LIEUTENANT-Colonel Georges

yes te rday

The 167 natives of Bikini Atoll were being transferred to Rongerik Island, Marshall Islands, in preparation for the explosion of America’s first post-war atomic test in March, 1946. The test was scheduled to be held on Bikini in May.

THIS was one of the news items in the issue of PIM for March, 1946. Other items in that issue of 20 years ago were: —

Orselli, who had been Gov ernor of Tahiti since September, 1941, was recalled to France. He was to be succeeded by Monsieur Haumant, France’s Administrator in-Chief of the Colonies.

WAR damage insurance claims lodged by the Methodist Overseas Mission for damage to mission property in Papua-New Guinea amounted to £83,000.

FIJI was recovering from a severe hurricane which, although passing south of the Colony, brought torrential rain and subsequent flooding to the north-east districts of Viti Levu.

Sugar cane crops suffered flood and silt damage and roads and bridge approaches were washed out.

ANEW anti-malarial drug had been discovered by a team of ICI chemists and biologists.

Known as paludrine, the new drug was first administered to human patients by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. It was said to be more effective and considerably less toxic than either mepacrine or quinine.

THE Rev. C. F, Gribble, who served with the Methodist Overseas Mission in Tonga for many years, and who was Tonga’s Director of Education, had been appointed Assistant Secretary- General of Overseas Missions in Australia.

THE Australian Minister for Territories, Mr. E. J, Ward, announced that it was hoped to extend civil administration to New Britain, New Ireland and Bougain ville in March and April.

A SYDNEY correspondent said in a letter to PIM that after a steady diet of the magazine’s Papeete correspondent’s views on

Europeans in general and tourists in particular, he would be ashamed to show his face in L!" 11 . £ the Government of French Oceania has appointed your correspondent Chief of the Anti-Tourism Bureau then it has chosen well, he said.

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N an article headed Treasure Trove on Mangaia Mangaia correspondent said that he had acquired a number of non- Polynesian museum treasures during his residence on the island. These treasures, he said, included two of the original “Berliner” gramophone records, issued in 1908, and still in playing order; a ship’s watch-lantern of solid brass, formerly owned by the famous Captain Bully Hayes; and a two-century-old copy of Culpeper’s Horbed (a medical work that the writer thought

must have come from either one of Captain Cook’s ships or the Bounty. The natives said it was acquired on board a “papaa ship like a garden” in pre-mission days, T7MCURES released on the Fiji f Military Forces showed that more 11 000 men had served during the war ears peak stre B th was 8 y , 513 men on August 29, 1943. Casualties were: killed in action, 38, died rf woundSj five; wounded> 135; PIM s d j ed Q f sickness or accident, 84.

IV/JR- LYONS, Papua-New TrX Guinea’s Director of Public Works, was busy with plans for the reconstruction of war-torn Port Moresby. Although many millions of dollars worth of development had been given to the former war-base, it was found that nearly all of this was useless for civil purposes and the plan ners would have to start from scratch.

Most people these days

don't usually think of the waters around Tahiti as a big game fishing area. But things were dif ferent 30-odd years ago when Zane Grey, the noted American author of Western novels, made some outstanding catches in the area and wrote a book about them called "Tales of Tahitian Waters". Among Zane Grey's catches was this record marlin of 1,040 lb, which was taken off the south end of Tahiti. It was 14 ft 2 in. long, with a tail spread of 5 ft 2 in. and a girth of 6 ft 9 in.

It was estimated that the monster would have weighed at least 200 lb more had not sharks torn huge chunks from its tail end before it could be landed.