Nutshell

In A Nutshell

\RUNKENNESS in Fiji has * decreased greatly as a result of e new liquor laws introduced two lars ago. This is stressed in the port of Fiji’s Central Liquor Board, hich states that in all areas the new ws have led to a decrease in unkenness and an improvement in inking habits.

All Districts agreed on this. The istrict Officer, Ba, reported that the imber of liquor prosecutions in s area was the lowest on record— ily five. In Nadroga, there was me.

The Commissioner, Central ivision, stated that both he and his istrict Officers found that not only id drunkenness declined, but there id been a decrease in the drinking : such noxious home-brews as raisin ck.

The new liquor laws include earlier osing at night, later opening in the orning, and a two-hour break— om 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday ; ternoons. Bars are not open on jndays.

Suggestions made to the Liquor oard included one that the liquor ;rmit system for women should be lolished. The board’s report com icnts: “This is a controversial matter id reports received by the board low that opinion about it is still ivided. In the circumstances, the card considers that it is still too irly to recommend that the permit astern for women should be bolished”. • The bridge over the river at ladi, which was swept away by the larch floods, has been replaced by a )w-level temporary bridge which was pened to traffic on May 27. The ridge is a vital link on the main aad between Fiji’s capital, Suva, and ladi International Airport. • Niue’s first bus arrived on the iland recently. Bought by Arumaki trickland, it was brought ashore on iree lighters tied together, for Niue las no wharf and ships anchor out. .uckily it was a calm day.

It was probably the bulkiest piece f cargo ever to be brought ashore i one piece, and its slow progress rom the ship to the wharf was matched by a large crowd.

• Twenty-eight men, women and children died in an earth slide on May 11 near the Maramuni River in the mountainous area of P-NG’s Western Highlands District, accord ing to a report reaching Port Moresby in June.

The slide started at an altitude of 9,000 ft where it was about half a mile wide and it carried everything before it for 3,000 ft to the edge of the Kamapa River, a tributary of the Maramuni River. • The Kassam Pass Road between Lae, NG, and the Rupert Havilland Memorial on the Kassam Pass is expected to be completed by Sep tember. • According to Noumea’s con servative bi-weekly Bulletin du Commerce, a reliable source in Paris says that a helicopter force of the Metropolitan Gendarmerie will soon be established in Noumea.

Commenting on this, PlM’s Noumea correspondent says: “New Caledonians are wondering just what this means. They were given a glimpse of the gendarmerie in action during the recent strike when radio equipped trucks of gendarmes circula ted in the streets throwing tear gas bombs to break up the crowd. New Caledonia is certainly the most heavily policed island in the Pacific.” • A team headed by Mr. P. M.

Berrill, a senior surveyor from New Zealand’s Department of Lands and Survey, was drilling for underground water on Niue in June. A large volume of fresh water is believed to

lie below the surface of the island, which comprises 100 to 150 feet of coral and basalt rock. • Fifteen Tahitian couples were married on the same day in the Protestant Church at Faaa in June.

Old timers say it is at least 25 years since such a spectacle was last seen in Tahiti. • Four new postage stamps featuring P-NG health services will be issued on August 5. • The GEIC Resident Com missioner, Mr. V. J. Andersen, has approved art work received from the Crown Agents for a new definitive

Colony stamp issue. The desig include outstanding portrayals Gilbertese and Ellice dances a domestic activities. The Queei portrait in silhouette is an unusi feature. The new stamps will issued next year. • The senior geologist in the N( Hebrides, Mr. A. J. Warden, ai the Head of the Mines Departmei Mr. Benoit, flew to Tanna in la May to investigate renewed activi at Yasur volcano.

They reported that jets of la’ were hurled up into the air to height of 1,200 ft by gas releas< from the depths under great pressui and that the shock wave whi( followed each major explosion cou actually be seen flickering across tl smoke-filled interior of the crater fraction of a second before tl shocks set the ground vibrating.

On May 27, a report was receive from Epi of submarine volcan activity which had caused the ten perature of the sea to rise in or area off shore. • Four miles of roads in the Doi Settlement area west of the Bamguin River in P-NG’s Central District ar expected to be completed by Deceit ber. The roads will enable villagei to transport their crops to the coas for shipment. • Norfolk Island passionfru growers were guaranteed 5d a lb fc whole fruit for next season an onwards at a meeting at the Norfol Island Tourist Bureau on June 7, ® About 250 teachers and traine teachers have been recruited this yea from Australia and overseas for th Department of Education in Papua New Guinea.

TO SETTLE ON NORFOLK: Newly-weds and Mrs, J. Parsons, who were ph[?] graphed at the Polynesian Associat clubrooms in Sydney recently, intend settle on Norfolk Island after an exten[?] honeymoon. Mrs. Parsons is a member the numerous Quintal family of Norf Island.— Teel-Photos.

• Plans were announced in May or the construction of a new tourist otel in Tahiti with from 120 to 200 edrooms to be run by the Hilton

irganisation.

• Thirty tons of tomatoes grown n Aitutaki, Cook Islands, were left j rot recently because the New Zea an d Government motor vessel, ioana Roa, failed to call at the iland on its last voyage—according ) a report in New Zealand Truth. ’he loss to growers was estimated t about £750. • The “Torrie Glen” Holiday flats in Queen Elizabeth Avenue, Norfolk Island, have changed hands, 'he flats were established a couple f years ago by Mr. and Mrs. John icott, who are retiring for health easons. The new owners, Mr. and 4rs. Andrew Bell, have been hotel iroprietors and intend making ex ensions to the premises, thereby in reasing tourist accommodation on he island* • The Nauru Local Government Council, at its meeting in May, de eated a motion moved by Councillor ioaeo that “this council is of the ipinion that the liquor laws should ie amended to enable Nauruans to [rink alcoholic liquor.” Voting was hree in favour, two against, and two bstaining. Abstentions were counted is negatives in accordance with the Council’s rules and the motion was leclared defeated. • A further examination of a vreck recently discovered on the eabed in Vila Harbour has dis ounted the theory that the object > a midget Japanese submarine. The /reck was discovered by Reece )iscombe, a well-known diver in the Jew Hebrides. ( PIM, June, p. 99).

Discombe, the French Resident Commissioner, Mr. Maurice De auney, and several other French nen have established that the object s the hull of a ship turned upside lown, and that it is about 110 feet ong. Some long-time residents of /ila believe the wreck is that of a mall collier which was in service ibout half a century ago and which erved as a barge for SFNH until t sank following a cyclone in 1921. • Papua-New Guinea’s Adminis ;ration has paid £15,000 to natives in the Marshall Lagoon area, about SO miles south-east of Port Moresby, for timber rights over 56,700 acres 3f native owned land.

This purchase will mean a new in dustry for the area and employment for many of the local people.

• Preliminary figures just released show that some 2,900 tourists visited Lord Howe Island in 1963, staying an average of 14 days. Airlines of New South Wales ran 123 flights to carry these passengers. • A Sydney couple, Reginald Anthony Powditch and his wife Shashi Kanti Powditch, applied for an order in June to adopt Nalnie (Nancy) Kanti Prasad, a five-year-old Indian girl from Fiji, whose parents left her in Australia last November for medical treatment, after their visitors’ visas to Australia expired.

Nancy’s relatives did not send her

home when she recovered and they later resisted several official attempts to compel them to do so. „ T- j j t • •^PJ irt^ en candidates wiU contest eight Council seats in the first elections to be held at Norfolk Council Ordinance' “ Seven of the candidates are members of the present Council—Councillors Bathie, Christian, Evans, Nobbs, Newbald, Needham and Weslake. Except for Councillor Bathie, all are members of the group known as the “bloc”.

Two former councillors, Gregory

Quintal and William McCoy, are seeking re-election. The other candi dates are Ronald Nobbs, Herbert Buffett and Albert Edward (all mem bers of prominent Island families), and Thomas Lloyd, a Norfolk Islander who has recently returned Spending some years in Sydney c Sur Prise candidate is Mrs. Gwen Stanton, a New Zealander, who has lived on the island for 14 years. If elected, she will be Norfolk’s second woman Councillor. The first was Mrs.

L. C. Donkin, elected in 1960, who served one term but did not seek re election.

• Sir Robert Foster, Britain’s n High Commissioner for the West< Pacific, arrived in Honiara on Ji 16 and was sworn in later that d Sir Robert expects to make his fi official visit to the New Hebri< towards the end of July. • The Governor of New Ca donia, Mr. Marc Biros, the Goverr of French Polynesia, Mr. Ah Grimald, the French Resident Co missioner in the New Hebrides, IS Maurice Delauney, and the Admin trator of Wallis and Futuna, Rambeult, flew to Paris in June attend a conference of France’s ovi seas territories chiefs, presided o'* by France’s Territories Minister, \ Louis Jacquinot.

Also in Paris to see Mr. Jacquin in June were two men concerned wi the staging of the Second South Pa fic Games in Noumea in 1966. Th are Mr. Arnold Daly, a Noum lawyer and New Caledonian Cover ment councillor, and Mr. Roger Ka dour, president of the Territori Committee of Sports in Noumea. • With the inauguration of DC operations by Polynesian Airlint passenger traffic at Apia’s Faleo Airport showed a 100 per cent, i crease for the last quarter of 19( over the same period for 1962. I ward passengers for 1963 were 5,7‘ against 3,671 for 1962, while outwa passengers were 6,091 against 4,16 The Civil Aviation Report for 19( states that it is hoped that the Is Civil Aviation Administration will 1 able to survey the present airpo and any other sites with a view i preparing a development plan.

RESUMING VOYAGE: Seventy-year-ol[?] lone raftsman, William Willis, who lasi year sailed from Callao, Peru, to Westerr Samoa, in 128 days on his raft "Age Unlimited", was due to resume his voyage to Australia towards the end of June.

"Age Unlimited" was to be towed about 35 miles out of Apia and cast off when clear of Savaii.