Deaths Of Islands People

Mr. Thomas Bray Bailey

The death occurred at Norfolk ;and on December 9 of Mr. Thomas say Bailey, deputy president of the ;and Council. Mr. Bailey, who is 69, was a veteran of the Pacific ible Board.

IMr. Bailey was born on Norfolk jand on February 20, 1893, at a imestead built by his father, George iiley, who came to the island from evon to work with the Melanesian iission and married Emily Christian, descendant of Bounty mutineer Etcher Christian. -At 16, after schooling on Norfolk, ir. Bailey joined the Cable Board • d did tours of duty at Southport Queensland), Auckland, Suva, Fan ng Island and on his home island.

On his retirement in 1948, he re ined to his family home which he veloped into one of the most at nctive homes on the island. He also icame active in public affairs as a ember of the Norfolk Island Hos tal Board, Rawson Hall Trust and deputy president of the Norfolk land Council.

In a tribute, Norfolk News, the ;and’s news sheet said: “Throughout s life Tom Bailey displayed a strong nse of duty to the family; his oroughness in anything he under ok was outstanding; and in his •proach to the many problems of orfolk Island, he applied a broad inded commonsense tempered by his erseas experience.

“His good sense of humour and his •ility to enjoy life to the full will ng be remembered. His passing is )t only a sad loss to his family and lends but a great los sto Norfolk land.”

Mr. Bailey left a widow, Mrs. Edna iiley, who was in New Zealand at e time of his death, and a daughter, iss Marie Bailey, who is secretary the Norfolk Island Tourist Bureau.

Mr. Herbert Tasman Atchison The death occurred in Auckland cently of Mr. Herbert Tasman Darby) Atchison, a former chief frigerating engineer in the MV ofua, who was widely known roughout the Pacific.

Mr. Atchison, who was 72, was >rn at Westport, New Zealand. He ined the Union Steam Ship Com my Ltd. as a young man and served many of that company’s ships on e Islands run.

He served in the MV Matua from *36 to 1951, and in the Tofua from

1951 until 1958. His ashes were scattered over the sea by Captain Norman Pearson on a recent voyage of the Tofua.

Mr. Atchison left a widow, Mrs.

Agnes Atchison, a son and a daughter.

Mr. R. B. Morwood Mr. Robin Bilbrough Morwood, the Acting Principal Forest Officer for the New Guinea mainland, died at his home at Lae recently. He was 29.

Mr. Morwood, a Bachelor of Science, joined the Administration in 1954 as a Cadet Forest Officer. He later attended the Australian Forestry School in Canberra where he obtained a Diploma of Forestry.

On returning to P-NG in 1956, he was stationed at Wau, Bulolo, Port Moresby and finally Lae, where he had been in charge of the Regional Forest Office for 14 months.

Mr. Morwood left a widow and a nine-month-old son, Brian John.

Mr. Peter Clausen Fabricus Western Samoa lost one of its oldest and best known European citi zens in December with the death of Mr. Peter Clausen Fabricius at the age of 73.

Mr. Fabricius, who ran a business in Apia from 1910 to 1950, was born at Falealili, Western Samoa, on Sep tember 4, 1889—six months after the famous hurricane in which three German and three American warships were lost in Apia roadstead.

His father, a Dane, came from Marstal Island in Denmark; his mother, Phoebe Allen, was the daughter of an early American trader and his Samoan wife.

Mr. Fabricius was educated in Auckland and at the Marist Brothers School and the German school in Apia. On leaving school, his father had him apprenticed to a department store in Auckland so that he could gain experience for work in the family business in Apia.

Mr. Fabricius returned to Apia on his father’s death in 1910 and took over the family business with his brother Rasmus. He was prominent in the commercial and social life of Apia until 1950 when the business was sold to E. A. Coxon & Co. Ltd.

Mr. Fabricius is survived by his widow Margaret, a son, Peter, of Auckland, and a daughter, Mrs. J.

B. Wright, of Apia.

In a tribute to Mr. Fabricius, the Samoa Bulletin said: “His many friends will remember him as a gentleman of the old school—a genial and kindly host with a zest for life and never-ending fund of interesting anecdotes and reminiscences of the days when the port of Apia was crowded with the masts of sailing ships of many nations and modern Samoan history was in the making.”

Mr. Walter Alfred Bock The death occurred at Caloundra, Queensland, in December of Mr.

Walter Alfred Bock, a former Gov ernment Printer at the Government Printing Office in Port Moresby.

Mr. Bock joined the Government Printing Office in 1912 and was fore man for many years until his appoint ment as Government Printer in 1934.

Apart from a period during the war when he was with the Government Printing Office in Canberra, he re mained in the Territory until his re tirement in 1957.

Mr. Bock played the organ at Ela United Church, Port Moresby, for 40 years, and was a former Grand Master of the Port Moresby Masonic Lodge.

"Captain Cook"

A well-known New Hebridean figure, “Captain Cook”, a native of Mataso, died recently. “Captain Cook”, who was about 50, ran a trading launch round the Shepherd Group, bringing copra to Vila and returning to the islands with stores.

He was badly injured in 1961 when petrol drums exploded on his boat.

Singerau

A New Guinean who was awarded a Loyal Service Medal in 1950 for his long service with the Administra tion, died in December at the age of 60. He was Singerau of Baikeb village, New Hanover.

The late Singerau served with the police for 26 years—from 1921 to his retirement in 1947, attaining the rank of sergeant-major first class, Viliua Kumitau The death occurred at Tufua, Niue, on October 1, of Viliua Kumitau, who served in the Education Depart ment of the Niue Island Public Ser vice for 33 years. He began his career as a teacher in 1924, and re tired as a head teacher in 1958.

Viliua, who was 62, is survived by his widow and four adopted children.