[?] una Cannery At Norfolk Island

Company Plans 50-Bed Hotel And [?] una Cannery At Norfolk Island

Empress Australian Ltd., an Australian company which i bought the former cable station on Norfolk Island, ex its to re-open it as a 50-bed tourist hotel in late August early September. The company also has plans to establish una cannery on the island.

LLY reports that Japanese tuna oats would supply the cannery ht an indignant reaction in Ik Island (see p. 22). louncing details of the com plans in late May, a spokes :or Empress Australia Ltd. told that the hotel would be called ingfisher and would have a staff aut 11, drawn if possible from Ik Island or Australia, ch room will have its own iom and toilet,” the spokesman “and we plan to offer tourists modern facility. ats for fishing parties, operated cal people, will be available, ntend to apply for a liquor the tourist business improves the next 12 months, we will 00 more beds to the hotel. •. Henri Corboz, a well-known y restaurant proprietor and an ite director of Empress Aus- Ltd., will advise on catering ements and entertainment.” •. Corboz also has an interest lan to develop tourism in New mia, PIM, May, p. 133.) spokesman said that arrange had been made with TAA to oms in the Kingfisher Hotel on anal scale through the airline’s y travel departments in the lian capitals and the larger of Australia and New Guinea. 1 would be done in conjunction Qantas, which at present runs dy air service from Sydney to k Island, using DC-4 aircraft.

"Package Tours"

plifying TAA’s part in this ement, a spokesman for the told PIM that TAA would ackage tours” to Norfolk from lia and return. These would ; the cost of accommodation Kingfisher and road tours on and, which would be arranged \A. A brochure on these ge tours” was being prepared. think Norfolk Island has nt potential and will have con

siderable appeal for the Australian holiday-maker,” the TAA spokesman added.

PIM understands that Qantas will increase its flights to Norfolk Island if traffic warrants it.

Referring to the proposed tuna cannery for Norfolk, the spokesman for Empress Australia Ltd. said: “No cannery will be established unless it is found feasible to build a harbour at the island capable of sheltering 100-ton tuna boats, and the Government agrees to its con struction, “Engineers from the Sydney dredg ing company, G. H. & J. A. Watson Pty. Ltd., have surveyed the possibilities and are drawing up plans for three sites, of which Cascade Bay seems the most practicable.

“When further information is to hand from the engineers, we will submit the plans to the Minister for Territories, Mr. Hasluck, and will ask the Government to assist in the construction of the harbour.

“If the Government agrees to this, we will put up a cannery capable of processing 15,000 tons of tuna a year.

30 Employees

“All the people employed at the cannery would be Australians, and as many as possible would be obtained from Norfolk Island. There could be up to 30 employees.

“Australian fishermen would be given an opportunity of supplying tuna to the cannery. But if they could not cope with the cannery’s needs, then an arrangement with Japanese fishing fleets would have to be considered.

“Any arrangement with the Jap anese would only encompass the supply of frozen tuna, and would not entail the landing or establish ment of Japanese on the island. The tuna would be unloaded in the harbour. The reported reaction of the Norfolk people to possible arrangements with Japanese is premature.”

The spokesman said that Japanese tuna boats were now catching about 70 million dollars worth of tuna a year in the Pacific, part of which came from the waters around Norfolk Island. Most of this tuna was being canned in Japan.

Therefore, any arrangement with the Japanese to supply tuna to a Norfolk Island cannery would be of benefit to the Australian economy.

“If the cannery goes up,” the spokesman went on, “we will acquire a refrigerated ship, and every time this makes a trip to Australia it will be available to carry local produce such as trumpeter and other fish, peas and beans.”

The spokesman said that Empress Australia Ltd. was a public company registered in Perth, Western Aus tralia. It had a nominal capital of £1 million, of which £173,000 was subscribed.

Ninety per cent, of the capital (Over)

was Australian. The rest of the shares were held by overseas interests.

Established in 1962 « T L a , ur , , .

Western S f h 3* haS ff ctorie j at Geraldton and Fremantle and C^fh e drUarv fiS V^ nd fi P u aWn r throUBh its subsidiary, Kingfisher Corporanon.

J^T th^J^ SidiaT \ D S rsogna J makes processed smallgoods and packages meats.

“A fleet of more than 80 boats supplies the company’s needs in Western Australia under contract.

These boats are owned jointly by the company and the fishermen.

“At present, the company holds contracts to supply Japan and the United States with upwards of $5 W °* h ° f Products “The two subsidiaries, Dorsogna a nd Kingfisher Corporation, will su PT?ty a lot of the requirements of our tourist project on Norfolk Island ”

The spokesman added that the directors of Empress Australia Ltd. were Messrs. R. B. Fitzgerald, of Sydney (chairman); J. B. Baker, of Cowra, New South Wales; and G.

Sidoti and W. Potter, of Perth.