People

• Tanna, New Hebrides, lost two of its longest standing Europeans recently when Dr. and Mrs. Arm strong, who had been on the island, with one or two interruptions, since 1925, retired to Australia.

Dr. Armstrong served as doctor in charge of Lenakal Presbyterian Mission Hospital and opened the post office while Mrs. Armstrong took on several teaching posts.

O The Rev. Roy Chalkley, a former sailor and Missions to Sea men worker in various countries, has taken over duties as Port Chap lain at Suva, succeeding the Rev.

John Coveney, who served in Suva for three years. • Mr. George W. Staempfli, art gallery owner and his wife, arrived in New Hebrides on August 1 for a two and a half week stay to visit islands where good examples of New Hebridean art were still to be found, including Malekula and Ambrym, in the hope of purchasing objects for his gallery. • A former Australian Consul in Noumea and official secretary at the Australian High Commissioner’s office in New Zealand, Dr. John Cumpston, has retired.

Dr. Cumpston, 60, served a total of 33 years in the Department of External Affairs, longer than any other officer in the department.

Well-known in the Pacific Islands, he is also a noted historian, having compiled a pictorial record of the siege of Tobruk and a history of Macquarie Island. In his retirement he intends to complete a book on the history of early Australian ship ping. He has already published two detailed shipping lists of great value to historians. He will continue to live in Canberra. 9 Isa Paeniu, an energetic Ellice Islander who recently returned to Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, after several months’ work with various news media in Australia, has taken over the editorship of the GEIC’s government-owned weekly news sheet, Colony Information Notes.

ClN’s former editor, Bwebwetake Areieta, is now working with the colony's broadcasting set-up.

Former BBC man, Guy Slatter, re mains Information Officer. • Fiji people were shocked at the news of the death of 21-year-old

Mrs, Emily Brideson, formerly of Suva, in the Royal Adelaide Hospi tal in August.

Mrs. Brideson was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. Lobendahn, of Rewa Street, Suva. She and her husband, Mr. Peter Brideson, moved to Adelaide shortly after their wed ding in Suva in January last year.

Six weeks prior to her death, Mrs.

Brideson suffered 70 per cent, burns when her costume caught fire while she was performing an island dance.

She was reported to be recovering, but suffered a sudden relapse early in August. She was the mother of a seven month-old son, Michael. © Father Joseph Halbwachs, 88, a French-born priest who has worked at several mission stations in the Solomon Islands since his arrival in the protectorate from Syd ney in 1910, recently celebrated 60 years of priesthood. Pope Paul sent him a congratulatory telegram, and special Masses and dances were held at Father Halbwachs’ current post, Ruavatau, Guadalcanal. e Suva businessman, Mr. Victor Harm Nam, has become the first Chinese president of the Lions Club in Suva. He was initiated as presi dent by Mr. Arnold C, Babington. of Auckland, NZ, governor of Lions’ District 202 A, which includes Fiji. 9 Hans Kirsch, heavyweight wrestling champion of West Ger many, Europe, and Australia, known professionally as “The Black Hun”, arrived at Rarotonga from Tahiti on July 19. He stayed several weeks to train Cook Islanders in wrestling and judo, and to show people how to become stronger, and

reduce weight. Formerly a German citizen, Mr. Kirsch now lives in Australia and has spent six months in Samoa and Fiji. He is keen to establish a boys’ wrestling club in Rarotonga. • Mr. “Bunny” Bridge, BOAC manager in Fiji is to become manager in Western Africa. Taking over in Fiji is Mr. Charles Pollock who for the past 18 months has been assistant to the general mana ger of Western Region. • The first two Papuans of P-NG to qualify as commercial pilots re ceived their wings from the Minister for Civil Aviation, Mr. Swartz, at a ceremony held at Government House, Port Moresby, recently. They are Mr. Aria Bou, 22, from Kapa kapa in the Central District and Mr. Menson Peni also 22 from Kavieng in the New Ireland Dis trict, Mr. Bou and Mr. Peni under took a two-year Commonwealth flying training scholarship under a scheme conducted by the South Pacific Aero Club. 9 After 39 years service as prin ter for the Cook Islands Christian Church in Rarotonga, Pastor Tariau Tapuni retired in July. Born in Pukapuka in September, 1899, Pastor Tariau went to Rarotonga in 1922 and became a pastor in 1935.

He was taught printing by Rev. J.

Hutchins and began producing church pamphlets and a monthly church review called Karere in 1930, which still circulates in the South Pacific. • A Western District Papuan, Mr.

Lonny Gelea, started two years ago with $2. Now, he’s one of Papua’s outstandingly successful small businessmen. With his first $2 he bought a Japanese flashlight and went shooting crocodiles and pigs with a borrowed gun. With money from the skins and meat he bought his own shotgun—and a fishing net. By selling skins, meat and fish he raised enough money to buy coconuts for husking into copra. According to the latest reports from his village— Kimama near Balimo—Lonny Gelea has just bought a tradestore —and is employing seven fellow Papuans. ® The Principal of the P-NG Administrative College in Port Moresby, Mr. David Chenoweth, 46, has been appointed head of the Public Service Board group charged with bringing more and more Papuans and New Guineans into the Public Service. At present, 14,000 native officers are in the service, representing 70 per cent, of the entire Public Service.

Seven-months-old Michael Brideson being greeted by his grandmother, Mrs. May Lobendahn, of Suva, in Adelaide in August. But it was a sad occasion for Mrs. Lobendahn. See the report below.

• She's Queen of the South Pacific, she's from Port Moresby, her name is Dyann Moreland and she's 20. The Queen competition was run in conjunction with the Third South Pacific Games, and Dyann's prize includes a holiday trip to Fiji. Chin. H. Meen took the picture.