People

Mr. Bruce Roberts, officer in charge of the South Pacific Commission’s Literature Bureau for about 10 years, resigned in October and is currently doing a “grand tour” of Europe. Mr.

Roberts was responsible for the direc tion and development of the Bureau’s activities in the fields of literature promotion, literacy, territorial libraries and audio-visual aids.

At the SPC’s last session, a resolu tion was passed expressing regret at Mr. Roberts’ retirement and apprecia tion of what he has done for the SPC. Mr. Roberts is expected back in Sydney early in the new year, but so far he has kept his plans for the future under his hat. * * * Mr. H. Cogger played recordings of frog calls to Papuans recently to help them catch him the kind of frogs he wanted. Mr. Cogger, Curator of Reptiles at the Australian Museum, Sydney, was on a three months’ visit to P-NG, during which he collected hundreds of snakes, lizards and frogs. One of the most interesting frogs was one captured at about 10,000 ft, at Murray Pass, which laid eggs, and hatched frogs— not tadpoles, as is normal with frogs. ♦ * ♦ Father Henry Hoff, SVD, who is pilot for three Divine Word Missionary Vicariates in NG, has just logged up 10,000 flying hours.

This is equivalent to flying 40 times around the world, or flying two return trips to the moon. Another long flying Divine Word pilot in P-NG is Bishop Leo Arkfeld, SVD, Vicar Apostolic of Wewak, who has logged over 8,000 hours. ♦ * * P-NG businessman and politician, Mr. J. L. Chipper, left Rabaul on October 18 for a private, five-month study tour of Africa’s new nations.

He will investigate problems which he says he hopes Australia can avoid m the political emergence of P-NG. * * * Mr. H. W. Simmonds, whose work as an official entomologist in the South Pacific Islands has made him Famous, returned to Fiji, from a 9tnonths’ visit to Europe and Asia, by the Orsova in November. It would appear that an entomologist never really goes on holiday. Ac :ompanied by Mrs. Simmonds, the

veteran scientist (he is now 87) re visited places in England where he first studied insects, examined bugs in Malaya, and chased and caught in New Zealand a species of butterfly which he thinks has not yet been identified. Some of the rhinoceros beetle predators from Africa and elsewhere which Mr. Simmonds intro duced to the Solomons, Fiji and Samoa in the last couple of decades are now becoming established, and they yet may take control of the coconut pest in those countries. * * * Dr. T. Freeman arrived in Vila in November to replace Dr. Ron Ramm as Superintendent of the Paton Memorial Hospital. Dr. Ramm will return to Australia. Dr. Freeman was with the Papua-New Guinea Health Service until June this year.

Before that, he held hospital appoint ments in New South Wales and Queensland. * Hs * Canberra authors, Ronald and Lyndon Rose, who a few years ago lived for a time in Western Samoa, left Sydney by Pan Am in November for Naviti, in the Yasawas group of Fiji. Ronald Rose is doing colour photographs for a children’s book to be published by William Collins and his wife is gathering background in formation on Indian-Fijian relations.

A Fiji Indian, Mr. Shri Prasad, his wife, and four of their children returned to Suva in November after being ordered to leave Australia.

They went to Australia last year on a visitor’s permit and sought to stay there with members of their family.

Permission to remain was refused.

Australia’s Minister for Immigra tion, Mr. Downer, described their fight to avoid deportation as “a deliberate attempt to circumvent the Australian Government’s migration policy”. * ♦ ❖ Mr. J. C. Potts, managing director of South Pacific Sugar Mills in Fiji, has been appointed to the head office of the CSR Company in Sydney.

Mr. H. G. Nicholls remains in charge of the CSR’s Fiji affairs and chairman of South Pacific Sugar Mills. Mr.

A. S. Hermes becomes chief manager for CSR in Fiji, and managing director of SPSM.

South Pacific Sugar Mills Limited, is a wholly owned subsidiary of CSR. * * * The Rt. Rev. J. C. Vockler, Bishop in Polynesia, has returned to Fiji after a five-month visit to England,

Ireland, Canada and the United States. He says he expects consider able assistance both financially and from a staff point of view as a result of his visit. * * * Sir Alfred Savage, who is to review the salaries of civil servants in Fiji arrived in the Colony on November 11, accompanied by Lady Savage. * * sjs Councillor C. A. Stinson, Mayor of Suva for the past four years, was recently re-elected by a unanimous vote. He was unopposed. ♦ * ♦ Old New Guinea-hand Eric Feldt, now retired in Brisbane, made a brief visit to Sydney in November, where he looked up some more old hands —among them Josephine Holm, widow of Bob Gurney; Mrs. J.

G. Hardy, widow of coast watcher Bill Kyle; Mrs. Marjorie Evensen and Mrs. Alice (“Mum”) Bowring. Mrs. Bowring, who now lives at Croydon, celebrated her 81st birthday in November—and had a cake with one candle on it. She has been recovering from a recent bout pf poor health. Eric Feldt says he is healthy, and he looks it, although Mrs. Feldt is recovering from a re cent operation. While in Sydney he also ran into Mr. F. P. Archer, down From Rabaul.

Solomon Dakai, who was manager of the Solomon Islands team at the South Pacific Games in Suva in September, is a Honiara man noted for his good works—and his music. His good works were recognised by the Queen recently with the award of the MBE and his music is known to many outside the Solomons because of his

guitar-and-empty-tea-chest combination,

Solomon Dakai and his Solomon Islanders.

Photo: Stan Whippy.