Must Be Prepared

In The GEIC, You Must Be Prepared To Rough It!

A roneoed leaflet issued re cently by the Information Office at Tarawa on tourism in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, makes it clear that travellers should not expect rigid schedules and the finer luxuries when they visit that

Colony.

THE leaflet makes no bones about the fact that travellers may “get stuck” in some places for weeks at a time; and that in some circum stances they should take their own bedding, and even food, with them.

“The only regular scheduled com mercial contact is by weekly flights of Fiji Airways Herons,” the leaflet says. “'Diey fly from Nausori (Suva) to Nadi and then to Funafuti, where they stop overnight before flying on to Tarawa in the morning; south bound they only call at Funafuti for fuel.

“A Suva-Tarawa round trip costs £A2OO/10/-; the Suva-Funafuti round trip costs £A9S.

“Ships of the British Phosphate Commission call regularly at Ocean Island, but connections to Tarawa are infrequent and unpredictable, averag ing one every two months.

“Columbus Line ships call at Tarawa every five or six weeks en route from Australia to the West Coast of America; Rotterdam Lloyd ships call three times a year direct from European ports and UK; the Bank Line call every two or three months to collect copra from Tarawa and the Line Islands.

Internal Travel

“All internal travel is by four or five small ships that ply as required and not to a schedule, so that it is impossible to plan trips long in advance.

“The nine northernmost Gilbert Islands are quite well served, though it is possible to get stuck for a month or more. But the rest of the Colony is served very infrequently and ir regularly.”

The leaflet says that all intending visitors to the Colony should send inquiries to the Principal Immigration Officer, Betio, Tarawa (Telegrams;

IMPOL TARAWA). Visitors may stay for four months, and all but Commonwealth citizens need a per mit.

“There is a 12-bed licensed hotel/ rest house at Funafuti and another at Tarawa,” the leaflet goes on. “They were built when the air service started and are chiefly intended for the use of passengers and aircrew.

Full board charges are £A4/2/6 per day.

“On each island there is a govern ment rest house of local design which visitors may use, but travellers will need their own equipment, as most rest houses have no furniture other than fairly rudimentary beds.

“On outer islands mosquito nets are essential. Travellers to outer islands will need to take plenty of food from Tarawa, not only to cover their planned stay, but also in case 3f lengthy shipping delays.

“Co-op. stores on the islands carry the barest essentials demanded by :he islanders.”

Bus Service

Referring to Tarawa, the head quarters of the Colony, the leaflet jays the main government depart ments are on three separate islets in South Tarawa—Betio, Bairiki and Bikenibeu.

“Bairiki and Bikenibeu are con lected by causeways, but Betio, the >ort area and scene of a bitter itruggle between American Marines md Japanese defenders in November, 1943, lies two miles west of Bairiki md is served by hourly launches,” he leaflet says.

“There are no shops except for hree large and two small general stores and some small co-operative tores, and virtually no services.

“A very few people have cars and here is a bus service along South farawa.

“Both Betio and Bairiki have icensed private clubs that are usually >pen to visitors; the hotel is at flkenibeu.”

Yjr. Bruce Mackenzie, A

Norfolk Island electrician, is to upervise the demolition of the Mur ayyille power station in South Aus ralia and arrange for its shipment to Norfolk where it will be used to generate power for the new South s acific Hotel.

The South Pacific Hotel, a re urbished version of the old Paradise Jotel, is owned by the Norfolk firm >f K. A. Prentice and Co., which uccessfully tendered for the purchase )f the Murrayville power station.

The station is powered by two 80 hp crude oil engines.

K. A. Prentice & Co. recently bought 79,000 gallons of crude oil from the liquidator of the Norfolk Island Whaling Co., and this oil is expected to provide power for five years.

Mr. Keith Granville, Deputy

chairman of British Overseas Air ways Corporation, was due to visit American and Western Samoa at the end of January. According to Mr.

L. F. (Peter) Wood, BOAC’s New Zealand and Fiji manager, the air line is now negotiating for a new route into the South Pacific through

Fiji. It is also interested in studying other South Pacific regions.

A TOP Australian architect may be invited to visit Papua-New Guinea soon to design the Territory’s first hotel under predominantly native ownership in Rabaul.

An interim board of five New Guineans and four Europeans has been formed to act as trustee for capital being raised from native groups and villages, Mr. G. R. Rissen, solicitor for the board, said in January that the hotel would be mainly for tourists, About £75,000 capital would be sought.