Yesterday

Chinese labourer, Tai Shek, found guilty of the murder of Mr. and Mrs. T. Allen at Ocean Island on April 26, 1949, was hanged in Suva gaol on May 31, 1950. “This case is notable in criminal history because no motive for the murder was ever discovered,”

PIM said. “The Chinese was convicted on fingerprint evidence alone.”

Other news in PIM, for June, 1950, included: Lady Hedstrom, wife of Sir Maynard Hedstrom, chairman of Morris Hedstrom Ltd. (now owned by W. R. Carpenter), died on June 1. She had been ill for some time.

Copra planters were dissatisfied, over the fStg.4B a ton the British Ministry of Food was paying for copra. This price had been agreed in 1948, with a nine years guarantee.

Since that date Britain had devalued and copra had risen to a price of about £Stg.6o a ton.

In Manus, New Guinea, an Aus tralian court began the trial of 90 former Japanese officers for war crimes—mostly involving the murder of Australian servicemen taken prisoner.

Four Islanders from Kariki Village, in the Shortland Islands of the Solo mons, were charged with theft fol lowing the discovery of about £A 1,900 in notes in their possession.

The money was believed to have been lost by an Australian battalion stationed in the Shortlands in 1945.

The last American troops on Guadalcanal left on May 25 by Skymaster aircraft for Kwajalein, Marshall Islands. The Americans had made their first landing on the island in a beachhead attack on the Japan ese in August, 1942.

Huia, a 56-year-old schooner, was to be used by a group of New Zealanders for trade in Fiji and nearby territories. She had carried explosives for 37 years between Mel bourne and NZ.

New 70-ton Stratocruiser aircraft were to be put into trans-Pacific service later in 1950 by Pan Am.

New Caledonia was to be one stop over and work was due to be com pleted by July 1 on lengthening Noumea’s airstrip by an extra 300 metres.

Nearly 10,000 Australian service men had been buried in three NG war cemetries, it was announced. At Moresby, 4,000 men were buried, at Lae, 3,200 men lay and at Rabaul there were a further 2,200.

Mr. Harry Gregory Murray, a respected member of New Guinea’s planting community, died in Sydney on May 3, aged 49. He first went to NG in 1923 as a clerk for BP’s and later became a plantation manager.

He served in the Witu Islands and at the time of his death he had a lease on Langu Plantation, in the Witus.

Mr. Raphael Menard, a Noumea businessman, died at the age of 92.

He imported the first cars into New Caledonia, built the colony’s first theatre and later, installed the first talkie equipment.

Excessive rain and floods caused havoc in Western Samoa on May 26.

Landslides blocked roads on the east of Upolu, the villages of Salesatele, Salelesi and Eva were damaged, four persons died and many were injured.

A four-man United Nations delega tion arrived at Rabaul, New Guinea, to be greeted by 3,000 New Guineans in the grounds of the District Office.

The District Officer, Mr. J. K.

McCarthy, and Mrs. McCarthy, held a reception at their residence on Namanula Hill.

Plans were being prepared by an Australian company, Mandated Alluvials Ltd., for development of copper ore reserves at Laloki, 17 miles outside Port Moresby. The project was favoured by officialdom.

Tahiti was badly wanting an air service and a move by Trans Oceanic Airways, of Sydney, to provide a ser vice from Apia and Suva, was strik ing opposition from New Zealand.

Australia’s Minister for External Territories, Mr. Spender, outlined Australia’s policy regarding its Pacific territories, particularly New Guinea, in a 15,000-word document to the Australian parliament. PIM ran a summary of the document.