The Editons' Mailbag

Australia's Immigration Policy

Sir, —I read with considerable interest the letter by P. Dwyer {PIM, Jan.) under the heading of “New Guinea’s Pit-Pit Curtain”.

As an Australian who has lived and worked in both Papua-New Guinea and Western Samoa, and been conscious of Australia’s image abroad, I have found that, just as America’s foreign policy seems to tarnish its image overseas, so Aus tralia’s immigration policy is always reflected as a speck in the eye.

Tom Mboya, brilliant and dynamic African leader, in his book, Freedom and After, has this to say, when discussing the Common wealth:— “There are other tests ahead which we can see already: the ‘white Australia’ policy, for example.

This policy must change, and Aus tralians are beginning to realise there is no longer hope for such a policy. There was a time when Australia was so far ‘down there’ away from the world, that she felt she was a world unto her own self.

But today she is growing swiftly closer to her neighbours and the rest of the world. Canada, also, has known its racial problems. ... In January, 1962, Canada dropped many discriminatory aspects of her immigration laws, and one hopes Australia may follow the example of Canada. It would certainly re move a likely cause of antagonism between Commonwealth countries.”

The significant fact about this is, that in the whole book, it is about the only reference to Australia. Let us hope the lead set by President Johnson in overhauling America’s immigration laws is followed.

Congratulations to correspondent P. Dwyer for highlighting the indignity imposed upon fellow Aus tralian citizens who are not wholly of European descent, and for tak ing up the cudgels on behalf of these people. Scientifically, even the terms mixed blood and mixed race are mythical, and defy proper definition.

It is a sad state too, as pointed out by Mr. Oala Gala Rama, when Australians, arriving in Kenya for the Independence Day celebrations, have to be introduced as Australian aborigines, and not just merely as Australians. And I do not feel proud either, when a Samoan

pastor, visiting Australia for the first time, relates to me the rude and undignified reception he re ceived from an ignorant Australian Customs and Immigration official.

Let us have a more enlightened attitude towards our fellow citizens, and our fellow human beings, on this planet and in this modern world, and let it permeate through all sections of the community.

John Milne.

Apia, W. Samoa.

New Britain Coin Find

Sir, —Your story about the dis covery of the 1793 Spanish coin in New Britain ( PIM, Jan., p. 89) was of special interest to me. You may be interested to know that I have in my possession an 1854 English coin, in almost perfect preservation, given to me in 1946, by the elders of the Nakanai people, who are on the north coast of New Britain, The Spanish coin was picked up on the south coast.

I consider my coin came from one of the old whalers that opera ted off the coasts of New Britain last century and even before, or from a “blackbirder”.

When relating their folk lore the Nakanai could tell me much about those old whaling ships, their names, number of masts, etc.

As you no doubt know, New Britain is right in the “fairway” of the route taken by the yearly migration of whales from the opposite poles, and during the period mentioned the whalers operated off the New Britain coasts and did most of their boiling down of blubber ashore.

Those natives could still point out where the huge cauldrons stood and speak of the vast amount of firewood required.

No doubt odd coins would have been given to the locals—or been stolen by them—and being of little or no material use to them, they would have been put away or buried as Totems, or the like.

Jack West.

Rabaul, New Guinea.

Sir, —Reference your article on the mysterious New Britain coin find. Coins are likely to turn up in odd places in the South Seas.

Until 1880, there was no legalised

currency in the Kingdom of Tonga, and English and American coins were circulated, while the Germans used only the Chilean or Bolivian dollar.

Many of the natives refused to accept the dollars in payment for trade, and in the Vavau Group they had gone so far as to refuse to allow them to be used by any traders— in other words, they banished them.

The Germans resented this as an act unfriendly to the Imperial Gov ernment. Pressure was brought to bear, and King George I of Tonga, by Royal proclamation dated August 3, 1880, established as legal tender: All English coins both gold and silver; All French gold coins, and silver five-franc pieces; All gold coins of the United States, and the silver dollar, half dollar and quarter-dollar; Chilean and Mexican dollars and half-dollars.

So no doubt there were many stray coins around the Pacific long before 1880 or even 1793.

J. D. Whitcombe.

Auckland, NZ.

Unfair To Mynahs!

Sir, —We mynahs must speak for ourselves since no man will defend us; [See PIM, Jan. p. 27, for das tardly attack on the “detested” mynah bird]. We are proud of our member ship in the distinguished, intelligent, and highly successful crow family.

Like you humans, we are adap table and readily (if you’ll pardon the expression) colonize new lands.

Some members of our family have striking plumage, beautiful voices, and no nasty habits. One such aristocrat is the Australian magpie, Gymnorhina tibicen, whose presence enhances the charm of Taveuni, in the Fiji group.

Perhaps we mynahs are more plebian and nondescript but even non-birdwatching humans should know that there are two species of us on Viti Levu in Fiji—the Brown Mynah, Acridotheres tristis, often seen around towns and the Gray Mynah, A. fuscus, more common in the country. Both of us came from India, not of our own free will, but at the behest of the mighty CSR Co.

Now to the very important matter of diet. If we are hungry enough, we will eat anything we can get our beaks into. We consume, and inadvertently spread, weed seeds but we damage fruit crops much less often than our cousins the starlings, or the completely unrelated Indian

Bulbul, Pycnonotus cafer bengalen sis.

We mynahs prefer to eat insects and are the only birds in Fiji which swarm into rice or cane fields to consume armyworms. In freshly turned fields, we also eat vast numbers of white grubs and other pests. We are far more useful than the bulbul, the introduced finches, or most of the native birds.

This rumour that we pick on native birds must be stopped. Their disappearance from the lowlands can usually be attributed to changes in the environment other than our arrival.

In Hawaii, native birds retreated as man and goats destroyed the forest. Some became extinct when their food trees vanished and avian diseases were introduced with cage birds and poultry. Pigs and the mongoose, not the much maligned mynah, are enemies of ground nesting birds in Hawaii and Fiji.

We do not compete with in digenous birds since we occupy habitats they never filled. In Fiji, native honeyeaters, flycatchers, swal lows, as well as a swiftlet, a triller, a kingfisher, a white-eye, a finch, and a small parrot, coexist peacefully with mynahs, A final point, as the Apia re presentative of A. tristis, I consider the phrase “very numerous” an in accurate description of our status in Samoa. There are four of us (my wife, two nestlings, and I) living in the Cathedral plus eight fledglings who have moved to the suburbs. This is hardly a population explosion and we certainly cannot have contributed to the rarity of native birds in the lowlands. My kin in Rarotonga may be getting unjustly blamed for damage done by you men.

Mr. Mynah.

Apia, W. Samoa.

New Guinea Air Pioneers

Sir, —I was a little disgusted to read that Arthur Affleck wrote in his book [reviewed PIM, Nov., p. 91] that I had several times written to him to join the PAT in New Guinea.

This was not true. Moreover, his previous boss, Sir Hudson Fysh wrote to me after I had accepted Affleck’s application to join the PAT. I had never heard of Affleck until then and his references were accepted.

Sir Hudson Fysh accused me of taking Affleck away from his (Qantas) services. His actual words, apparently written in temper, were: “Us pioneers must stick together.

It has never occurred to me to take

from another operating company a pilot or mechanic, however much needed, and it would never occur to any self-respecting company to do this”.

I replied that in his application to us for a position as pilot Affleck had said that he had left Qantas and we had engaged him believing that he was seeking employment.

The reason that Affleck was kept on the slower machines was that we had no knowledge of his ability, and he was unknown to us.

He says that some of our

machines were old and slow. We were operating without subsidy and had to make the best of the machines we had. Qantas airlines were sub sidised.

Ray Parer.

Mt, Nebo, Queensland.

Cargo For Vavau

Sir, —Your article about the South Seas cruise ships in your November issue (p. 65) contains certain errors of fact about Vavau.

Firstly, you state that Vavau mer

chants save double handling charges when tourist liners call. While this would be true if we made use of the liners, in fact, no cargo has ever been received by these liners.

We would be quite prepared to use the liners to carry cargo, but since they anchor in the stream, un loading costs nearly as much as normal transhipment charges. We are, of course, always glad to avoid handling charges, but to date we have found Bank Line vessels visit ing here to ship copra more con venient, and we also now have the Tongan vessel Niuvakai which regu larly brings our cargoes direct.

Your statement that visitors to Vavau either have to go ashore in the liner’s boats or see what they can from the liner is also incorrect for we bring them ashore in local launches. The only liners which have used their own launches have been the RMS Caronia and MV Bergensfjord. They do this because they find they can get the passengers ashore quicker with their crews, who are specially trained in ferrying work.

M. G. Strong.

Burns Philp (SS) Co. Ltd., Vavau, Tonga.

Wants Real Estate Adverts

Sir, —I am enclosing my remit tance for another year of PIM. I enjoy reading it very much. One curious thing;—you print a great deal more news about American Samoa than appears in the US Press!

Could you please print more advertisements of Queensland real estate for sale—especially small islands?

Elmer R. Boggs.

Eugene, Oregon, USA.

The Australian Language—

And Pidgin

Sir, —Twenty years ago, I wrote a book called The Australian Lan guage. This was a large-scale study of Australian slang, idiom and speech habits, and included an ex tensive examination of Pidgin English in the Pacific up to that time.

The Commonwealth Literary Fund has now favoured me with a grant to bring that book up to date.

Since more has happened in Pacific social growth after 1945 than in any comparable period of its history, you will be aware that the study I wrote then of Pacific Pidgin or

Beach-la-Mar will have to be re written.

Could I encroach on your space to ask that anyone, anywhere in the Pacific, who could help in this under taking, should send me observations, contributions and suggestions?

Australia and the Pacific Islands are—and have been for more than a century—one of the world’s most fascinating linguistic laboratories. It

is virtually impossible to keep pace with the changes that occur let alone to round up all the linguistic relics of our colourful yesterdays.

That is where your readers come in. Any help they can offer—on Pidgin or on general slang and idiom —will be greatly appreciated.

Sidney J. Baker.

6 Woods Avenue, Woollahra, NSW.