They Make Stamps

From His Pictures

A medal for “the finest stamp issued in Oceania” has been

awarded to a Fiji stamp designed

from a photograph taken by Fiji

Government photographer Rob

Wright.

THE choice was made by an inter national panel of experts, and a medal for the design was pre sented to the British Ambassador to France, Sir Pierson Dixon, at a ceremony in Paris. The stamp is the 4/- one, showing the Kadavu parrot named “Fiji”, which is a pet of the former Governor of Fiji, Sir Ronald Garvey.

Sir Ronald is now Lieutenant- Governor of the Isle of Man—and the parrot is there, too.

Production of the stamp has probably created some kind of a record for Fiji-born Rob Wright.

It is the fourth stamp of Fiji de signed from photographs taken by him. Some of the designs have fol lowed the composition of his photo graphs very closely.

Hibiscus Stamp

And the stamp makers, Harrison and Company of London, will shortly produce a new 8d hibiscus stamp from a colour transparency made for the purpose, which will give Wright five stamps to his photographic credit.

This stamp is expected to be re leased later this year.

Others of his designs have been taken from photographs of bananas, the sugar industry and the copra industry.

The type of Kadavu parrot used on the prize winning stamp is known in Fijian as “Kaka” and it is an attractive bird. About 20 inches long, it has a scarlet head and breast, with a broad band of azure across the nape of the neck. The

Fiji's 4/- stamp showing the Kadavu parrot "Fiji". Kadavu has two spellings—with or without the "N", although it is pronounced as it is spelled on the stamp.

back, wings and tail are a brilliant green.

The Kadavu parrot differs in colour from the Viti Levu and Taveuni parrots but the Kadavu variety become good talkers.

“Fiji”, is a very accomplished talker.

In Suva, in January, Rob Wright explained how he took “Fiji’s” pic ture. He said he had to get into the aviary at Government House to do the job.

“Fiji” was most unco-operative at first,” said Rob. “He did a lot of high flying, and I had to gradually coax him down to ground level. I used chillies and a tomato, which helped a lot. I made a selection from my transparencies and sent them to London.”

With age, and travel, “Fiji” now seems to be taking a calmer view of life. He was sitting quietly in his cage in the drawing room of Gov ernment House, Douglas, Isle of Man, last year when a PIM editor last saw him.

Perhaps “Fiji” didn’t like what he saw from the window —a strictly non-tropical scene of leafless trees, grey skies and green grass studded with daffodils.

Sir Ronald and Lady Garvey had been doing a lot of quiet publicity work to sell the Isle of Man to the British holiday-maker and had entertained many newspapermen in the course of it.

To their surprise, the reporters —like their tribe the world over, always looking for an angle or a gimmick—seemed to be far more interested in the parrot from Fiji!

The Beautifiers

These two citizens of Suva, Mr. Carl Corbett (top) and Mr. L. F. Garnett, have recently received praise from the Mayor of Suva. They have both voluntarily put in a lot of work on the upkeep and planting of the road side verges near their homes. The Mayor has appealed to others to con tribute to a drive to make Suva a real Pacific beauty spot.