Hotel And A Modernised Newspaper

Progress Comes to Suva with a Bang THEY'VE GOT A NEW BREWERY, A NEW

The inauguration of three new enterprises in Suva at the end of November and early in December indicated the progress being made in Fiji, in spite of a minor recession. Thev are: ° J

r[E installation by Fiji Times and Herald Ltd. of a modern, flatbed Cossar rotary press, which will will print Fiji Times (morning daily) and Shanti Dut (Indian weekly). • The opening of the new and very modern Club Hotel, at the corner of Victoria Parade and Gordon Street. • The opening of the new brewery in the Walu Bay area, jointly owned and operated by W. R. Carpenter and Carlton United (Melbourne) interests.

Each event was marked by a formal reception, attended by the leaders of all the Fiji communities.

New Newspaper Press Since Fiji Times and Herald Ltd was bought in 1956 by Sydney in terests in which Pacific Publications Ltd. is dominant, the printing and publishing business has been re organised, re-staffed and re-equipped, so that the Colony now is receiv ing modern newspaper and printing service.

The circulation of Fiji Times grew so fast after 1956 that the very old newspaper press could not cope with it, and sales were held down to 4,000 daily until the new Cossar could be ordered from England, de livered and installed.

Now, the new press produces in 60 to 90 minutes what previously was done, inefficiently, in 12 or 14 hours.

Similarly, Shanti Dut, using Hindi type, was printed under the old system in a series of operations ex tending over days. Under the new conditions the full issue of a 16page newspaper is delivered in less than 80 minutes.

Other machines recently intro iuced include a teletype for over seas news, facilities for quickly re producing news photographs, and much new and modern plant for

newspaper and commercial printing.

The new Club Hotel represents, in modified form, the first two floors of the large luxurious South Seas Hotel which Morris Hedstrom Ltd. planned to build in 1952-53, at a cost of around £250,000. The earthquake, plus rocketing costs of such building, caused that plan to be abandoned, and the partly-erected first storey lay derelict for years.

The company finally decided to complete the ground and first floors, and the Ragg interests (who operate a chain of modern hotels as Northern Hotels Ltd.), agreed to lease and operate the building as the Club Hotel (the name of the old hotel which once occupied this sits) On the ground floor, finished in most modern fashion, are lounges, dining-room, reception rooms and large public and private bars. On the first floor are 18 single and double bedroom suites, with every modern amenity, including airconditioning. Many of the rooms look out over the harbour and coastline Tariff ranges from four to

six guineas per room per night.

Mr. Max Lovell, a well known Northern Hotels executive, is the manager. The official opening was on December 1.

Fiji Brews Its Own Beer The new brewery—long a project of Mr. W. Grainger Johnson, Car penters’ managing director in Fiji— was formerly opened on December 8, but highly-skilled technicians had been building up the brew for several weeks. The many Fiji beer experts pronounced it “excellent”.

It is now being marketed all over Fiji.

The new brewery block at Walu Bay is among the Colony’s most modern industrial premises.

Both building and brewery opera tions were carried out under the expert direction of Carlton United Brewery managers. The new estab lishment at Walu Bay employs

approximately 25 P e °Pte, and the probable cost is over £lOO,OOO.

It is anticipated that, if the price is not too high, the brewery history of Papua and New Guinea will he repeated. There, the iMal biews— especially the draft— -quickly re placed large quantities of imported beer.

The system of liquor permits, im posed for years upon Indians ana Fijians, was abolished some time ago—all races may drink beer in licensed bars without restriction, There is still somo restriction on the, sale of spirits. There has been no increase in drunkenness—on tne contrary, the bars now seem more orderly than before.

The new, luxurious Club Hotel, containing 18 air-conditioned rooms, at the corner of Victoria Parade and Gordon Street, Suva, Fiji, which was officially opened on December 1. This photograph was taken from the water-front. The western section (left of picture) looks out over Victoria Parade, onto the harbour; the main entrance is in the right-hand section, facing Gordon Street. —Stinsons.