pools scheme

More than coupons in Nauruan pools scheme

By Ken Mcgregor

No Pacific Islands territory has held more magic for over seas businessmen over the last 12 months than tiny Nauru.

Since it became an independent republic on January 31 this year, the phosphate-rich nine square-mile island has attracted more potential investors than any other South Pacific island in the last 10 years.

Nauru offered no taxes. It was an ideal strategic base between South-East Asia and Australasia for business projects aimed at markets which could be counted in the hundreds of millions of customers.

And, of course, Nauru needed to start diversifying for the time when its phosphate will run out.

So they came. Hoteliers from the US and Britain, several international airlines, financiers, casino operators from the US and Europe, builders from Australia and fish canners from Japan and Nationalist China. Even the French had a quiet look.

Even the French

Some “swotted up” on every 4 con ceivable fact about the island before jumping aboard chartered aircraft for Nauru. Others just went willy nilly.

Nauru listened, pondered and rejected scheme after scheme. It lost count of the propositions to put up a pub, and it couldn’t recall how many tips it received on how to invest its phosphate royalties.

The republic took a tough stand on all proposals. Businessmen wanted

a foot in Nauru but the price asked by Nauru was too high.

Then, in September, the thaw came. A big deal was clinched to give Nauru two lucrative projects which will not cost one Nauruan cent.

As reported in PIM, October issue, p. 26, the Sporting Pools Bill was passed by the Nauruan Parlia ment to give an Australian-owned,

Nauru-registered company, Pac Sporting Pools Ltd., a 1 6-year ‘ elusive licence” to run a masi football pools operation.

The promoters expect that upws of one million football coupon: week will be filled in by Australi and New Zealanders and proces by Nauruan headquarters. The i moters expect to take a share the estimated $35,000 a week wl goes to British pools from Austra

s2m hotel

The extraordinary part of 1 parliamentary bill concerns w went with the football pools. I moters of the company agreed form four subsidiary compar build a luxury hotel costing upwa of $2 million at Anabare Bay, Nai and hoped to operate weekly frei services with chartered aircraft their own airline, between Nauru Australia. All at the compai cost.

Pacific Sporting Pools will pay Nauruan Government $25,000 fr the whole project by June 30 t

Pacific Sporting Pools intends to[?] DC6 aircraft weekly on Nauru's strip (left, back of the picture) build a hotel at Anabare Bay, out the picture at right. Nauru's s[?] used to handle chartered DC4's of Australia and now can take D[?] and HS748's. Fiji Airways will crease its fortnightly services weekly calls early next year, but present has temporary landing rig[?] only. Micronesian Airways will she operate to Nauru from Majuro.

Nauru's President Hammer DeRoburt.

Nauru gave Pacific Sporting Pools per mission to set up a football pools opera tion.

r. This is expected to be the ial payment to the Nauruans.

Vhat is the company and who the men behind it?

Tie two principals of the company Mr. H. G. Pearce and Colonel M. Mayberry.

Larlier this year the pair operated of a tiny down-town Sydney ee. They had no staff; an attrac downstairs receptionist con ally took messages because most ;s both were out —commuting to eminent contacts in Canberra or bourne. Mr. Pearce made several rlwind trips to Norfolk and orally acted as spokesman. .bout August, they got a new ress. A suite in an expensive k in Sydney’s business heart. A ty receptionist of their own, rate offices, a manager, big rs over the wide glass doors: ntral Pacific Airlines”, “Central fic Hotels”. here is talk of hiring public ions consultants in the New r. Conferences with international ties to charter DC6 aircraft, rush s to Melbourne and Sydney :>rt to confer with President imer Deßoburt. flurry to get first equipment y on the Triaster in October, ig visits to top Australian artment of Civil Aviation people correspondence with Reserve i and Postal officials, auru’s football pools are on their

Good contacts

; 51, Mr. Pearce is a former ral politican of long-standing more recently a lobbyist, ling government liaison work for Australian companies. He >usly has very good government icts and remains convinced that Nauru project will not fail. 53, Colonel Mayberry is very i the former company director Army type. He will put his Mr. Pearce’s ideas into practice, working behind the spotlights, :ome technical and other details, cific Sporting Pools Limited’s building team and supplies id at Nauru in October and i work on the first stage of lotel and pools complex. Com m date for this stage is April xt year and it will include 34 ►oms, lounges, dining-room, bar pools offices, estimated to cost 000. swimming pool will later be for Nauruans as well as hotel 5. e company has not yet gained

approval from Australia’s Depart ment of Civil Aviation to operate air services between Nauru and Aus tralia to carry the hundreds of thousands of football coupons. It is here there could be trouble if other carriers protest that the company is trying to set up a passenger service in competition with established air lines.

There is little doubt the company wants the aircraft only to get its coupons delivered. But the attitude of Nauru is different. It wants its own passenger-carrying airline one day.

Mr. Pearce said that Central Pacific Airlines was formed “specifically for the carriage of mail and freight, generated by the football pool operation”.

Do its best

“No existing or planned air facilities can cope with the deadline or volume,” he said. “It is proposed, therefore, that CPA provide suitable aircraft and operate as a carrier between Nauru and Australia.

“Under the agreement with Nauru, the company will use its best endeavours to make the airline avail able for the carriage of passengers between Nauru and Australia as re quired by the republic from time to time.”

Mr. Pearce said DC6 or DC6B aircraft were suitable and the com pany intended to charter two of these aircraft from overseas when it obtained permission to land in Aus tralia.

He said services would be weekly, Nauru-Sydney, on Fridays and Saturdays. The DC6’s were capable of doing this run non-stop with limited loads.

Few busier offices

By early November there were few busier Sydney offices than the luxury suite headquarters of Messrs. Pearce and Mayberry. Both remained con fident that the Nauruan venture will go over smoothly and they said $120,000 in funds from Australia wide shareholders had been sub scribed by then to get things moving in Anabare Bay.

All in all, phosphate may not be the only thing which puts Nauru on the map for the outside world in future. Millions of tiny coupons may do it.

Colonel W. M. Mayberry, who is backing Mr. Pearce in moves to get football pools, air freight and hotel operation going on Nauru by April next year. He put in several months duty on Bougainville during World War 11, and afterwards joined the boards of several Australian companies, including insurance groups.

Mr. H. G. Pearce, a director of Pacific Sporting Pools, "takes five" on a recent visit to Nauru. Born in Queensland, Mr.

Pearce has spent a good deal of time in Great Britain watching English football pools operations. Now he is confident they can be equally successfully operated from the Central Pacific. He has also had hotel experience—in 1962-63 he spent several months on Norfolk Island getting one of the island's major hotels started.