travel

The Jet Age

Comes To

Micronesia

The US Secretary of the In terior, Mr. Stewart L. Udall, has announced that Air Micronesia has won a contract for providing air services to and within the US

Trust Territory.

The service from Honolulu to the Trust Territory is contingent on the agreement of the Civil Aeronautics’

Board.

Air Micronesia is a newly established corporation to be owned 31 per cent, by Continental Airlines, 20 per cent, by Aloha Airlines, and 49 per cent, by the United Micro nesia Development Association.

Announcing the new contract, Mr.

Udall said: “The jet age has come to Micronesia.

“Continental has agreed to inaugurate its service with a Boeing 727-100 QC tri-jet.

“This will permit the carriage of both passengers and cargo at the speed that will encourage tourism and promote economic development of the area.”

Operating through Air Micronesia, Continental will begin a vigorous travel promotion programme designed to improve the economy of the islands.

In addition, it will construct a hotel in each of the six principal population centres of the territory; and it will begin a training pro gramme for Micronesians, so as to staff the entire operation with Micro nesians as rapidly as possible.

As representative of business in terests in the six districts of the territory, the United Micronesia Development Association will be given an opportunity after five years to acquire an additional two per cent, of the stock and effective control of the Air Micronesia Corporation.

Mr. Udall said the Interior Depart ment would ask the Civil Aeronautics Board to permit an air service to Honolulu.

“The Honolulu gateway,” he said, “is crucial to all phases of Trust Territory development.”

VISITORS can now see demon strations of the art of basket and mat weaving from rushes and grass within a stone’s throw of Fiji’s international airport at Nadi. And

for those with half an hour to spare, the finished article can be carried away for a modest sum as a souvenir of the colony. There is added pleasure in having seen it made.

The new enterprise, styled the Fijian Handicraft Centre, is the joint effort of a lively European lass and a Fijian matron, Miss Beverley Watson and Una Matalau, who had friendly villagers build them, a traditional bure slap on the main highway from the airport to Suva.

It is stocked with authentic Fijian handicraft work and two mat and basket weavers, and a stenciller of tapa cloth.

The weavers, Magareta Vakalolo and Adi Naulubale, are sisters—you don’t find many Fijians related to each other with similar surnames — and come from the Lau group, home of some of the finest handicraft work Fiji has to offer.

Daily, since the centre opened late in November, the two women can be seen busily engaged at their task, producing mats, table centres or baskets to be hung amid a wide selection on the nut walls, or passed into the hands of a waiting client.

Business, Miss Watson said, has been brisk and she and her partner are now talking of additions to the centre, which is set in picturesque surroundings of tropical flowers and shrubs, and includes a coffee and refreshment bar under a huge shade tree in the grounds.

RABAUL, stuck on the north of New Britain, is well off the beaten track for tourists seeing New Guinea.

Visitors have to go hundreds of miles out of their way to see this beautiful little town, to look at the many traces of the Pacific War

there and admire Rabaul’s several volcanoes.

The New Britain Tourist Associa tion feels people don’t come to Rabaul, firstly, because the air fares are too high and second, because, it feels, Rabaul gets poorer air services than other big NG towns like Lae.

To attract more visitors to Rabaul the association will press that Rabaul be put back on a direct link with the TAA Fokker Friendship weekly run from Lae to Floniara, Solomons Islands.

In this way Rabaul can become part of a circle trip to Melanesia.

Late last year Rabaul was by passed on this run and Fokkers began flying direct from Buka to Lae, cutting about two hours off travelling time for people leaving the Solomons for Australia, via NG.

Now passengers from Honiara to Rabaul have to change into DC3’s at Buka for a H-hour flight to Rabaul.

The association is also keen to entice Fiji Airways to put their popular 747 prop-jet aircraft through Honiara to Rabaul, giving the town a fast link-up with Fiji and the big Polynesian tourist centres.

High air fares are the main stumbling block the association has to tackle to build up tourism and its solution is excursion air fares.

Which isn’t a bad idea. Most other territories have them. Why not NG?

travel

Wearers at work at Nadi's new Fijian Handicraft Centre. Photo: L. J. Wilkinson.