Watson Ships May

Call At New South Seas Ports

By a Staff Writer

The Matson Line is looking at the ossibility of increasing Pacific tours i the “Mariposa” and “Monterey” •om six to eight weeks in the orthern winter because so many mericans want to get away from \e cold weather.

HHE Matson Line general sales I- manager for the South Pacific irvice, Australian-born Mr. Matt urie, spent some time in the South sas in June and July.

He said in Sydney that Rarotonga as a port which could benefit from i extension, for instead of just illing there, and having Islands mce groups go on board for itertainment, passengers might be nded to take advantage of local ithing beaches.

After leaving Auckland the liners iuld perhaps cruise to Milford mnd in the South Island of New ;aland, and then across to Tas ania, and from either Hobart or mnceston, up the coast of New ►uth Wales to Sydney.

Mr. Lurie considers it may be issible to cruise through the Barrier jef after leaving Sydney and then ad east to Noumea and Suva.

Mr. Lurie said the Matson Line is also considering visiting new rts such as Port Moresby, Honiara, vusavu, Nukualofa and Vavau.

There was an undoubted demand r South Pacific travel among nericans —so much so, that the ariposa and Monterey were almost capacity (94 per cent.) for every aise.

There was a need for another ship, d Matson was looking at the issibility of increasing the fleet.

About 4,000 tourists—2,soo of them from outside New Guinea —are expected to attend Mt. Hagen’s famous annual show on August 21-22.

The show will be the largest event of its kind seen in the Territory, with at least 70,000 natives partici pating in a “sing-sing” in full cere monial regalia and Bird of Paradise plumes.

Most of the visitors will be bil leted in private homes. They will be among the first visitors to Mt. Hagen to alight at the new 5,400 ft airstrip at Kagamuga, which is about 10 miles out of town.

Although the new airport was officially opened by Lord Mount batten in late February, the original airstrip which runs through the middle of Mt. Hagen is due to remain in use until about mid- August.

When the old airport closes down, it will become Mt. Hagen’s town centre, with private houses, shops and some Government offices being built there.

However, it’s unlikely that the new centre will be noted for its gardens, as the airport people have been rol ling gravel into the ground for years, and it must be several feet deep by now.

On the second night of the Hagen show, the old airstrip will be the scene of a torchlight procession by about 10,000 natives, on either side of whom will be 20 huge bonfires.

Besides watching the various events, visitors to the show will no doubt visit Mt. Hagen’s lovely botanical garden, which was started about 18 months ago on the more or less barren banks of a local creek.

The garden is the pride and joy of Mr. S. M. (Mick) Foley, the “king-size” Acting District Com missioner for the Western Highlands District in Mt. Hagen. The garden includes an orchid house, and several cages containing tree-climbing kan garoos, Birds of Paradise and colour ful parrots of the region. It is tended by native prisoners.

WHAT is described by the owners, A. J. and G. Blum Pty. Ltd., as a “Hometel”, has just been opened in Honiara, British Solomons. The building (pictured) has seven flats, which are available either as self contained units at £l/12/6 a night less 15 per cent .at a weekly rate) or on a bed-and-breakfast basis at £2/ 5/- a day. Each flat has two beds.

There are special rates for children.

Honiara is making an effort to

Honiara's new "Hometel" nearing completion.

MORESBY ATTRACTION. The old "Macdhui", which has been a stark reminder of the Pacific War since May, 1942, when she was sunk in Port Moresby Harbour by Japanese bombers with a loss of 10 lives, is now developing into a tourist attrac tion, thanks to daily cruises being conducted in the harbour by Lakatoi Enterprises. Tourists who are taken on a two-and-a-half hour trip of the harbour get this close-up look of the wreck, and amateur photographers find it a drawcard.

jild up tourist potential in the Pro ctorate, which may be reached by r through New Guinea or Fiji. The tablished Hotel Mendana is shortly be extended with 15 more bed oms, a swimming pool, squash iurts and billiard room. The existing i bedrooms are all to be modernised. lUVA early in 1966 is to get a new ' hotel-motel, The Outrigger, at esent under construction. At Nadi e new Hotel Tanoa is now fully actioning. It has 40 bedrooms, d a swimming pool is to be com bed in the next month or two. The idi Hotel in Nadi town is being mpletely modernised. The veteran Hotel is currently being replaced a brand new structure which will opened early next year, [ANAGEMENT contract for the new 101-room hotel at Pago go, to replace the tiny and in ;quate Rainmaker, Pago’s only sting hotel, was signed in July by 1 International Hotels Corporation, PanAm subsidiary which already is 29 hotels. The Pago hotel will be ;ned in September, although it is ; likely to be fully-operational im diately. Owners are the American noa Development Corporation, ose shareholders are, by law, noans. The Corporation was estab ted by Governor Lee to give local »ple an equity in development.

Rtercontinental Hotels

is giving advice on the Western aoan Government’s proposed 100m hotel in Apia. In July the cor ation’s vice-president in charge of rations, Mr. Mario Di Genova, 1 in Apia that there would be little ible in filling the 100 rooms and irther 100 would be needed with five years. He suggested that solo airport be improved and that aigration procedure for visitors be amlined. This last has long been ocated by others and is likely to iccomplished before long. At pre ; intending visitors have to await roval from Apia, which is a slow

irritating procedure.

EW HEBRIDES reports say a hotel is planned for Tanna soon, galow style, with Mr. Bob Paul, New Hebrides Airways, one of principals. Tanna is served by v Hebrides Airways which is kly expanding. Its air traffic has eased by 50 per cent, in the last t months, and the airline now ies 570 passengers a month. A Drover has been bought in Syd and will be flown to Vila via

travel

P-NG and the Solomons in August by Pilot J. Schultz. The aircraft will replace the company’s first Drover, which has had 3,000 hours in the New Hebrides. A new airfield at North Pentecost, called Sara, has just been opened, and two new ones, at Ambrym and North Epi, are under construc tion.

AIR NEW ZEALAND in July took delivery of its first DCS, and a second and a third aircraft will be delivered in August and September.

Air NZ’s three Electras will serve routes out of Melbourne and Wel lington, but after November the DCS’s will take over the remaining trans-Tasman routes and will also be used on the route to Fiji and Ameri can Samoa, On December 14 they will commence the twice-weekly Auckland to Los Angeles service via Fiji and Honolulu, return.

REGULAR patrons of the Mocambo Hotel at Nadi, Fiji will shortly be missing the smilling face of Mr. Glen Durbin, who has managed the hotel for the last four years. He and Mrs. Durbin are re turning to the United States. Mr.

Durbin has been at the Mocambo since the present owners bought the hotel from Mr. Barry Philp and he and his first lieutenant, Mrs. Marie Hardwick, have seen the hotel through all its growing pains. It is due to their hard work as a team that the Mocambo has become one of the tourist landmarks in the South Pacific. Ni sa moce, Glen.

EASTERN Airlines, one of the biggest airlines in the US re cently applied to the Civil Aero nautics Board in Washington for permission to operate services from New York to Sydney and Melbourne through Mexico City, Tahiti and Auckland.

If the permission is granted it will mean opposition for the Australian airline Qantas on the highly profit able Sydney-Tahiti-Mexico City route.

THE Chandris Line will enter the Pacific holiday cruise trade in January with the Australis, 35,500 tons, formerly the America. She will make a 17-day cruise from Sydney to Sydney, taking in Auckland.

Nukualofa, Pago Pago, Suva and Noumea.