The Editors' Mailbag

Gingerbread Man Cover

Sir, —What a lovely cover on that May issue of PIM. It is probably the most artistic PIM ever pro duced. Art as it should be—a direct appeal to the senses through colour and simple design. It caused quite a lot of comment as I left it casually on my shop counter. One light fingered fellow made no comment but lifted it, and I had to go out and buy another. I immediately took the cover off, and perhaps I will frame it one day.

Fred Dunn

Noumea, New Caledonia.

Sir, —Your cover on the May issue is the best that PIM has ever done.

I have an artist friend (American) who lives in Rarotonga and who was visiting Pago Pago last week, and he agreed after seeing the copy I was reading. The new cover has a clean, uncluttered look and is very artistic.

A. D. King

Pago Pago, American Samoa.

Islands Food

Sir, —A Pacific travel article by Judy Tudor ( PIM, Feb., p. 121) interested me especially, because she says American travellers “aren’t used to the inedible food”. I have been to the South Pacific five times and the only places where I found the food not good, but still edible, were the French possessions. New Caledonia wasn’t real bad but it was pretty awful in the New Hebrides.

Americans, like anyone else, can put up with food that isn’t too good, but everyone likes cleanliness.

In Suva I didn’t see many places to eat. but perhaps I didn’t look hard enough. I ate at the Grand Pacific Hotel, which was very good and the service excellent. Also stayed at the Korolevu, and nobody could want food any better than they had there.

One night at Nadi my taxi driver took me to the Mocambo Hotel for dinner but I was received very coldly, so I left and went to the Nadi Hotel. [ was greeted like an old friend. They gave me free of charge a room in which to freshen up in, and they said it was all right if I took a shower. I have stayed

there many times since and they have always been most kind.

But the most astonishing hospitality I found on my first trip to the Gilberts. The aircraft got sick on Funafuti, and we were there several days, and on that small island we had something different each meal (or perhaps it was the same thing but it was cooked differently). I had a wonderful time. I went back on another occasion and stayed a week at the hotel on Bikenibeu. where I was the only guest, had delicious meals, a wonderful time and couldn’t have been treated better And in Honiara, BSIP, I found the rooms spotless and the food good and well served.

Certainly the cooking and food are different in the Islands, but why go on a trip if you get the same Kind of food as you do at home?

Gertrude Baker.

Palos Verdes Estates, California.

That High Price Book

Sir ; —PIM in its May issue (p. 59) mentions that an original edition of The Coast Watchers by Eric Feldt is worth approximately $20,000. Is this $2(^nn P n9 n if ° r is th ,®, vaIue actuaI1 y jsZUjUUU. It so, could you give me the names of anyone likely to be interested, or instruct me how to go about finding such a person? I would be very grateful for any information

E. Rhoades.

Lord Howe Island.

Sir,—For the love of Mike, please correct that figure of $20,000 for original editions of The Coast Watchers. I have had desperate letters from people who think they are on to a fortune. I’m not in the Shake speare price bracket. But thanks very much for the write-up.

Eric Feldt.

New Farm, Brisbane, Queensland. • All right, all right! We’ve sacked all our proof-readers. The figure is $20.

Ancestor In Picture

Sir, —The picture on p. 91 of your March issue [showing the cession of land to the first Protestant mission aries in Tahiti in 1797] was very in teresting to me because the little boy standing beside his mother is my

great-grandfather, Thomas Hassall.

He became the Rev. Hassall, and his parish was from Camden to Eden Sonth Wales. He built the old Cobbity church on part of his pro perty, Denbeigh, and was buried there. He was a great horseman, as his large parish meant riding hundreds of miles. He was known as the gal loping parson. He married the daughter of the Rev. Samuel Mars den.

The only print I had previously seen of this picture was in a book written by my grandfather, In Old Australia.

Marsden Hassall

Public Works Dept., Rabaul.

Mystery Wreckage

Sir, —While on tour around San Christobal (BSIP) on the South Sea Evangelical Mission vessel, Evangel, we heard reports of a small wooden vessel washed up on an uninhabited stretch of beach (Lat. 10 deg. 43 mins. S; Long. 161 deg. 44 mins. 40 secs. E. chart 3412) after the recent cyclone. We decided to investigate and found part of a vessel including a nearly complete starboard side, com-

This detail from M. A. Smirke's painting of the cession of land to the first Pro testant missionaries in Tahiti in March, 1797, shows Thomas Hassall, great grandfather of Mr. Marsden Hassall, of Rabaul, as a small boy. He is in the frock at right, and was then aged three. Also in the picture are Peter Hagersteine, a Swedish beachcomber; Mrs. Hassall and her baby Samuel Otoo Hassall; and the fand officer and captain of the ship "Duff" which brought the missionaries to Tahiti. The Hassalls fled to New South Wales in March, 1798, after violence among the Tahitians.

sing ribs and planking. The port e was broken but the bow section s almost intact. it appeared to be 22 ft-24 ft long, was obviously home-built, with ped ribs not bent. The foredeck s more or less complete and its asurements would give the craft a im of about 9 ft. Unfortunately could not locate the keel but after dng to the native school teacher 0 discovered it while walking ng the coast on Sunday, April 2, learnt that the keel had at that e been on the reef, fhe teacher attempted to pull the 1 ashore but it was too heavy for i. It must have been washed over ;> deep water as the other parts ntioned were on the beach across reef. fhe vessel did not appear to have inboard engine as there was no on the planking. It carried no ne, had obviously been anti iled below water and painted it blue above water. Cut into h bows was the number 5N0205 in figures about 6 in. h, which seemed to indicate that was a registered vessel of some t.

What adds interest is the fact that ) villages, one three or four miles t and the other three or four les west had assorted cheap >anese thongs washed up on their iches. They were well-worn and •resented three sizes. One was a Id’s, which would fit a boy or I aged 6-8 years. The largest size uld fit a man. It was about size The medium size were women’s, ey were not the cheap type but re a more expensive thong, A all plastic toy car was also found the beach to the cast.

Would there be any connection ween the wreck and the thongs?

Edward J. Nash

ath Sea Evangelical Mission, ’u, Malaita.

Can anybody help?

"I Shall Return"

Sir,—Please keep my copies of M coming this way, as the arrival each new issue is a bright spot the month for me. In 1962 and 63 I spent about 20 months in the cific, much of this time aboard ee American cruising yachts (the ticer, the Sea Wind and the mcus ), and came to know many of : islands and islanders quite well, meday, as MacArthur once said, shall return”, but in the meantime ely on PIM to keep me informed.

Jay Castille

)uston, Texas, >A.