Bsi Trading

New Boss Of The

Corporation

Donald J. Gubbay of Santo, despite his youth, is one of the leading businessmen of the New Hebrides; and this is a tough assignment, for a man needs to be ambidexterous and bi-lingual at least.

Donald was born in Noumea in 1927, his father being the well-known Dal Gubbay, now of Sydney, and his mother was Simone Wilmot.

Amongst the grandparents was a Miss Kerr of Glasgow. The family had settled in New Caledonia by 1890, extending to the New Hebrides in 1900 as Gubbay Freres.

Don started school at Vila in French, before going to College La Perouse at Noumea. He left there owing to political differences, being an ardent supporter of General de Gaulle. His final education was at St. Joseph’s College in Sydney.

From there he joined his father’s trading organisation, but this firm withdrew from the Islands at the end of the war. Don then worked in promoting Brian Monkton’s Trans Oceanic Airways to the New Hebrides and New Caledonia. In 1947 Don gave up his connection with the flying-boats, and devoted his energies to general contracting, stevedoring, trucking and the salvage of war disposals at Santo. This last

activity involved the purchase of the old vessel El Retiro.

Since then Don has become D. I.

Gubbay & Co. (N.H.) Ltd., engaged in civil engineering and general con tracting, working on such projects as the South Pacific Fishery base at Santo, the wharf at Santo, the bank and the new Burns Philp store, as well as Shell Company oil installa tions at Noumea and Santo. Future projects he has an eye on include the Vila wharf, the Santo cannery, and a BSIP whaling station.

In March his company was an nounced as the successful tenderer of the British Solomon Islands Trad ing Corporation.

In 1947 Donald married Denyse

Kuter, whose father was Fre; Resident Commissioner in the > Hebrides from 1941 to 1947. T have three children, Denyse-Anne school in Sydney, Philippe at Sa and a baby son Carl, born in 1!

Apart from travel and work, D hobbies include water ski-ing, te: and judo.

He is a member of the New I rides Advisory Council, and in tri-lingual forum he is in favoui an economic Federation of Melanesian Islands (Solomons, 1 Caledonia and New Hebrides), m taining that there are no real ri differences, and that there is r for industrial development and d: sification, providing that the pior are given a free hand. —Brett Hi

A Brett Hilder Profile