People

AFTER 13 years of service with the South Pacific Commission in Noumea, Miss Muriel Mathisson, a New Zealander, has returned to Auckland to live. Miss Mathisson served as secretary to four Secretaries- General of the Commission, Sir Brian Freeston, and Messrs. R. Bedal, T.

R. Smith and W. Forsyth, who is currently in office. From 1943 to 1947 she worked in a civil capacity with the United States Forces in Noumea —in the “Pentagon”, the building that became and still is the headquarters of the South Pacific Commission. * * * Mr. L. R. Rex, Niue’s delegate at the last three South Pacific Con ferences has been appointed Com munity Development Officer on Niue.

For the past six years, Mr. Rex has been organising teacher and inspector of schools, Niue. He has also been official interpreter to the Government and High Court since 1953. * * * The Rev. John Sturney has suc ceeded the Rev. Bernard Thorogocpd as London Missionary Society mis sionary at Rarotonga. Mr. Sturney, who is married with two children, was previously stationed at Aitutaki. Mr.

Thorogood has been appointed to Tarawa, GEIC, with his wife and son John. The popular Thorogoods were given many farewells before they left the Cook Islands. Besides their church work, they gave much valuable service to the Library- Museum project, the Boys Brigade, Girl Guides and women’s institutes.

The building of the Takamoa Hostel for Tereora schoolchildren was due to their initiative and resource. * * * Dr. J. A. Kay, who has been ap pointed Chief Medical Officer on Niue, is expected to reach the island in the Tofua in August. Dr. Kay, who is attached to the South Pacific Health Service, is married with three children. * * * Hard-working secretary of the New Zealand Lepers Trust Board, Mr. P.

J. Twomey, was making another South Seas visit in July, and was last reported headed for the New Hebrides after calling at Fiji.

Mr. John Mogeridge, of the Direc torate of Overseas Survey, flew from Honiara to the UK in July for medical treatment after being injured in the back and neck by a jeep at Gizo. * * * Mr. Edwin Gold, an old Islands hand who settled on Mangaia, Cook Islands, about 40 years ago, has been in hospital there lately with a mysterious illness. Long-time readers of PIM will remember Mr. Gold as a contributor of many brightly written articles and news items back in the 30’s and 40’s. * * ♦ Mr. Dave Kay, secretary of Burns Philp in Vila for several years, left the New Hebrides to take up a new position in Australia early in July.

Mr. Kay was an active member of the Vila Cricket Club, Ex-Service men’s Club and Golf Club, and was a referee in the local soccer asso ciation. His wife was an outstanding social worker in Vila. * * ♦ Mr. Justin Lewis, 38, has been ap pointed Fiji’s Attorney-General. He replaces Mr. A. M. Greenwood, QC, who retired in April. Mr. Lewis has been in the Colonial Service since 1953. He came to Fiji then as a Crown Counsel. He became Solicitor- General in 1956 when Mr, Green wood, who held that post, was pro moted to Attorney-General. * * * Mr. Harry Jackman, Assistant Director of the Department of Trade and Industry in Papua-New Guinea, arrived in Saipan, the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, on July 6 to take up a temporary post for six months as Co-operatives Officer for the Trust Territory Government. * * * A British trade unionist, Mr. Dave Barrett, left Fiji in July after spend ing six months in the Colony to give advice and help to the Fiji trade union movement. Mr. Barrett was sent to the Colony by the British Trade Union Congress. He ran classes for trade union officials and organised a new union for factory workers. * * * Emosi Vuakatagane, an executive officer in the Fiji Lands Department, will begin a year’s course in public administration at Manchester Univer sity in September. * * * Mr. G. I. Firmston-Williams, manager of the Fiji Development Co.

Ltd., a subsidiary of the Colonial De velopment Corporation, has been ap pointed CDC Regional Controller in the Caribbean. He will leave Fiji early in August. His successor is Mr.

S. Hunter, manager of the agricul tural section of the Fiji Development Co. * * * The London Evening Standard music critic recently described the daughter of a P-NG Administration official as the “successor to Australia’s Miss Joan Sutherland”. The girl is Miss Barbara Holt, daughter of Mr.

Percy Holt, a teacher at Hawain Technical School, in the Sepik. Miss Holt has been singing in Britain and on the Continent, and has been in vited to appear in this year’s Wagner Festival at Bayreuth.

Fasuanga Fuimaona, a Wes tern Samoan agricultural officer, ar rived in P-NG recently to study Ter ritory methods of growing and pro cessing cocoa and coconuts on behalf of the West Samoan Government. * * * A Papuan who may have estab lished a world record for Government service retired on June 28. He is Mr.

Kabua Cairo of Hanuabada village, Port Moresby, who worked for the Administration for 67 years. He was awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for meritorious service.

Kabua joined the Administration as a messenger for Sir William Mac- Gregor in 1896. He was Supreme Court Interpreter from 1924 until his retirement.

Among 70 people who attended a farewell to Kabua in the Supreme Court, Port Moresby, were Acting Chief Justice Ollerenshaw, Mr. Jus tice Smithers, barristers, solicitors, court officials and leading European and native citizens. * * * Mr. Rowan Nicks, a surgeon with a visiting Australian thoracic team surgeon, removed a piece of an arrow head from a man’s chest at Port Moresby General Hospital. The patient, Herega, of Tari in the Southern Highlands, was hit by the arrow 10 years ago. He received 23 pints of blood during the operation. * * * Rusiate Nayacakalou is the first Fijian to become a Doctor of Philosophy. He took his final exa minations in London in May. Dr.

Rusiate gained his BA and MA de grees in Anthropology at the Univer sity of Auckland. He is now doing re search at the University of Hawaii.

Australia’s first Nauruan wedding took place in Canberra on June 21 when two young students Labi Harris, 22, and Susan Arran, 20, were married at St. Columba’s Presbyterian Church. Labi is studying accountancy and Susan is doing a secretarial course at Canberra Technical College. * * * Mr. G. des Granges has been elected president of the New Hebrides Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, which held its inaugural meeting in Vila on June 14. Mr. des Granges is also president of the local Agricultural Association and is a mem ber of the Economic and Social Council of the French Republic.

Other officers of the chamber are: Mr, J. Stegler, vice-president; Mr. J.

Chauveau, secretary; and Mr. G.

Meyer, treasurer. Mr. Stegler is Vila manager of Burns Philp; Mr. Cnau veau is manager of CFNH; and Mr.

Meyer is manager of the Bank of Indo-China. The chamber has de cided to hold its next meeting in October. * * * Mr. J. Chapman, of the BSIP Forestry Department, left the Protec torate in June to take up a new ap pointment with the Woods and Forests Department in South Aus tralia. $ * Mr. Lew Friday, who spent six years in New Caledonia during the war and has made several visits since, will be returning to Noumea in August for an indefinite stay. * * * Mr. Murray Groves, senior lecturer in Social Anthropology at the Uni versity of Auckland, has recently been teaching anthropology at the summer session of the University of Hawaii after doing the same thing during the 1962-63 academic year at Brandeis University, Waltham, Mas sachusetts. He will return to Auck land in September after a few weeks in Samoa and Fiji.

Another anthropologist from Auck land University, Dr. R. N. H.

Bulmer, will return to the NG High lands in August to resume a study of the Karam people begun several years ago. Dr. Bruce Biggs and Mr. An drew Pawley, also from Auckland, will join him at Christmas to continue linguistic researches begun by Dr.

Biggs. * * * Mr. David Pitt, an anthropology graduate from Auckland Uni., has been awarded the B.Litt. degree at Oxford for a thesis on economic de velopment problems in Polynesia.