People

|NE of the most highly regarded " old traders of the South Pacific ands, Mr. Claude S. Israel, was in dney in October, enjoying what he lied his “second retirement” from M Mr. Israel went to Fiji from Aus ilia 62 years ago at the age of 16, d was a clerk in the employ of :nry Marks & Co. Ltd. Sir Henry irks was his uncle. When Morris idstrom Ltd. amalgamated with the irks Co. in 1920, Mr. Israel be ne the Lautoka manager of M.H., J was prominent in the sugar town 24 years. He founded the utoka Chamber of Commerce and s its first president.

Fhen he was in Australia for four irs as manager of the M.H. nch in Sydney; and in 1960, when W. R. Carpenter group pur ised Morris Hedstrom Ltd., Mr. id returned to Fiji, on retirement, was then 60 years old.

Jut he could not stay idle and he led Mr. Charles Sullivan, the Iney merchant, in C. Sullivan cific Islands) Ltd., of Suva, and ; managing director of the com y until October, when he again red.

Ir. Israel thus has been a leading of Fiji all his life and, for services as a Justice of the Peace, for membership of various Gov nent instrumentalities, he was le an MBE in a recent Honours’

His old Sydney friends gave a warm welcome in October and e trying to induce him to remain Sydney until December, so that r might help him celebrate his i birthday. » Mr. William Estall, a member he opposition in the Cook Islands islative Assembly, was appointed member of the Cook Islands inet in mid-September. While the nier, Mr. Albert Henry, was nt on a visit to New Zealand and Who is she? She’s a good example of the kind of femi nine beauty to be found in the Western Highlands of New Guinea, in local dress.

A Qantas photographer took

the picture at the Mt. Hagen show in August.

Noumea (for the South Pacific Con ference), Mr. Estall held the port folios of Works and Communica tions. His appointment to Cabinet was interpreted to mean that the Cook Islands Government had be come a semi-coalition government, as all previous Cabinet ministers had been members of Mr. Henry’s Cook Islands Party. • Mr. John Hawkins has replaced Mr. Richard Mann as United States vice-consul in Fiji. Mr. Mann has been transferred to the American Embassy in Tokyo. Mr. Hawkins, who came to Fiji from Stuttgart, Germany, has also held appointments in Thailand, Syria, Colombia, Egypt, Vietnam and France. • Charles Godden, of the British Secondary School in Vila, broke the New Hebrides record for the 100 metres race at a sports meeting in Vila on September 23. His time of 10.8 sec. bettered that of J.

Pothin, of New Caledonia, who re corded 10.9 sec. last year. Pothin holds the South Pacific Games record with 10.6 sec. On the same day as Godden’s outstanding performance, a men’s 4 x 100 metres relay team clipped 1.2 sec. off the previous best local time of 45 sec. • Mr. Trafford Smith, former Under-Secretary of State at the Commonwealth Office, has been ap pointed British Ambassador to Burma. Mr. Trafford Smith, who is well known in the Western Pacific, which he last visited in 1966, has been succeeded by Mr. James Morgan. Mr. Morgan has been serv ing with the British High Commission in Canberra. • The Chief Justice in Fiji since 1964, Mr. Justice R. H. Mills-Owens, has accepted the offer of an appoint ment as Puisne Judge, Hong Kong, where he previously served from 1956 to 1964. • The Rev, Emil F. Hannemann, an American Lutheran missionary, who worked in the Madang area of New Guinea from 1923 to 1956, passed through Sydney in mid- October on his way back to Madang for another year’s work. Mr. Hanne mann will be engaged in translating the Old Testament into the Bel language of the Madang district. A translation of the New Testament was completed in 1956. Mr. Hanne mann, who is from South Dakota, took a lively interest in native art and legends during his previous period in New Guinea. He is the author of Tibut: New Guinea Legends, which

was published some years ago by the New Guinea section of the Board of Foreign Missions of the American Lutheran Church. • Associate Justice Virgilio Roel, of the High Court of American Samoa, has been appointed to a position of the Board of Appeals and Review of the US Post Office Depart ment in Washington. Judge Roel arrived in Pago Pago in August, 1962. He was one of the top officials of the revived Boy Scout movement in the territory. • Dr. A. H, Penington, who has been the World Health Organ isation representative in the South Pacific (headquarters in Suva) for two years, has been transferred to Ethiopia. He left Fiji on October 20. He has a permanent link with the South Pacific—Mrs. Penington is the daughter of the late Dr. and Mrs.

Elizabeth Thieme of Western Samoa, and her brothers are Dr. Thieme, and Mr. Paul Thieme, of Apia. Dr.

Penington’s successor is Dr. John Hirshman. • The Tongan Government has engaged a Japanese fishmaster for its 101-ton deep-sea trawler, Pakeina.

He is Mr. S. Kawakami, a graduate of the fisheries department of Tokyo University. • Nearly 80 people from the Pacific Islands attended the Inter continental Conference of the Baha’i Faith, held in Sydney in early October. They included Mr. and Mrs. Suhayl Ala’i and family, Mr.

Albert King and Dr. and Mrs. Porter (American Samoa); Mr. and Mrs.

Alvin Blum (Solomons); Mr. and Mrs. Donald Hancock and family, Mr. Peter Woodrow, Mrs. W.

Vakarksabi and Miss R. Tekarabi (Fiji); and Mrs. and Mrs. Aritiera and Mr. Mote Kiaman (GEIC).

From the Mariana Islands came Mrs. W. Breaks; from New Guinea, Mrs. M. Bluett, Messrs. R. Hancock, George Larawin, Josep Tamun, John Francis, Miss V. Hoehnke and Mr. and Mrs. David Podger and family; from Tonga, Miss Latai Maka; from the Cooks, Mr. Niu Rua; and from Western Samoa, Mr. and Mrs. Niuoleava Luataga. Dele gates also came from Hawaii and Guam.

Principles of the Baha’i faith in clude the oneness of mankind, in dependent investigation of truth, equality of men and women, elimina tion of prejudices of all kinds, uni versal compulsory education and a universal auxiliary language.