Admiral's Bunker
p. 55 · Read in the full issue
Another Use
For Japanese
MOVES are afoot to build a $24,000 historical and war museum for the New Guinea Islands on top of Admiral Isoroku Yama moto’s bunker, in Clark Street, Rabaul, opposite the New Guinea Club.
Admiral Yamamoto, who was killed on Bougainville, directed Japanese operations in the Pacific area from the bunker from about 1942 to 1944.
Mr. Don Clarke, president of the New Britain Historical Society, told PIM recently that the society hoped to obtain the land where the bunker is situated from its owner, the New Guinea Club.
He said one storey would be built on top of the bunker. The bunker itself would be lit and ventilated.
The Japanese fortifications would be kept as they were as far as possible. (One item of interest is a ceiling map of New Britain).
Mr. Clarke said the historical society hoped to house all European and other historical records of New Britain, New Ireland, Bougainville, Manus and the NG Islands in the museum, and put on display relics of early traders and missionaries, the Germans, the Australians and the Japanese occupation.
There would also be examples of Chinese and native arts and crafts, local shells and a section on the mineral wealth of the area.
AIR New Zealand will step up its DCS jet service from Auckland to Pago Pago via Nadi from one to two flights a week, beginning on March 21.
The twice-weekly flights are designed to strengthen Air New Zealand’s appeal to overseas tourists, especially Americans, and to New Zealanders.
MR. LOUIS LECA, who already runs four businesses in Santo, announced plans recently for a new hotel in that town. He said that Santo did not at present have enough hotel accommodation to satisfy demands, and that a new hotel of 20 rooms was contemplated. It was expected that a capital of $250,000 would be needed to build it.
THE British airline, BOAC, expects to be operating daily services across the South Pacific by 1972, according to the chairman, Sir Giles Guthrie.
At present BOAC flies across the Pacific three times a week with Boeing 707’s, from Sydney to San Francisco, via Fiji and Hawaii.
The airline has ordered six Boeing 747 Jumbo jets, which will be
delivered by 1972, and in the same year the Anglo-French supersonic Concorde is expected to start running commercial services.
Both the Jumbos and the Con cordes could figure in BOAC plans for the South Pacific, although the airline has made no definite plans yet for their use in this area.