Restrictions On
p. 42 · Read in the full issue
Liquor Lifted
In The Gelc
Restrictions on the consump; tion of beer and sour toddy b T persons over 21 were lifted ii the Gilbert and Ellice Island;
Colony on January 16, the
Sir David Trench, High Com~
missioner for the Western Pad fic and Governor-designate o Hong Kong, arrived in Taraws on a farewell visit to the Colony PREVIOUSLY, islanders had tc . obtain permits before they coulc drink beer, wines, spirits and soir toddy (fermented sap from the flowei spathe of the coconut palm).
First customers at the Bairik; branch store of the Wholesale Society (licensed for off-sales) were foui Gilbertese women who bought half-a dozen cans of beer each and bore them solemnly away.
Clearly intended as a symbolic gesture, it fell rather flat, perhaps be cause during the last few years the number of permit holders had grown considerably, and with more than a suspicion of bootlegging, most people, at least on Tarawa, who wished to drink, did so.
On the same day opening hours at the Colony’s only public bar, Neii Binobino on Betio, were extended.
But although the house was packed! and a few arrests for drunkenness were made, the occasion passed very quietly.
Recent Progress
Most of Sir David Trench’s time in the GEIC was spent in discussions with Resident Commissioner Mr.
V. J. Andersen but he found time to visit several islands and inspect pro gress since his last visit about 12 months ago.
Recent progress includes; • The completion of the cement causeways across the reefs at Tarawa so that there is now a carriageway from Bairiki to Bonriki. • The building of a small hotel overlooking the sea at Bikenibeu for passengers coming by air when the Fiji Airways Service to the Colony begins soon. The hotel was built by the Government.