deaths of islands people

Mr. Roy Colman Evans

One of Fiji’s outstanding local government officers, Mr. Roy Colman Evans, died at Lautoka on May 6, Arriving in Suva in 1921, from Dubbo NSW, he was deputy town clerk for 11 years before becoming town clerk. He held that position until he resigned in 1943. The fol lowing year he took up the post of town clerk to Lautoka Town Board and later was one of the prune organisers in the change-over to Town Council at Lautoka.

Since his retirement last March, he had been secretary of the Sugar Price Stabilisation Fund Board. He is survived by Mrs. Evans and a daughter.

Rev. Albert Aufinger

Professor of music at the Divine Word Seminary, Fuerstenfeld.

Austria, after a long missionary career in New Guinea, Father Albert

Aufinger, SVD, died suddenly late in April, aged 59.

Born in southern Austria, he was ordained in 1927 and sent to Alexishafen, NG. Shortly after wards, Bishop Wolf, SVD, selected him to pioneer Divine Word mission work on the Rai Coast. He opened a school and church at Lalou, and a small store which specialised in providing neighbouring villages with the earthenware pots they used. He also conducted a small copra planta tion at Gumbi to make his mission self-supporting.

With other missionaries he was evacuated to Australia in 1943, dur ing the Pacific war, but returned to Gumbi afterwards. Leaving New Guinea in 1955, he spent three years in Marburg, Queensland, as head of the Divine Word Missionaries’

Seminary. On a visit to Rome in 1958, ill-health prevented his return to the Pacific and he took up a professorship at the SVD seminary, Styria.

Rev. Aufinger was an accom plished NG linguist and ethnologist and some of his writings had appeared in the European anthro pological journals Ethnos and An thropos.

Mr. W. D. Mander

A former manager of the Union Steam Ship Co. of NZ Ltd. in Fiji, Mr. W. D. Mander died in New Plymouth, NZ, late in April. He served at Suva from 1923 until 1932, when he was transferred to Timaru.

He retired in 1954.

Mr. Hugh Ellis O’Keefe

After a three months’ illness, Mr.

Hugh Ellis O’Keefe, one of the best known chief engineers in Burns Philp ships, died in Sydney on April 13, aged 64.

Son of Mr. J. T. O’Keefe, en gineer superintendent of Burns Philp & Co. Ltd., he joined BP’s Makambo as 4th engineer in 1917.

He served on Induna and Mindini (being aboard when she was wrecked on Mellish Reef in 1923), then on most of the “M” Islands ships.

After World War 11, he was chief on Morinda until her last voyage, then on Muliama and, finally, Malaita.

His hobbies included chess and the study of theology (which earned him the nickname of “Cardinal O’Keefe). He isi survived by Mrs.

O’Keefe, two girls and four boys.

Rev. Wesley Amos

Almost 40 years of the life of Rev.

Wesley Amos, who died in Mel bourne on May 8, were connected with Methodist missionary work in

the Pacific. He spent from es 1912 to late 1923 in Fiji—three y« at Lakeba, five in Lau Group, I four at Ra —then took up the of Secretary for Overseas Missii in Victoria.

Rev. Amos retired in 1952 and 78 when he died.

Mr. David Cunningham

The death occurred in hospital Sydney on April 26 of Mr. U Cunningham, a former “old-haj in Papua and New Guinea.

He had spent many years in Territory, at most of the mainlJ centres. Before he returned to A tralia owing to ill-health a cov of years ago, he was manager Island Products' Ltd. (subsidiary W. R. Carpenter & Co. Ltd.) at E Moresby, Papua.

Mr. Cunningham, who retired settled in Hurstville, Sydney, 66 years of age. His widow, E Dorothy Cunningham, son Kenn and three married daughters (J* Gwenyth and Dawn) survive hin

Mr. George Wedgemanm

As a result of a logging accio near Bupu River, Lae, NG, on N 22, Mr. George Wedgemann killed instantly. A timber foren for Lucas and Ducrow (NG) 1 he was driving a bulldozer wheE butt end of logs he was push crushed him. He was bom in C many, and was a married man.

Rev. Father C. Destabd

The Rev. Father C y p r 1 Destable, SM, died at Sol( Catholic Mission, Vanua Levu, 1 on May 11 after more than 50 y© in isolated places. For 30 years? service in the Colony, much oc was stationed at Bemana, 30 rrr up the Sigatoka River in Viti Lu He was in his mid-80’s at the It of his death. Father Destable ci: originally from Auvergne, Fram

The late Hugh O'Keefe, as fellow BP Brett Hilder saw him.