People
pp. 101-102 · Read in the full issue
• Canadian, Father Paul Brousseau, known to many islanders, especially those involved in the South Pacific Games, has completed his five year mission in New Caledonia and was due home for Christmas in Quebec.
Father Brousseau served mainly at the seminary in Paita, out of Noumea, where he worked among young men from Tahiti and the Wallis islands. More recently, he was rector at La Conception mission closer to Noumea.
A keen sportsman, Father Brousseau was one of the mainstays of the Caledonian volley ball teams, whom he took to Auckland in 1968 and to Sydney last May.
During his Pacific term, Father Brousseau was happy to have visited most of his neighbouring territories.
Speaking fluent French and English, he was Roman Catholic Chaplain for the South Pacific Games in Noumea, December, 1966, At the Games in Port Moresby, he acted as interpreter for the Caledonians and, unofficially, Tahitians.
After two years in Canada, Father Brousseau says he hopes to return to the Pacific. In the meantime he leaves behind 15 Canadian brothers at various inland schools.
O The first New Guinean to act as head of a territory department is Mr. Sere Pitoi, a Papuan member of the Public Service Board, who is now Director of Posts and Tele graphs. Mr. Alkan Tololo, a New Guinean officer of the Education Department will act in Mr. Pitoi’s place on the board.
Both appointments commenced in December and will be for three months until the Director of Posts, Mr. W. F. Carter, returns from leave.
The Department of Posts and Tele graphs is one of 16 territory depart ments and employs a staff of 1,040 including 600 New Guineans. © Jerry L. Clark, a retired naval commander from Seattle, has been named American Samoa’s new direc tor of the Department of Public Works. All Mr. Clark’s naval years were spent in construction work, in cluding work in Guam and Japan. • New Zealand magistrate Mr. G.
J. Donne has been appointed to the Supreme Court bench of Western Samoa, He will serve a three year
term in Samoa, whose legislation and court proceedings are similar to those in New Zealand, Heavy court lists have dictated the early appointment of the judge and also an extension to court premises. Present Chief Justice is Mr. B. Spring, of Auckland. • Dr. J. K. Gilchrist, principal of the Fiji School of Medicine since 1965, is to retire in March. In 1946 Dr. Gilchrist became Fiji’s first surgeon specialist. Three years later he went to Nigeria but returned to Fiji in 1953, again as surgeon specialist.
A year later he became Fiji’s first full-time lecturer in surgery and anatomy at the then Central Medical School. 9 The Rev. Brian Ranford, head of the Gilbert Islands Protestant Church, has left the GEIC with his wife, Margaret, after eight years’ service with the former London Missionary Society in the Ellice Islands and two years on Tarawa, Gilberts.
He made the Protestant Church in the Ellice an autonomous body and translated part of the Bible into Ellice language. ® Mr. Gordon McLaren, New Zealand Trade Commissioner for the Pacific, was in Noumea in November.
He said NZ exports to New Cale donia were SNZI.S million in 1968, trebling 1967 figures. He added that NZ exporters could aim at $6 million of the Caledonia food market, in
view of New Caledonia’s expected mining expansion and population in crease. After Noumea Mr. McLaren was due in Tahiti, with a Papua-New Guinea call in March. o A linguistics expert from the Australian National University, Dr.
T. Tryon, left Vila for Santo in the New Hebrides recently to make a preliminary survey for a major study of the languages of the New Hebrides. The survey is due to start in June and will employ a large number of workers.
While in Vila, Dr. Tryon man aged to record several basic word lists of different island tongues. • Rev. Father William Kevin Rowell, JCD, of the Order of Friars Minor, has been appointed Bishop of Aitape, New Guinea, in succession to the Most Rev. Ignatius Doggett.
OFM, who resigned his office re cently owing to ill-health.
Bishop Rowell studied for the priesthood at St. Paschal’s College, Box Hill, Australia, and was ordained at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne, in July, 1954. After working in Sydney he was assigned to missionary work in the Diocese of Aitape, and served in various mission stations for six years until 1961, when he left for Rome to study at the College of St. Anthony. He obtained his Doctorate in Canon Law in 1964 and returned to Aitape. In 1969 he was appointed Regular Superior for the Franciscan Friars of the diocese which office he has held to the present time. • Mr. Marama Nicholas, who served with the RNZAF in World War II and represented the Cook Islands as part of the New Zealand party at Queen Elizabeth IPs corona tion in 1953, retired recently after 22 years with the Cook’s Public Service. He joined the service in 1947 as a draughtsman and retired as a surveyor. • Mrs. Rhondda Ratard was to return to Luganville, Santo, New Hebrides, in December with her daughter, Lisa Anne, who was born m Sydney on November 22. Her husband, Michael, member of a pioneer French family in the New Hebrides, is beef inspector with the Agriculture Department, at Lugan ville. ® Mrs. Gordina Beveridge, former matron (1929-33, 1948-50) of the Norfolk Island Hospital, was recently invested as Member of the Order of the British Empire for her medical and other services to the community of Norfolk. Norfolk’s Administrator,
Mr. E. A. Morris, London-based Crown Agent, has been seen a lot in the Islands territories lately. He has toured several to evaluate investment possibilities. Calls included Fiji, Tonga, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands and Nauru.
Air-Commodore R. N. Dalkin, made the investiture. • Mr. Andrew W. Martin, first permanent staff member of a new project for agricultural development of Western Samoa, financed by the United Nations Development Pro gramme, arrived in Apia on Decem ber 6.
Mr. Martin, from Sydney, is to assist Dr. V. B. Reddy (FAO), project manager, in the management of the food processing industry development laboratory, and conduct studies in the processing of tropical agricultural products.
After advising the government and commercial processors on market opportunities for processed tropical food producers, he will help pro cessors set up production lines, and solve processing and packing prob lems, and conduct training courses i for local staff and industry personnel in the fields of processing, packaging ; and quality control. Mr. Martin was ; in Sydney the research and develop- ■ ment manager for White Wings Ltd. . • After seven years in Nauru,, headmaster of the Location School,, Mr. G. S. Szonyi, was due to return i to Australia in early December..
During his time on Nauru, he played J an active part in community life; and all branches of education. For* the remainder of the year Miss D.
Ritchie was acting head of the school 1 and on January 5, Mr. O . S. Faust J was due to become the new head..
Mr. Faust was eight years in Borneo,, before taking this job, as a Colombo( Plan expert and held a number ofl education positions. • Christine Kaputin, wife of Mr..
John Kaputin, the New Guinea Tolaii who has recently been in the news fon his activities with the Rabaull Mataungan Association, is currently'* living in Sydney with their threes children, Rellie, John and Darren..
Mrs. Kaputin, a former schoolteachen who is qualified to teach English as? a foreign language is working for ae publishing house on English publica tions meant for New Guinea schools.; • Old Islands’ hand Doug Askew/ (he spent 42 years in the Islands)! reports that this Christmas is his; happiest since retiring from New/ Guinea 12 months ago. He is occupying Northern Unit 69 at the?
War Veterans’ Home in the Sydney; suburb of Narrabeen, and his: neighbours include Mr. and Mrs. Jinn Winchester-Scott, formerly of Wau : i the legendary “Tiger” Goddard, now/ almost 80, and George Ward, at one time with Burns Philp in the New Hebrides. He says it’s always bigpela tok-tok tumas at Narrabeen now.