The Editors' Mailday

Memories Of Vailima

Sir, —Having had the pleasure of living in Vailima for over 11 years, my wife and I thoroughly appreciated the historical article on this lovely old house which appeared in your March issue (p. 81).

I am sure that if your writer had had more space he would have ex plained that “Aunt Maggie” was really R.L.S’s mother. She was called “Aunt Maggie” in the household by R.L.S’s wife—Mrs. Fanny Stevenson.

The old lady, Mrs. Thomas Steven son, formerly Margaret Balfour, had great courage and strength of character, and she never failed in her support for and her interest in her son. Indeed the steady encourage ment and consistent backing that Stevenson received from both his parents during the many vicissitudes of his life is one of the fascinating aspects of his story.

While the roof structure of the house is badly damaged, the build ing itself is not, and repairs to restore the house to its former glory will not be too difficult. It is gratifying to know that Western Samoa’s Head of State was able to take steps to save from damage most of the Stevenson material which was in the house.

Guy Powles.

Wellington, New Zealand. • Sir Guy's 11 years at Vailima were 1949-60, when he was New Zealand High Commissioner in Western Samoa, before independence.

It's Not Henderson Field

Sir, During World War 11, Londoners and others tended to be bombed out of their homes. Among consequent vexations the question of breakfast—not to mention lunch— arose. To meet this situation the authorities established Communal Feeding Centres to serve good meals at canteen prices, but unfortunately no-one turned up to enjoy them.

It was found that the public had got hold of the idea a Communal Feeding Centre was a place with troughs for the benefit of farm stock.

So the centres were renamed “British Restaurants” and became a great success. Nothing had changed but the name.

Henderson is served by two inter national and one local airline, and is not infrequently host to numbers

of other users. It has a modern passenger building and—in terms of traffic—is the first port of entry to the Protectorate. To refer to it as a “field” seems tantamount to refer ring to Point Cruz as a “beach”.

I hope you will agree the Solomons have got beyond the stage of offering visitors a choice between landing on a beach or in a field.

Will you give your co-operation, therefore, in referring to Henderson for what it is—an airport—especially in written material, on maps and plans? This would certainly aid efforts being made to project over seas the more attractive and more up-to-date image of the Solomons that they deserve.

What’s in a word? Perhaps if the right ones are used at all points of the compass, then everyone in the Solomons may benefit from the difference between a “communal feeding centre” and a flourishing— and profit-making—restaurant.

David Tudor-Pole,

Chief Information Officer.

Honiara, British Solomons. • Henderson Field, outside Honiara, was so named by the Americans, and the name has obviously stuck. If the Solomons thinks the time has come to call it a restaurant then that's OK by us.

New Hebrides Dig

Sir, —I wish to thank Pacific Islands Monthly for the article in the January issue on our 1963-1964 archaeological work in the New Hebrides. It was very nicely sum marised.

If we receive the funds we have requested, we shall be returning to the New Hebrides and New Caledonia areas for two years beginning in September of this year.

Richard Shutler, Jr.

Fellow in Anthropology, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu. • For more interesting news of Dr. Shutter's discoveries, see p. 71.

Wrist-Whipping Ceremony

Sir, Could you tell me the significance behind the Tolai wrist whipping ceremony? I photographed the ceremony at Vunapope Mission near Rabaul in 1963, the occasion being the farewell to Bishop Leo Sharmach.

The ceremony as I observed it was as follows: Two painted natives walked around slowly with their arms held rigidly and were obviously drugged or drunk. Every two or three minutes one of them would kneel down and a third man would whip his wrist with a long cane.

The noise made by this action was similar to a pistol shot. The man thus whipped showed no signs of ill effects and continued to walk around.

I saw this performed for about i hour but it could possibly be performed for greater periods of time.

I would like to find out the significance behind the ceremony and the type of drug or intoxication used by the participants. Perhaps one of your readers can help.

D. J. Rumsey.

Kerema, Gulf District, Papua.

W.H.O. Man In Manila

Sir, —I would like to point out an error on p. 133 of PIM for March, under “People”, where Dr.

Francisco Dy is reported as having been appointed Regional Director of WHO for the Western Pacific, “with headquarters in Suva”.

This should read “with headquarters in Manila”. I should perhaps point out that Suva is the headquarters of the “South Pacific Area”, which comes within the “Western Pacific Region” of W.H.O.

Alan H. Penington, M.D.,

WHO Representative.

Suva, Fiji.

Fijian Band At Bendigo

Sir, —As I am an interested reader of your magazine I am writing to tell you of a visit by the Fiji Military Forces Band to Bendigo, Victoria, on March 19. The band is doing an excellent job of promoting the South Pacific, as many people in Victoria are not aware of the activities and places in the South Pacific.

Because of thunderstorms the band’s performance had to be shifted from the showgrounds and compressed into our Town Hall, which meant we were not able to witness the picturesque spectacle of them march ing. The programme was then made up of Islands songs, band music and traditional dances, which under the direction of Drum-Major Epili Rayawa, thrilled the capacity audi ence. People were packed five and six deep around the doorways and out into the streets, just to hear the music and catch a glimpse of the band and their dancing.

For their musical recital the band

wore blood-red tunics and white sulus. Adding to the brilliant colour, 12 bandsmen changed into traditional dress for the dancing. The dancing and chanting were one of the most spectacular acts ever seen in Bendigo, and the hall shook as their piercing war cries rang out.

The men, with their fine physiques and immaculate uniforms, looked formidable soldiers. Any country would be proud of them.

In Bendigo, most of the bandsmen were billeted in private homes and so now I am glad to say the people of Bendigo know who the Fijians are (they are not Africans, as I heard some people say).

Andrew W. Curnow.

Bendigo, Victoria. • Reader Curnow will be pleased to know that the Fiji Military Band made a big impact at Sydney’s Royal Easter Show with its superb march ing displays, performed in the open under spotlights.

Rhodesian Question

Sir, —I am forwarding an interest ing pamphlet issued by the Prime Minister’s Office in Rhodesia. It was sent to me in answer to my request to a friend living in that country to explain to me just what is going on.

It looks as if there might be two sides to the story; a not unknown state of affairs. One wonders what sort of democratic government would be introduced into Rhodesia by the gentlemen responsible for the broad casts quoted in the pamphlet.

Keep the pamphlet. If you run any of its contents, some “official spokesman” somewhere will say you made the whole story up!

Ronald Syme.

Rarotonga, Cook Islands. • The pamphlet forwarded by Mr.

Syme was published by the Prime Minister's Office, Rhodesian Govern ment and printed by the Government Printer, Salisbury. PIM has received several pamphlets of a similar type forwarded unsolicited from Rhodesia. Mr. Syme’s copy alleges that Britain is aiding the Zambian Broadcasting Corporation in a cam paign to “incite murder, arson sabotage and destruction in Rhodesia ”, and claims that the British Govern ment is “intent on the break-down of law and order in Rhodesia, as a pretext for military intervention".

Dalrymple-Hay Supporter

Sir, —Stuart Inder wrote a piece in PIM (March, p. 25) about Mr.

Ken Dalrymple-Hay’s Honiara hotel which does not allow Solomon

Islanders into white people’s beds.

Nothing would put the owner into bankruptcy quicker than to allow them in, as most tourists which hotelkeepers wish to attract are women, and they take a dim view of innovations such as these.

It is unfortunate that people who live in a welfare state, with no likelihood of ever having to take far-back natives into their beds, should be in a position to influence world opinion. Witness Mr. Wilson trying to break down Rhodesia.

The colour question is basically an economic problem, and not a slur on a person’s colour. All coloured races have different customs to Europeans. The Fijian, for instance.

a delightful fellow to meet, but a disaster as a neighbour as he will not go to bed but keeps on all night with guitars and parties, while the Indian will let every room in his house and every corner, so that the place soon becomes a slum area.

These conditions will be aggravated in the Solomons, where the natives are still in the Dark Ages. They are still using the spear, aren’t they?

Proprietors of hotels have to ap preciate that they are catering for high-class people (for nobody else could afford the fares nowadays) and they want to stay in business.

“Citizen Of Fiji"

(Name and address supplied).

Suva, Fiji.