[?] (Educated)

[?]moa Prepares For [?] (Educated) [?]oggle Box

By a Staff Writer

When the South Pacific’s first

/ station begins operating

>m Pago Pago, American

moa, next year, both Western

jmoa and Tonga hope to be

ile to pick up its signals.

tONGA is to investigate the I possibility of getting the picture rough a relay station that might I established on high ground on ivau, the northern Tonga group, pmier of Tonga, Prince Tungi, has pressed interest in the American Ition. [Governor H. Rex Lee, of American imoa, has had informal talks about V with both Prince Tungi and iame Mataafa, Prime Minister of festern Samoa. No arrangements ive been entered into. [Western Samoa should pick the ation up without difficulty—there e only 80 miles between Pago and pia—and in any case the trans mitting tower is to be erected on me top of one of Pago’s highest eaks, Mauputasi, with the special bject, says Governor Lee, of giving

nearby territories the best chance of receiving the image. This site will also enable the picture to be received in the Manua group, east of the main American Samoa island of Tutuila.

Money for the TV station has been approved. Construction on it is hoped to start in November, and Governor Lee expects that the station will be in full scale operation by September, 1963.

The TV station is designed as an educational aid, and all schools are to be equipped with sets. American Samoa plans an extensive teaching programme through TV and expects to speed-up educational processes

considerably. The station will be able to reach into every village and also assist pre-school children, But the American station will also be used for adult education in after school hours, says Governor Lee.

“We can get health matters across, and items of Government interest,” he says. “And of course, docu mentaries and travel pieces are also educational, too, and in after-school hours there is no reason why the scope of the telecasts can’t be broadened to include much material of general interest. They could in elude news casts for instance.”

These after-school telecasts no

[?]Bits' Ears Over The Rainmaker:

mountain in the background identifies scene as Pago Pago. The TV set, here [?]ected by its owner, Mrs. Frank Becker, the first seen there—but many more are to come.

ibt will be of main interest to :st Samoan and Tongan viewers, there is no guarantee that sons set for American schools will suitable in these two areas with ir British backgrounds. American Doa can’t be expected to angle approach for others —although (vernor Lee has made it clear that will be willing to help Western tnoa and Tonga all he can.

US Secretary for the Interior, Mr. swart Udall, also said in Pago Pago July that America would be happy share its educational TV know- Ige with other Pacific territories, d would welcome visits from icials in other islands who want see the system working at first od. (Already Papua-New Guinea has swn some interest. Assistant tministrator, Economic Affairs, Mr.

H. Reeve, said in July that P-NG ght find educational TV very use- TV sets will be supplied by the wernment for use in schools and blic buildings in American Samoa, t if the after-school telecasts turn t to be as interesting as one spects they will be, no doubt mty of private TV sets will begin I arrive—in both Samoas and ►nga.

It’s a safe bet that there are no ts in Western Samoa or Tonga at 5 moment —but American Samoa s a better record. It has one set.

The set, a portable, is owned by r. and Mrs. Frank Becker. Mr. fcker is the Government dentist, d he and his charming wife Grace d their children have been in Pago |ly a few months.

As they were packing their longings in the States ready for eir Samoan adventure, Frank tcker happened to read a small pgraph in a local newspaper, inouncing that Congress had roroved funds for educational TV American Samoa.

“So the TV set went into the icking cases at the last minute,” id Frank. “It’s a very lonely set the moment though.”

Latest move in the educational bnt in P-NG is the recently pounced plan to build a £45,000 Dst-primary school in a semi plated valley 18 miles from iabaul. The new school which will t built at Malabunga will accom modate 500 boarding pupils in five

brmitories.

[it will have two classrooms, toilet nd washing facilities, and there will e two 3-bedroom and one 2bdroom houses for staff.