For Nauru

Air Link

Planned

The mid-Pacific phosphate island of Nauru may soon get its own regular air service—under charter arrangement.

THE British Phosphate Commis sioners, who operate the phosphate workings on behalf of Australia, NZ, and the UK, are at present looking at a scheme to establish a charter service between Sydney and Nauru, providing for 26 return flights a year. There would be two return flights every fourth week, using DC4 aircraft.

The principal purpose of the charter would be to provide com munication for officials travelling be tween Australia and Nauru and for the carriage of urgently needed machinery parts, but no doubt other travellers may be able to get on board, depending on the amount of space available.

Nauru has had an airfield since World War II and it was brought up to DC4 standard about five years ago.

It has been used occasionally for mercy flights, and early last year the Australian Minister for Territories, Mr. Barnes, flew there from Can berra on an official visit. In De cember a Qantas DC4 charter flew to Nauru from Melbourne with school children going home for Christmas and unable to obtain passages on the phosphate ships. The flight was via Brisbane and Honiara.

It left Melbourne late in the after noon and reached Nauru a little after noon the following day. Another charter will bring the children back to Australia at the end of January.

Fiji Airways, which operates to Tarawa from Fiji, eventually plans to extend to Nauru.

This was the scene on Nauru in November during Remembrance Day when Nauru remembered its many war dead. This memorial was erected to a former Administrator, Lieut-Col.

F. R. Chalmers, and to Administration and Phosphate Commission officers, who were executed by the Japanese following the occupation of Nauru in World War II. Many Nauruans were deported by the Japanese to northern islands, where they were

treated harshly.