“Joyita”

No Home For

From a Correspondent The Suva City Council is not par ticularly interested in the fate of the “Joyita”, which now lies a rotting hulk on the beach at Nasova, near Levuka. At their September meeting they considered a letter from artist Miss Mary Edwell-Burke suggesting that it might be moved to the Suva Botanical Gardens and used as a nautical museum.

MISS EDWELL-BURKE claimed that because of its history the derelict ship should be preserved for posterity, and that it would be a wonderful tourist attraction.

The Joyita went missing on a trip between Apia and the Tokelaus in October, 1955. She was later found floating about 90 miles north of Labasa in Vanua Levu and towed to Suva. There was no sign of the 25 passengers, and their fate has never been established.

The Mayor, Cr. C. A. Stinson, after reading the letter, asked: “What shall we do with the JoyitaV Cr. Mark Israel: Leave it at Levuka. , , The council decided that there was no suitable site at Suva for the Joyita, and as far as they are concerned it can rot at Nasova.

One man who is interested in the "Joyita"— Viscount Maugham, nephew of Somerset Maugham. He was in Fiji recently where he is planning to make a movie about the "Joyita".

Photo: S. A. Whippy