm^ ss interests inand hIS health was in "

Ac o a 7 0l i? g 1 , he was a fir B4 grade footballer; he took this

enthusiasm to Fiji with him and played tt ll • act * ve *** r * ng Rugby Union amongst the Fijians. managed the Fiji team which to u red Australia in 1954. . * s survived by his widow and £heir daughter, Jennifer (Mrs. Ivan Crooks, of Suva). nRnVF

The Rev. K. D. Grove

The Rev. Ken Grove, BA, BD, of Vava’u, Tonga, died suddenly in Victoria, in April. Mr. Grove left Ton g. a in September last year after working with the Wesleyan Church ir Tpnga I 1 years - •At the time hls death he was about to take a . appointment at Donald, m ,Y lct(^ la - , . . , Mr - Groves ministry in Tonga andto some wears? he was chairman also of the Havana! District Hewas a tLughtful and devoted missionary human to the and problems o P f P the people He had aTood mind and aTeat S&dly miSSed in

th? U work *Sf supervising “the^fine

new ’ two-storled bfock ot Siu’ilikutapu College took its toll of his stren S th - The Tongan people rec °g ni se that without his constant care and enthusiasm the project would not have been completed. It stands as a memorial to him in Vava’u When news of his death reached Vava’u a memorial service was held in the Church, and respect was also P aid to him ’ according to Tongan chiefly custom in the grounds of the Mission House. The

whole proceedings were presided over by the Governor of Vava’u, Laufilitonga. These customs are seldom observed in respect to Europeans.

Mrs. Grove and their two boys now living in Melbourne, Victoria, have received many messages of sympathy from Tonga including one from HM Queen Salote Tupou.

Sir Brian Freeston

The death occurred at his home in Kent, on July 17, of Sir Brian Freeston, former Governor of Fiji, High Commissioner for the Western Pacific, and for three years, Secretary General of the South Pacific Commission.

Sir Brian joined the Colonial Service in 1919 after war service, and in the course of his career served in East Africa, the West Indies and at Colonial Office head quarters in London.

He was Governor of the Leeward Islands between 1944 and 1948, when he was appointed to Fiji. He was the last Governor to be also High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. When Sir Ronald Garvey followed him in Fiji, the Western Pacific Commissionership became a separate appointment, with Sir Robert Stanley the first HCWP.

Sir Brian was due for retirement in 1952, but before his pre-retire ment leave had expired he moved to Noumea to become Secretary General of the South Pacific Com imission, an appointment he held until 1954 when he retired to England.

He is survived by Lady Freeston and a grown-up family,

Mr. Maxwell Wendt

An interesting link with the early history of the Central Pacific was broken on July 22, when the death occurred in Suva, Fiji, of Mr.

Maxwell Wendt, aged 73.

Mr. Wendt’s father was one of the European traders who settled among the Islands in the middle pf last century. He made his home in the Wallis group (now French), and Maxwell was born there. Max well was sent to Fiji for education, and was a pupil at St. Felix College, in Suva. He returned to Wallis, and presently took over his father’s business: but soon after World War I he left Wallis, with his family, to live in Fiji; and he spent the next 30 years in the service of the Fiji Public Works Department.

He is survived by his wife and five sons and one daughter, and all except William (who lives in Noumea) are residents of Suva— Peter, Vincent, Louis, Gabriel and Rosemary (Mrs. G. Peart).

Pastor N. A. Ferris

One of the best known SDA Missionaries in the South Pacific, Pastor Norman Astrey Ferris, 56 died in Townsville as the result of injuries received in a car accident on July 7.

After over 20 years service in the Pacific, Pastor and Mrs. Ferris settled at Mona Mona aboriginal mission, north of Cairns, about two years ago. In early July they drove to Ayr to visit- their son and daughter who are married and living there.

On the return trip, near Towns ville, their car came into collision with another. Pastor Ferris died soon after being admitted to the local hospital: Mrs. Ferris sustained a broken leg and internal injuries.

Pastor Ferris was born in Vic toria in 1902 but spent most of his youth on Norfolk Island where his people were missionaries. He

graduated from the SDA Missionary College at Morriset, NSW. and went out into the Pacific as a missionary.

Most of his 20 years in the Pacific were spent in the Solomons, but two years were on Pitcairn Island.

He received the MBE three years ago for his services to the Pacific area, particularly for his work during the war when his local knowledge of Solomons waters was of great assistance to the Allies.

He is survived by Mrs. Ferris and their three children —Norma (Mrs.

Barry Crabtree, wife of the Super intendent of the SDA East Fiji Mission): Marilyn (Mrs. Davey, of Ayr, Queensland) and son Erwin, also of Ayr.