Secretary Of Spc
pp. 10-11 · Read in the full issue
Mr. W. D. Forsyth Is New
From PlM’s Noumea Correspondent The South Pacific Commission’s first Secretary-General, Mr. W. D. Forsyth, of Australia, has the job again. He will take over in March from T. R. Smith, of New Zealand, who* retires after five years at the post. Changes are expected to* follow Mr. Forsyth’s appointment.
THE decision was made at the 24th session of the SPC, which began here October 15 and will continue until October 30. Other important decisions affecting the future of the
SPC activities are expected before the Con ference ends (for a detailed outline of re cent SPC de velopments see PIM, October, P- 21).
Mr. Forsyth, MA, B.Litt., Dip. Ed., has had a distin
guished career with the Australian Department of External Affairs, where he is at present Assistant Sec retary. He is 53, married with two daughters and one son.
Mr. Forsyth assisted in drafting agreement which established the S< in Canberra in 1947. As the SP C first Secretary-General he set up headquarters in Noumea in 1949, cruited, organised and directed the ternational Secretariat, supervised work programme, organised the ft South Pacific Conference at Suva* 1950, and generally administered launching of the SPC as a going c; cern.
After leaving the SPC in 1951 I Forsyth resumed duty with the I partment of External Affairs in C berra. From 1951-1955 he was Mri ter and Permanent Representatives Australia at the UN and Australi representative on the Trustees Council. In 1956 he returned to dc with the International Organisaft and Economic Relations section i his Department at Canberra. Fn 1959-1961 he served as Ambassar
Mr. Forsyth.
Islanders from Papua-New Guinea, West New Guinea, the Solomons, the Gilber and Ellice Islands and Guam recently completed the first two-year course at this boatbuilding establishment at Auki, Malaita, BSIP, under director-inspector Ceci Fisher. A meeting of the SPC sitting in Noumea in October was to consider plan: for a new course.—Photo: Rob Wright.
/ietnam, and Minister to Laos (to 0). ; was clear to close observers of * activties as soon as Mr. For ’s nomination was mooted some iths ago that changes would occur he SPC if he got the job. It was t unlikely that he would accept position unless he felt there was s of making the SPC into a rous organisation which could e its presence felt. Obviously a iw conference will have to follow session. The session may fix a for it. hint of changes has already been i by the chairman of the present on, Mr. C, G, R. McKay, Senior missioner for NZ, who retires i the SPC at the end of this year. r. McKay pointed out that the erlands would leave the SPC at ;nd of 1962 (they are not repre d at the present session), and everyone regretted that the con ion had not been amended so Western Samoa could join as a member.
'. McKay added that although various Governments recognised need for it, the constitution, lulated for an uncharted course *47”, had not yet been brought line with the realities of today. this session, high praise has given Mr. Smith for his five with the SPC. He has been a popular Secretary-General, vernor of New Caledonia and Commissioner for the French Jlic in the Pacific, Mr. L. E. •ux, said he would “like to say a few words to Mr. and Mrs. for all the kindness and sym they have created in this ry”.
When PIM's Honiara correspondent Gabrielle Lawson reported in October: "Harry Wickham died on Sunday", she closed a chapter of a story that had occupied PIM for many months. It was a story of the Wickham brothers, who in their time had been famous—yet for a great number of years now had been forgotten. For many months Mrs. Lawson had been collecting informa tion from the Wickhams for a PIM story, and she was as sisted recently when former Australian Coastwatcher Reg Evans revisited his old haunts and renewed acquaintance with his old friends the Wickhams. Mr. Evans took this last photograph of the Wickhams together—Harry on the right. Harry Wickham is now dead. The full story of he and Alec is yet to be told, but here is some if it, reported by Mrs. Lawson and Mr. Evans from the lips of the two men themselves: