Good Men Being Lost

The Month in Samoa

To Samoa

From “PlM’s” Apia Correspondent While the Government con tinues to spend money on hur

riedly training personnel in New

Zealand who will be badly needed next year when inde pendence comes, the steady exit of people who are already trained continues.

LAST month Public Works painter, former scholarship student and tradesman trained in New Zealand, Matisone Poka, left with his New Zealand wife to settle in that country where rates of pay and educational opportunities for children are so much better than in Samoa.

At the same time a Samoan radio grapher trained in New Zealand under the scholarship scheme and who is also married to a New Zealand girl, put in his resignation in protest against conditions of employment in Samoa, He too, intends to settle in New Zealand.

Another well-qualified person who could find no recognition for his talents in Western Samoa left for American Samoa early in September,

Part-Samoan Sven Ortquist (left), 22, of Apia, executed this carving of Christ for the renovated Catholic Cathedral at Mulivai, Apia. He dis covered his talent at Makogai Leper Colony, Fiji, where we went at the age of nine, returning to Apia only this year. He hopes to find a market in the US for his carving work. Photo: Samoana

5 he has been appointed Assistant tor of Agriculture. is Frank B. Moors, who re el from the United States several ago with a B.Ag.Sc. from the srsity of California. He was d a job by the Department of ulture in Apia at half the salary >rmer less-qualified seconded ■ was getting. So Frank Moors i to the commercial world, and is instrumental in getting under i large scale pig-breeding project F. Nelson and Co.’s plantation lauli, Savaii. v he’s gone, and meanwhile West i’s third group of “crash” train ublic servants left for NZ by early September. Some will be for about seven months, others ur months, and one man, Jonas of Public Works, will be there year.

N can you convince a well fed, :isure-loving people that they I work harder and grow more?

Samoa’s lagging economy con to show no signs of improve the energetic and conscientious er of Finance, Mr. G. D. F. n, and his knowledgeable r. Financial Secretary Paul , are coming more and more tie news. ir problem is not so much ig what should be done, but ting the people to support the nment in any plan of economic pment. ti this end in view, a Com for Economic Development ecently formed with members Government, the Legislative bly and representatives of the ercial world. Membership has made as broad as possible so wareness of the necessity and of development will eventually down to all sections of the unity. In a society where, ac g to one village survey by nist lan Fairburn, average ig hours per week are around urs, and where food is still so obtained, it is difficult to get the right ideas. It is hoped mmittee will have an economic eady by November.

SELY connected with the □estion of economic, develop is the system of land tenure, nove that was surprisingly pro 's, last year’s Constitutional ntion passed recommendations iting changes in the traditional 1 of land tenure that would give r security of tenure and lease rights to land users. A com was set up to draw up legisla

tion to this effect and during Sep tember, Mr. Ken Williams, Commissioner of the Maori Land Court at Rotoura, made his second visit to Samoa for consultations with this Committee. However, while all the experts agree that changes on land tenure are essential and that security of tenure and persona] ownership of land are necessary, especially in connection with loans for development, Samoan members of the committee are reported somewhat apathetic and it appears that it will be some time before legislation will be enacted.

A GROUP of five Japanese scientists, four men and a woman, spent September travelling round Savaii measuring skulls, collect

ing hair samples and doing general anthropological study. They are Pro fessor G. Shima, Dr. M. Suzuki, Dr.

K. Terakado, Dr. N. Harada and Miss S. Hatanaka.

This trip follows a preliminary survey done by Dr. Suzuki and a Mr. Iwasa last year, and they have aroused considerable speculation, especially as none of the visitors speaks particularly good English or any Samoan, and have apparently never heard of the studies of Margaret Mead, the late Felix Keesing or other well known students of Polynesia.

MAIN event of importance in Western Samoa in September has been the Women’s Interests Seminar held by the South Pacific Commission at Papauta Girls’ School

out of Apia. Attended by 43 en from 15 Pacific territories, seminar is the first of its kind was the culmination of 2i years’ ling by Miss Marjorie Stewart, active SPC Women’s Interests zr. ie seminar was held from August > September 21 with a full time from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day ding Saturday. idies include the opportunities ducation and the development of ties for women throughout the I. the status of women in the ic, the opportunities and respon ses of women in meeting family immunity needs, planning com ty education programmes, or ing and conducting group ties, means of communication, he needs to be met for continu nprovement in family life, e South Pacific Commission has helped in this project by a ous grant from the United :h Women of America, and g those attending the seminar as Hants are Dr. Mary E. Keister, j Economic Officer of the Food Agriculture Organisation, from ;; Miss Nicole Friderich, from Department of Education at SCO in Paris; and Miss Freda iam, from the Commonwealth lical Aid Scheme in London.

Miss Stewart said: *’lhere is the slightest doubt that this lar has achieved a great deal in lating the thoughts of all who taken part”. 4NIS has received a real boost n this area as a result of its ;ion in the First Pacific Games held at Suva in 1963 and there k of the Pago team making a lly visit for matches over endence Week. ia tennis enthusiasts are con lating themselves on the clean ) made by Western Samoan rs in the annual match against ■ican Samoa for the Ernest Reid orial Trophy. This is the first in four years that Western a has won the trophy and is the st victory margin in memory, teams were, Western Samoa G.

M. Westerlund, R. Heke (Capt.) T. Anetipa, R. Rankin and L.

'll, T. Leupolu and A. Maluai; 'ican Samoa, P. Reid (Capt.), unkin, S. Ho Ching and Hunkin, and R. Pritchard, H. Webb and paia.

DEPENDENCE Week, by the ay, should really be something— te the chance of rain (PIM

September, p. 16). The odds are a 55 per cent, chance of rain every day from January 1-5, when the celebrations take place. Samoana had suggested that the formal events take place in January and the spectator events take place in June, when the annual Flag Raising Day celebrations are always held in fine weather.

Nevertheless, they will go on as planned and a great deal of work has been put in by a committee under the energetic leadership of Secretary to the Prime Minister Eddie Stehlin.

Sub-committees are dealing with everything from accommodation for the big influx of visitors expected, to the establishment of first aid posts and extra lavatories!

Events include marching, singing, dancing, band competitions, boat races, fireworks (by the Chinese com munity), float parades, horse racing, balls, and numerous cocktail parties.

Shops will be closed for the week, but they can open on the Wednesday if they like.

Among the official visitors invited are NZ Prime Minister Holyoake and the former NZ High Commissioner in Samoa, Sir Guy Powles, who is now NZ High Commissioner to India.

The Auckland Latter Day Saints’

Band, which is comprised mostly of Samoans, has announced it will come over to take part in the band contest and a big number of Samoans living in NZ will also be here.

Tualaulelei Mauri, An In

fluential and sometimes con troversial figure on the Samoan political scene over the past 20 years, died suddenly in his Apia home on September 8. He was 57.

A former Cabinet Minister and at one time in the running for the Prime Ministership, Tualaulelei was a mem ber of the Samoan delegation to the first South Pacific Conference in Suva in 1950 and leader of the Samoan delegation to the second Conference at Noumea in 1953, He was a member of the Samoan Parliamentary Delegation to New Zealand in 1955 and represented Samoa, together with T. R. Smith, at the first meeting of the Pacific Copra Boards in London in 1955.

Tualaulelei was defeated at the elections in February this year by Mr. Harry Moors, a former European who took Samoan status under the name of Afoafouvale Misimoa. Be cause of his occasional expression of anti-European sentiments, Tualaule lei’s political motives were generally suspect by Europeans in Samoa but he was a very capable Minister.