yestersday

Although the Allies had regained the control of all Pacific islands including Indonesia by February 1945, PIM said in an editorial that month that the Australian and American troops had by-passed roughly 150,000 Japanese in parts of New Guinea, the Marshall Islands, and the Caroline Islands so that “disturbed conditions” would probably continue there for a long time.

OTHER items in PIM for Feb ruary, 1945, were: The Victoria Cross, awarded posthumously to Corporal Sefanaia Sukanaivalu, of the Fiji Military Forces, was presented to his father, Lote Vulakoro, by Fiji’s Governor, Mr. A. W. G. H.

Grantham, at a ceremonial parade in Suva. * * * Bring Another Glass, a thriller by Mrs. Georgina Seton, wife of a well-known Solomon Islands planter, was published by Angus and Robertson Ltd., Sydney.

PIM said of it in a review that it was “probably the first time in literary history” that a thriller had been based wholly on life in a South Seas territory.” * * * PlM’s Apia correspondent re ported that Western Samoans were returning to their normal work of producing cocoa and bananas as they realised that the dollar-prosperity brought to their islands by the war was “definitely over”. * * ♦ The Islands trading and ship ping firm of Nelson and Robert son Pty. Ltd., celebrated its 50th

Anniversary on February 18, 1944. * * * The wives of several planters in Papua, who were living in Australia as evacuees, had re ceived letters from the Depart ment of External Territories stating that their applications to return to Papua in the near future would be considered.

Although women missionaries and civilian nurses had been allowed to return, no wives of planters had been given permission to do so. * * * Western Samoan leaders left no doubt in the mind of the New Zealand Prime Minister, Mr.

Peter Fraser, that they wished to run their own affairs when they met him in Apia in December, 1944. * * ♦ The three leading stores in Suva—Burns Philp (South Sea) Co. Ltd., W. R. Carpenter and Co. (Fiji) Ltd., and Morris Hedstrom Ltd.—had recently re duced their business hours by half an hour. The new trading hours were 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., with an hour’s break from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., instead of 8 a.m. to

5 p.m. PlM’s Suva correspondent said that the move to shorten business hours would probably be followed by other businesses. * * * A Papuan Association had been formed in Brisbane with the chief object of immediately restoring the Murray Administration in Papua.

This was the scene in Papeete in November, 1906, when the United States Government opened a new con sulate building to replace one that was badly damaged by seas from a hurri cane which swept the Tuamotus on February 7 that year.

The building overlooked the water front and was on land which Queen Pomare IV gave to the United States in the 1830's.

It stood until 1954, when it was demolished because of old age. How ever, it had been closed as a consulate in 1948—the consul having been with drawn for economic reasons.

Now, after a lapse of 17 years, the United States is to open a new consulate in Papeete, with Mr. George Grey, formerly US consul in Fiji, as consul. Mr. Grey moved to Tahiti from Fiji in January.

A long-drawn-out lawsuit over the land on which the consulate was built is currently before the High Court in Paris, following an appeal to the Tahiti courts, by descendants of Queen Pomare, soon after the consulate was closed, claiming that the land should revert to the Queen's estate because it had only been granted to the US for a consulate. The US Government is contesting the case.