Obituaries

Mr. George A. Kassi Mr. George Kassi, who helped trace the fate of many missing Allied air men in the New Guinea area after World War 11, died in Rabaul, New Britain, in September.

Born at Ponape, Caroline Islands, in 1915, he went to Nauru as a child for three years before moving to Rabaul in 1924. For the next five years he was educated at the Mala guna Administration School.

He joined the NG Administration in 1930, first with the Department of Native Affairs. Captured and im prisoned by the Japanese during World War 11, Mr. Kassi memorised the names of captured airmen and took messsages for them. When war ended he was able to supply valuable information about missing prisoners.

After 1945 he resumed work with the Administration, working in co operatives, labour, postal and treasury fields before being placed in charge of stores at Manus Island. Of mixed race himself, he later worked vol untarily between Administration and mixed race people in the Rabaul area.

Mr. William Altmann Mr. William Altmann, who spent 12 years in the Solomon Islands as an agricultural officer, 10 of those years stationed at Gizo, Western District, died recently in Sydney. Mr. and Mrs. Altmann, who were Dutch, were married in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) before World War 11, when Mr. Altmann worked on various tea and rubber plantations.

Both, with two of their sons, spent the war years as prisoners-of-war be fore they moved to Australia. They went to the Solomons in 1957 and Mr. Altmann retired last year to Sydney. His wife died in Australia in April this year. They are sur vived by five children.

Mrs. Stella Bossley The death occurred at Lautoka, Fiji, on September 19, of Mrs. Stella Margaret Bossley at the age of 88.

The daughter of William and Susan Orr, she was born at Liverpool, NSW, Australia, in 1881, and in 1907 at Liverpool she married the late Syd ney Burdekin Bossley. Educated at

The King’s School, Parramatta, he joined the staff of the Colonial Sugar Refining Co. in 1904 as an estate overseer. Their first home in Fiji was at Navo, Nadi.

In 1911, Mr. Bossley resigned to take over Qeleloa Estate, Nadi, as a private planter. The estate was returned to CSR in 1922 when he rejoined the company’s staff. After several years the former estate lands were let out to Indian tenants, Mr.

Bossley remaining at Qeleloa as sector officer.

After her husband’s death in 1935, Mrs. Bossley continued to live in Fiji, spending her time between the various members of her family. Dur ing this period she lived in most of the sugar districts, but she was perhaps best known and most be loved for her gentle nature and sense of humour at Ba and Lautoka.

She is survived by her daughter Ena, widow of the late S. E. B.

Snowsill of Lautoka, and two sons, Syd (“Bhai”) of SPSM, Lautoka, and Harry of Burns Philp Ltd. (Lautoka), and eight grandchildren.

Mr. Hobart Spiller Mr. Hobart (“Little Spill”) Spiller, grand old man of Menapi, Papua, and trader, ship’s purser and planter in the Solomons and Papua for 61 years, died recently in New Guinea, aged 85.

Born in Napier, New Zealand, in 1886, Mr. Spiller went to the Solomons in 1909, taking on various jobs as a trader, smallships officer and labour recruiter. He moved to the tiny Conflict Islands, 70 miles east of Samarai, Papua, before bas ing himself out of Samarai in 1914.

He worked on Burns Philp ships as a book-keeper, purser and super visor before branching out on his own with his own lugger, recruiting and trading around the Papuan coast and the Conflicts, which he enjoyed.

“Little Spill’s” in town was a favourite phrase in Samarai up to World War II and he was a local character. Before the war he bought land at Menapi, Goodenough Bay, to the north of Samarai.

The American Navy used Mr.

Spiller during the war for operations out of Milne Bay but by 1945 Mr.

Spiller had returned to Menapi where he stayed until 1957 when he retired to Port Moresby.

“Little Spill” knew most old-timers (such as the late King Cameron) of Papua and he could spin many a yarn of life in areas 60 years ago.