Tropicalities

Pacific Islands Monthly

Magazine Section

Nature Calls Again!

"TAVI” Kauffman, the Danish university graduate who arrived at Tonga in the yacht Hirondelle about 1952, presented the yacht to Prince Tungi’s little son, and caused some interest by retiring to an uninhabited island, has felt the call of the wild again.

Chief Officer David Fifita, of Aoniu, said in Suva in May that Kauffman, who has been employed by the Tonga Government in several capacities in recent years, abandoned civilisation in February to return to the rocky cliff-bound volcanic island of Hunga Haapai some 30 miles north of Tongatapu.

This 400-ft high island and its nearby companion Hunga Tonga lie in a channel used by ships crossing the Tonga Group from east to west.

The island has some pockets of fertile soil on the western side where small areas of coconut palms and other vegetation are estab lished, but it is not able to sustain a human settlement of any pro portions.

On the first occasion that Mr.

Kauffman took up residence he established gardens, but conditions were too rugged and after some months he was forced to call it off and return to Nukualofa. Perhaps the present stay may be intended only as a temporary retirement from the world, or perhaps the Danish graduate is now satisfied that he can compete with nature.

If he cannot, Hunga Haapai is so located that local vessels bound from Nukualofa to points north can usually be signalled without much trouble.

"Matuku Totoya

Vatuiele!"

IN Fiji, they still tell this story of the irrepressible “Jerry” Adams, of Lautoka.

Jerry and a Fiji friend were on passenger ship, crossing the Pacific. At their table, in the dining room, were a high-nosed Englishman and his wife.

Plainly the couple disdained colonials”. On their first day out, ,t the table, they conversed in French.

Half-way through the next meal, Jerry suddenly grinned, and turned to his companion.

“Sigatoka ba,” he said. “Tavua dreketi lakeba.”

Friend caught on promptly. “Gau taveuni.” he retorted.

“Yasawa koro,” hissed Jerry.

“Matuku totoya vatuiele.”

Then they laughed sneeringly.

The overseas couple ignored the demonstration, and ate their fish without batting an eyelid. It is un likely that they recognised the Fijian words as simply the names of islands strung together; but they used English in table conversation for the rest of the voyage.

Papuan Manganese May

Come Good Again A COUPLE of decades ago, Mr. L.

J. English, of Rigo, Papua, ran a profitable little business ex porting to Australia high-grade manganese mined at Rigo. It was in demand by the big Eveready Company in the manufacture of torch batteries.

However, the deposits were not extensive and, what with the Pacific war intervening and one thing and another, Mr. English did not resume operations when civil administration was restored in 1946.

The Australian battery manufac turers obtained their supplies post war from other sources, mainly Africa and, in small quantities, Fiji.

Recently, when overseas high grade manganese supplies became more difficult to procure—and at higher prices—the Union Carbide Company, parent concern of the large battery group, sent its geologist, Mr. Hector Ward, to Papua to re-examine the Rigo deposits.

He located Mr. English and to gether, in May, they made a survey of the old manganese workings and some other deposits. For battery manufacture, the ore must contain a good percentage of manganese dioxide and samples brought back by Mr. Ward now are being thoroughly tested in Sydney.

If the results prove satisfactory, said an Eveready Company spokes man, early in June, it will negotiate with Mr. English to begin mining and shipping manganese again.

New Buildings and an Old War in Suva WHEN Carpenters’ department store was moved from the old town area in Suva into Rod well road, facing the docks and only a few yards west of the Burns Philp department store, trading com petition between the old-time rivals became keen—as reported in the battle of the zebra crossings, June

Pim.

Later, the struggle was reflected in window-signs, in which the passer-by was urged to do this and that, and one day recently some body went into the older store and,

unnoticed by the staff, pasted in the window a sign which read “Bypass Burns Philp—Shop at Carpenters”—and the horrid thing remained there for some time before an outraged departmental manager fell upon it with tooth and claw.

Suva is growing fast. A large new building is being erected in the place of the old Carpenter and Walter Horne stores, so as to enlarge the Morris Hedstrom establishment. Modern buildings now line the harbourside streets, from Rodwell Road, through Thomson Street and Victoria Parade, almost to the Grand Pacific Hotel.

Honour System isn't IN Sydney, and some other places in the Pacific, newspaper sellers have an honour system for unattended news-stands. Readers pick up their own paper and are trusted to leave the money. Somebody started a newspaper honour box in Lae, NG, not long ago, but it hasn’t been working too well. The money is always short, and the other day somebody paid for his paper with a sardine sandwich crust.

Interest in NG Gardens TOURING the visit to Australia in 1954 of Queen Elizabeth, a box of prize New Guinea orchids was sent to her from the Botanic Gardens at Lae, New Guinea. As a result, a correspondence started be tween the Garden Clubs of Aus tralia and Mrs. D. M. Cleland, wife of the P-NG Administrator. Many members said they wanted to see the country where such unusual and beautiful orchids grew.

So recently NG got its first official garden visitor—Mrs. M. Davis, Pre sident of the Garden Clubs, who founded the clubs in Australia with a small group of people who were interested in home gardens and in helping each other, and not in com petitions. She was royally enter tained at Lae. Mrs. Davis’ NG visit followed a trip which she and other members made to Japan. They chartered a plane to see the gardens there.

New Guinea garden lovers are now hoping that Australian club mem bers can be induced to make a similar mass visit to the Territory.

"John" and "Mary" Come to Fiji

FOR years “John” and “Mary” have been familiar and interesting characters to listeners to the BBC’s English by Radio sessions directed to overseas listeners. Now Fiji also has it’s John and Mary in a drive to im prove the standard of English Fijians and Indians and thus re move or at least reduce a major blockage in Fiji’s education system.

Fiji’s “John” is Mr. L. Rolls, and “Mary” is Mrs. R. Knox-Mawer.

The Fijian teacher will be Epeli Kacimaiwai and the Indian teacher Mr. V. Sudhakar. Day by day this quartet will explore and discuss the peculiarities of the English language in the course of their imaginary travels and adventures.

Surprise Parcels

Papua-New Guinea’s preschool age children are making good use of a unique mail box system set up as a result of a sug gestion by a member of the Can berra Pre-School Association. Chil dren living in out stations and re mote plantations can have sent to them from the main NG centres a “mail box” containing crayons, paints, brushes, books (with sugges tions for discussing them intelligently with the children), other hand work suggestions, and a “parent’s kit”, and guidance book. It’s quite a sur prise parcel and about 80 New Guinea families with young chil dren are currently finding them very interesting. The P-NG Pre- School Association now has 14 pre school centres scattered throughout the Territory, many with modern new buildings.

The Storck Goes Modern

A SMART white car with the words “Storck Cruise” in discreet lettering on the doors caused a lot of interest and some amusement in New Zealand recently, as Mr. and Mrs. Vince Storck, of Suva, made a motor tour of the country.

Suva residents know that the Storcks operate the tourist launch Oolooloo, but at least one New Zealand bystander, a little shaky on her spelling, had other theories.

“Oh, look dear!” the lady was heard to remark to a companion, “That must be the new maternity hospital transport!”