Tropicalities

Pacific Islands Monthly

Magazine Section

Environment v. Heredity— New Suva Version SOME of the decisions of Fiji Customs authorities have been under scrutiny lately. Some are amusing.

For example, what was to be the rate of duty for containers for flowers grown in Suva’s gardens?

Customs ruled that the flowers were not products of Fiji, But (said the inquirer) these flowers are grown in Fiji.

Ah (said Customs) that may be so—but the seeds were imported; therefore the thing that came out of the seeds is not really a product of the Colony.

The Fiji Times commented that a Fiji resident, whose child was born just after they returned from a year’s leave, now fears that the youngster may be classified as an alien!

Believe it—if You Like

THIS sounds about as silly as the old tale that Stalin ate babies.

But it is currently going the rounds in New Guinea.

When a Russian ship visited Terri tory ports earlier this year, those on board were given freedom of the ports and, armed with cameras, they snapped just about all the things tourists photograph.

But it was noticed in Madang that they took pictures of natives posed in front of a “For Sale” notice, nailed to a building; and posed themselves and the natives up against a heavy barbed wire fence surrounding the Works Department property,—P.R. < J r T]} e Russian oceanographic vessel Wttjaz ’ called at Rahaul last year ana Port Moresby in May this year.

We had no reports that she called at Madang).

The Gaol that Took the Cake

—and Meatsafe

T {(r P C>UBT if they still use X Trusties” from the Gaol to act as messengers for the different m th il Suva Government ■Buildings as they did in my time. u-L* rem T ber on one occasion, when up from Ba for the Quarter Sessions; bemg instructed to take back with me £1,500 in cash for

payments of Native Rents by the Ba District Commissioner.

The best deal I could make for my own personal comfort was for the money to be handed to me at Lautoka by the purser of the ship we were travelling on.

Some hours before sailing time I saw a large Fijian, broad arrows all over his off-white clothing, and a broad grin all over his face, walking down Victoria Parade busy warding off playful grabs at what was obviously a large bag of money on his head.

I said to my companion: “There Soes my fifteen hundred quid” I rather wonder if such a thing could happen today.

There were a lot of corny jokes about prisoner messengers hurrying back to Korovou, very afraid they

might be locked out, but I think it remains? for the old Ba gaol to take the cake.

It seems that one night the Quarters of the mill overseer on the bank of the river just below the Rarawai mill was robbed and a quite valuable ring was part of the loot. The Police were called m, of course, but could find no clue to the robbery.

All this was well before my time, and the old gaol was just a large an d very strongly built “bure”.

The robbery remained a complete mystery until a jealous Fijian woman, who thought she should have got the ring, spilt the beans, ft a PP ears that the Fijian Sergeant at the station had opened up the gaol during the night, let out a boat s crew, taken the Magistrate’s boat down Namosau Creek and across the river to the mill overseer’s house where they helped themselves.

When this disclosure was made the walls and thatching of the gaol were searched and plates and dishes from every meatsafe in the district were found—so the old Ba gaol must have taken more than cake —C. Wager.

Old Brigade

POPULAR Territorian E. A. (Jimmy) James, owner of the old Papuan Courier between the two wars (War II finally knocked it on the head) doesn’t do much in the newspaper field these days, except write a brief weekly column for the South Pacific Post.

So he was delighted, although quite unprepared not long ago when a very old and bald native turned up at his business premises, and identified himself with a grin as Sali.

Sali, it turned out, was a Courier compositor of more than 20 years ago—and a good one, too. Every thing was hand set then, and the paper depended on the native comps, most of whom couldn’t understand the words they were setting, although they knew the alphabet.

Sali talked about the old days and the old faces, and the old tin sned the Courier was printed from (James’ Arcade stands on part of the spot now). Then, still grinning, he wandered off again.

Depends on the Mood Different people see things differently, but having looked at Suva Harbour in all its moods for a long time, I can’t help feeling that the lady (surely it has to be a lady?) has overdone it.

I am referring to this extract

from a letter to an English newspaper from anew arrival in Fiji, which I find in my latest copy of Corona, the Colonial Service magazine: “Suva was a magnificent sight, The glittering harbour, the coral reef, the green jagged hills surrounding the city were an armchair traveller’s dream. It is impossible to imagine how any human being could remain unmoved by such beauty. . . .”

London Bridge at dusk looks pretty good, too.— STUPE.

Trouble Afloat

WE were coming out from Samarai with old Tom the other day, in a couple of launches, his and ours. We’d had a few beers but not too many. It was too early.

Tom, who likes to steal the lime light, was stepping from one launch into another when he grabbed a rope to steady himself. The rope wasn’t tied to anything. In the Olympics it would be known as a Jacknife Backward Plunge.

He’s pretty rotund, is Tom, and he made a hell of a splash. There was plenty of noise and cheering, but we finally noticed the tide was carrying him away and sent the dinghy after him.

He clung to the side of that and violently resisted every attempt to load him.

He eventually made himself under stood. He wished the ladies to go below, until he could get in and be supplied with anew pair of strides.

Apparently these backward flips have a habit of removing trousers.

He was getting a bit urgent in his request, too, as sharks are bad around here.

There were a couple of cameras clicking at the stern and bribery and corruption were rife for the rest of the trip. Tom got over it at the cost of a dozen beers. —LW.

Look Out, Here They Come!

NEW CALEDONIA’S traffic is really on the increase, Nearly 900 new cars were imported in the first quarter of this year, bring

ing the total number of vehicles in New Caledonia now to 10,000 (in cluding Service vehicles). And most of these are in Noumea, reports a correspondent, adding; “Any harassed pedestrian will confirm it.”

Most of New Caledonia’s cars come from France.

All the News Fit to Print

NORFOLK Island Notices and News is an unpretentious roneod sheet of foolscap, but Norfolk Islanders gave a warm welcome to the first copy of their new news paper in August. The News is a new. service by courtesy of the Adminis tration. The sheet will be published regularly, and besides giving out the local news, will also accept small advertisements. The new paper is being distributed with the Govern ment Gazette, although it is not part of the Gazette.

Some Help for Nature SEA breezes aren’t enough for passengers in ocean liners these days, the P and O Company and the Orient Line have decided.

They’re just announced an extensive programme to fully air condition their seven post-war passenger liners Orcades, Oronsay, Orsova, Arcadia, Iberia, Himalaya and Chusan.

First to get the full treatment will be the Orcades, and as a result her January-February sailings be tween Australia and the UK have been cancelled. The other ships will be taken off for refit at intervals after that.

And Good Enough, Too

AN American anthropologist, Miss

Ann Chowning, from Little Rock, Arkansas (where they seem to have a few race problems of their ■ own) has been studying the problems of the Fergusson Island (Papua) people lately. She reported in August c that since the arrival of the Missions ; in the area, the status of native ; women had fallen. This was be- cause the natives reasoned that as < the Bible said God created man first, , then men should always have first i preference.

A Long Job

Mapping 0 f p-ng’s 183,540 c square miles will take from r 10-15 years according to ai Government mapping expert who o visited P-NG last month. A start 3 has been made.