Travel Briefs
p. 67 · Read in the full issue
• Japan Airlines has announced unspecified plans to fly from Japan to Australia and New Zealand via “the Pacific Islands”. From October last year the company has operated twice weekly flights from Tokyo to Sydney, via Hong Kong and Manila (technical stop only). The company has not said which islands it would hope to stop at but Japanese exports are increasing in all major groups. • Mr. David Rubie, for the past 11 years in administration work with Qantas, has been appointed manager
of New Hebrides Airways Ltd.
O A photographer and journalist arrived in Rarotonga at the end of November to prepare radio and film documentary features. The material collected by Messrs. Cleale and Owen will be presented at the April con ference of the Pacific Area Travel Association in New Zealand.
The material is also needed in time for the New Zealand-Australia tour of the “Ballet of the South Pacific”, in March. The idea of the ballet is to link ethnic cultures of NZ, Australia and the Cooks, all visited by Cook. The ballet is part of the-Cook bi-centenary celebrations
and all three governments are colla borating in the venture. • Steamships Trading Co. Ltd.’s two major New Guinea hotels, the Mt. Hagen Hotel and the Melanesian, Lae, will get a new look this year.
Subject to architects’ approval, the Melanesian’s current wing will be lengthened and a new wing built, the 48 rooms will be doubled at least, to accommodate over 200 people in all and the hotel’s function area will be enlarged.
At Mt. Hagen, several new rooms will be added, motel-style, outside the hotel and drinking and eating areas will be remodelled. • Popular French radio and TV personality, Hubert Wayasse, has in stalled himself in the Pacific and be gun bringing Parisian performers out to the Islands.
Well-known to audiences in France,.
Hubert settled in Tahiti last May ancf in November brought out his first stars to Tahiti and Noumea. They were young singer Noelle Cordier and teenage idol Richard Anthony. The latter was accompanied by his wife and an entourage including six musicians.
At two performances, an audience of almost 1,000 paid $lO each to hear the French stars and local singers.
The visit was greatly publicised and televised with the aid of UTA air lines and their UTH hotel chain. In the new year Hubert now plans to bring other artists, beginning with Dalida, to French Pacific audiences.